A short stop in Orkland, on our way south
Index
| Date | Peak | Height | PF | Location | MAP |
| 03.08.23 | Hovshaugen | 406m | 139m | Orkland, Norway | MAP |
| 04.08.23 | Foksetåsen (Grønliutsikten) | 437m | 157m | Skaun, Norway | MAP |
Hovshaugen (406m), Aug 3 2023
Thursday: We left Brønnøysund early morning but stopped at Sausvatn to say goodbye to our friends Jorun & Arnfinn. The traditional stack of waffles quickly came on the table and Karma threw all manners overboard…
Stuffed with waffles, we left northern Norway and sat course for Orkanger, where we would spend the night before moving on to Hov in Søndre Land.
Anne had booked us a room at Bårdshaug Herregård – a historic hotel. We both looked forward to getting there.
It was a rainy drive to Orkanger, but eventually we could check in at the hotel. It was quite a place (top picture)!
We checked into our room (in a separate building) and realized that we had a 2-hour window before dinner, which we could use to get ourselves a brand new pf100 top!
The choice fell on the closest top – Hovshaugen. We had to dig a little bit to find motivation in the pouring rain, but we found it…
We drove Ulvåsvegen almost to road end. We parked where the road to Årlia forked.
The idea was to follow the road until we got to the Hovsslættet path. Anne had recently downloaded the “Stolpejakten” app and was happy to find “stolper” up here.
We made a mistake by following the path on the above picture, instead of following the road 0,7km before going on the path. And soon we found ourselves totally off-trail, in soaking wet grass…
We were hiking based on “guts feeling” about in which direction we should go. In the end if was obvious that we were on the wrong way and had adjust the course.
But eventually, we found the top.
On the way back, we followed an eastbound path from the top until we reached the Hovsslættet path. We looked forward to getting back to the hotel, a shower and then dinner…
We – but Anne in particular – were happy about the food. She had ordered vegan, I had not.
The room was nice, but we couldn’t get cold water from the bathroom sink. Which is not a big problem unless you have a thirsty dog…
Trip statistics: 3,4km, 215 vertical meters, 0h:53m
Foksethaugen (437m), Aug 4 2023
Friday: We woke up at Bårdshaug Herregård in Orkanger and decided to hike the 2nd easy pf100 top up here – Foksetåsen, before breakfast.
This was a longer drive than the Hovshaugen hike the day before. We drove to Fannrem and then up the road to Svorkland, ending up in Skaun municipality. Approx. halfway, we found the Foksetåsen trailhead. The locals just call this top “Utsikten” (“the view”) or Grønliutsikten.
In the beginning, we followed something that looked like an old tractor road. Which was nice, as the grass was soaking wet.
Then we moved onto a forest path, and we got soaking wet…
And after a little while, we reached the top.
But what about the view? What is considered a good view in the Orkland/Skaun forests? Even if there was fog, we’ve had better views…
No complaints, though. We had another new pf100 top in the bag and now we could return to Baardshaug for a) shower, b) breakfast and c) checkout.
We left Bårdshaug just before 10am.
But first, a picture of Thamspaviljongen – shipped to America for the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair and returned to Norway 123 years later. In other words – a good story right there…
Next goal: Hov in Søndre Land…
Trip statistics: 3,6km, 205 vertical meters, 0h:50m
