Hovden, day 4
| Date | Trip |
| 08.07.26 | Otrosåsen |
| 09.07.26 | Storenos, Veggine, Syni, Mjåvasseggi, Stemtjørnnutan |
| 10.07.26 | Svånuten, Hovdenuten |
| 11.07.26 | Hartevassnutane |
| Date | Peak | Height | PF | Location | WCP/FP | MAP |
| 11.07.26 | Syndre Hartevassnuten | 1155m | 178m | Bykle, Norway | – | MAP |
| 10.07.26 | Austre Hartevassnuten | 1218 | 135m | Bykle, Norway | – | MAP |
Saturday: It was our 3rd and our last full day at Hovdestøylen, Hovden. So far, we had a great stay and today, we would be visiting the last top on our common to-do list: Syndre Hartevassnuten. We decided we might as well hike from our hotel.
We followed a nice path along the Otra river – down to the Hegni bathing area.
We crossed the main road and found the forest path.
The path took us up to a cabin area, before it followed the creek up the forest – all the way to Austmannskardet.
Eventually, we reached Austmannskardet…
… and followed the marked path up the mountain.
Anne was more interested in the physical characteristics of the signposts, more than the route…
We got a nice Hovden view today as well…
Soon, we had the top in plain view.
Syndre Hartevassnuten was supposed to be my last P100 top this vacation. I had gotten 28 new tops, since we left for Gaustablikk on June 22. Anne’s count was 22. It had been a good summer!
To the south, I could see Svånuten – which I hiked the day before.
But 2,4km to the southwest – #29 (Austre Hartevassnuten) was calling my name…
I had to explain my intentions to Anne, who was sporty and told me to go and bag one more top while she would follow the northwest ridge back to Hovden. What a girlfriend! Austre Hartevassnuten – here I come!
We hiked together back to Austmannskardet, where we parted.
I sat course for the south end of lake Hartevasstjønni.
The terrain was a bit awkward…
… but eventually I found a good place to cross the drain from the lake.
The remainder of the hike would be a walk in the park…
And finally – I was up!
A couple of panoramas…
It was time to move on, but first – a final look back on Syndre Hartevassnuten…
As Anne was now on her good way back to the hotel – and the car – she could pick me up. I just had to figure out where I wanted to descend. I chose to continue south – towards Maurli.
The terrain south of Austre Hartevassnuten was surprisingly rough. But, at first glance, it didn’t look so bad…
But as I got closer into the “details” – this was no fun at all!
The idea of following the ridge all the way to Maurli quickly got abandoned. I fought myself down to Maurlinuten (1063,5m) but then I headed east – towards the main road.
The forest descent wasn’t bad at all, and when I felt the road was close, I texted Anne.
Anne was already waiting at a bus-stop nearby and picked me up minutes later…
On our way back to Hovden, we stopped at Solheimskleiva and went to the drain from Hartevassdammen for a swim. Very nice!
Back in Hovden, Anne had found a place where they served Sour Crème Porridge. As if they day wasn’t already good enough…
The date was July 11th and Norway had gotten to the Quarter Finals in the Soccer World Cup. England was the opponent. Quite an unbelievable feat! We went down to the Hovdestøylen “sports bar” but it was already so late in the evening that we weren’t sure if we would be able to follow the match.
The Sports Bar screwed things up and started showing a commercial loop from their own TV system. And no one seemed to mind! I can imagine drinking for 3 hours straight before a game – decreases your … focus!
We told the reception that they were not showing what the packed Sports Bar wanted to see, and they indicated they were “on it”.
But we decided to return to our hotel room and watch the game from our “first row seats”.
Unfortunately, it didn’t go our way this time. Aside of the highly controversial decisions made in the game, the Semi-finals were like they were supposed to be – the 4 highest ranked countries in the world. Norway had a good ride, but it ended where it should. Or – maybe. But – given Croatia’s world cup history, I wouldn’t have objected a win against England…
Trip statistics: 11,6km, 820 vertical meters, 4h:30m
