Afternoon visit to the Stadlandet peninsula
Index
| Date | Peak | Height | PF | Location | MAP |
| 07.07.23 | Rambjørga | 204m | 45m | Stad, Norway | MAP |
| 07.07.23 | Kjerringa (Vestkapp) | 497m | 334m | Stad, Norway | MAP |
Friday: I finished work a little earlier than usual, as I planned to drive to Ervika on Stadlandet to hike the ridge from Rambjørga to Mosekleivhornet.
I really looked forward to this walk – across Rambjørga, Nonshornet, Ytre Molvikhornet and eventually Mosekleivhornet. The descent would go along a different route.
We parked at the Ervika bay, where surfers were having fun in the water.
And then we sat course for Rambjørga.
We followed a gravel road up to a house and when this road curved and took direction against Hovden, we left the road and tried to locate the path that I could see on the map.
I didn’t see any path, but we made our way up the grassy mountainside while a concern was building up. Didn’t that wall (Veghammaren) look a bit steep?
And sure enough – aaaaargh!
I tried to find a way out the outside of the cliff. There were traces of people going up this way, but I didn’t want to lead the dog up here.
Well, at least we would visit Rambjørga! Which was a short and easy hike.
OK, now what? Maybe we should go to Hovden next?
But I was unable to find a way directly from Rambjørga to Hovden and so we had to descend along our ascent route – with sheep all around us. Back on the gravel road, we could now have followed it almost to the top of Hovden. But cows made me forget all about this top.
I didn’t strike me to look at the map and notice the other path – bypassing the Veghammaren cliff altogether. But now I know…
I needed a plan C and then I started to consider Kjerringa – just on the other side of Ervika bay.
I checked the map and could see a path leading up the upper plateau. The style indicated that the path could be vague. Heck, why not? I had been to Kjerringa before, but only from somewhere along the car road that leads to the top. This would be a “proper” ascent.
We found the path next to a house at the foot of the mountain. The path was marked and easy to follow. Good news!
After some switchbacks, the path led us up to Hushornet. From here, it seemed that the path followed the cliffs before curving and going up to Vetedalsstrupen, just below Kjerringa. I didn’t have the patience and sat a direct course for Vetedalsstrupen. It was OK as long as we were going downhill from Hushornet, but the rest of the hike to Vetedalsstrupen was nothing but aggravating. Damned turfs!
It was a tad easier from Vetedalsstrupen and up to Kjerringa. But this is clearly not a route I would recommend to others.
Eventually, we reached Kjerringa and I had to keep the sheep at a distance. It happens everywhere we run into sheep. The sheep are attracted to Karma – up to the point when they realize it’s not a brown sheep. And then they turn into bullies. I’m fed up with that. And Karma has no interest in these animals whatsoever…
I “parked” Karma on the outside while I went into the restaurant to get a cold drink. Karma got water and a few minutes later, none of us were thirsty anymore.
This top is also called Veten – indicating that this top was a “signal top” in the old days. A series of torches on mountain tops were lit to raise the alarm.
This top is also known as Vestkapp. The name indicates that this is the westernmost point in Norway. But it isn’t. It is however the westernmost mountain plateau in Norway. It’s a name introduced by the tourist industry in the 80’s.
Names seem to matter, as heaps of tourists find their way up here during the summer season. The same tourists probably also visit Ervika bay and not to mention the Hoddevika bay. Both bays have a reputation of being good surfing beaches. See also this trip report for pictures from Ervika, Hoddevika and Kjerringa…
Eventually, it was time to head back down. At Vetedalsstrupen, I took a different route on the way down, but this route was – if possible – even worse than our ascent route. I was SO happy when we reached the path in the mountainside.
I didn’t get the trip I had planned for, but the afternoon wasn’t all bad either. I will for sure return to do this route, but without Veghammaren being a part of it…
Trip statistics: 11,9km, 815 vertical meters, 3h:16m
Pictures (Canon EOS RP/Iphone 13 Pro Max) from the hike:
