|
Hæddane (center) seen from highway E16 |
Hæddena is the southernmost mountain on the Osterøy island, and offers great views towards Trengereid, Gullfjellet, Bergen mountains and also the south-west parts of Osterøy.
Once on Hæddena, one may hike high (off-trail) eastbound over Hoklane and to the Såtefjellet - Vedafjellet ridge. Hæddena is quite accessible from a number of trailheads, but fighting juniper bush might be required along the way. This page will describe a round-trip from Kvisti over Orrkleivhaugen with a visit on Snøya and Hæddena along the way. Hiking over Orrkleivhaugen is an excellent thing to do when the weather is good. If you don't get in good mood on this hike, you never will.
Thanks to Øyvind Blom who recommended this trip, and for the map + route description.
Øyvind also tells me that most likely, "Hæddena" is dialect for "head", and refers to the expression "Eg hev so ilt i hæddena" (I have such a headache). It is then likely to assume that Hæddena has a head shape, viewed from a specific angle. Following up on the dialect theme, you may also suffer from "ilt i knitti" or "ilt i okla", after hiking the strenuous ridges towards Hæddena.
Hæddena (M711: 460m, Ø.K: 462,5 ~462m, N60 26.603 E5 32.824) has a primary factor of 109m, towards the higher Hoklane (483m). The saddle is found in Blomaskardet. Ref. Økonomisk Kartverk (5m contours), you cross the 355 contours on the high route, but not 350m. The saddle height has been interpolated to 353m.
Note: Class ratings are in reference to YDS (Yosemite Decimal System).
|
Kvisti - Orrkleivhaugen - Snøya - Hæddena (summer/autumn)
|
|
Introduction
This route is a round-trip hike, starting from Kvisti. Kvisti is not named on the map, but refers to the trailhead, just south of the Vikno community. A visible trail will take you over Orrkleivhaugen, down to a pass between Åseim and Orrkleivhaugen and then back to Kvisti via Vikno. This trail is class 1 to Orrkleivhaugen.
From Orrkleivhaugen, follow a route to Hæddena via Snøya that is partly off-trail. Also considering some steep (but not exposed) sections on this route, this section is graded as class 2. Back at Orrkleivhaugen, one follows a visible trail all the way down to a forest. In order to get to the pass south of Åseim, one has to go through the forest and determine a route down to the pass.
The standard hike to Orrkleivhaugen is recommended for everyone. Orrkleivhaugen is a great vista point and the trail is good, although strenuous in the beginning.
Access
From Bergen, follow E16 towards Oslo. Not too far after the Arnanipa tunnel (approx. 30min from Bergen), exit right towards Osterøy. Cross the bridge and pay the toll fare (currently NOK 40,-)
Instead of following the main highway towards the tunnel, exit right and after 200m, exit left towards Haus. Drive 300m, and just after a tunnel, find parking on the left hand side.
The economic alternative is to park in front of the Osterøy bridge, and walk the 900-1000m across the bridge to the toll booth. And then another 500m to the trailhead (200+300, as described above).
The route
Orrkleivhaugen
The trail begins on the other side of the road. Follow the trail upwards until the trail descends, and you have a view towards houses ahead of you. This place is called Vikno. Notice a small ridge up to your right. Get on this ridge, and head for the south end of the long and high ridge that dominates your view. Go through a gate in the fence, and locate a narrow trail that will take you up the ridge. At the beginning of the ridge, you've gone too far if you are descending. This trail can be a little strenuous until you are properly on the ridge at approx. 250m.
Snøya
Continue on the trail which leads to Orrkleivhaugen. Up to your right, you see Snøya, a ridge that blocks the view towards Hæddena. Just before the top of Orrkleivhaugen, notice a trail that exits to the right, descends a little and then climbs up Snøya. The trail runs along the stone fence, on the right hand side. This part of the trail is both steep and strenuous.
Once on Snøya, you will notice that there is another ridge between yourself and Hæddena. The second ridge is still Snøya, and is the highest point. Follow the trail along the fence down to the valley. Climb up to Snøya on the left hand side of the fence.
Hæddena
There does not seem to be an obvious trail between Snøya and Hæddena. Follow natural openings in the terrain, and approach Hæddena on the north (left) side. Once on the ridge, you will find trails to the summit, but getting through the juniper jungle can be a small nightmare. There is no cairn that marks the Hæddena high point. In fog, you will have a hard time figuring out the high point, but in good weather this is much easier.
Descend route
Go back to Orrkleivhaugen and continue on the trail which takes you downwards in the north-west direction. Continue all the way down to a forest, where the trail is no longer obvious. You will need to advance through the forest in order to reach the pass south of Åseim. It is not easy to describe a good route through the (short) forest, but it is better to stay closer to the fjord, than towards Haus (down on your right). If you enter the forest too low, you will be looking down a steep drop towards the pass.
In the pass between Orrkleivhaugen and Åseim, locate up a very nice forest road that takes you back to Kvisti. Eventually you will join the ascent route just before the trailhead.
|
It rarely happens, but I decided to leave work a couple of hours earlier. The weather was plain gorgeous. I just had to go on a short evening hike. I was in a hurry, as I wanted to get back to the dog (ill), and be down before sunset. I chose Hæddena, as I had now discovered it was a ranked mountain (primary factor > 100m). In addition, I had received an e-mail from someone who recommended the hike over Orrkleivhaugen. I saw that Hæddena was close by, and decided to follow his route and get myself a ranked mountain along the way. I left the car at 14:55PM and found the trail up the ridge right away, thanks to the map of the route I received in the e-mail. I arrived Orrkleivhaugen 15:25PM, and enjoyed every inch of the trail. The scenery was brilliant. After a round of pictures I located the steep trail up to Snøya. I was thinking to myself that this part of the trip might not attrack all hikers. Handholds for support was nearly called for. From Snøya I got my first look at Hæddena. But first, I had to cross another ridge. On the way up the second ridge, the trail began to fade, and I didn't find the climb one bit easier than the previous climb. On top of the second ridge, I spent a little time watching a small herd of deer on the way to Hæddena. They also spent a little time watching me, but disappeared when I began to move. I found no trail up to Hæddena, and cursed juniper trees. The climb up was steeper than the previous two sections, but I finally reached the north side of the plateau, and could follow a trail to the summit. I reached the summit 16:00PM, and left 10 minutes later, after enjoying the nice views. Back at Orrkleivhaugen, I found the recommended route that continued north-west. The trail was wide and easy to follow, but when I came down to the forest, I lost the trail. A big forest was where the trail was supposed to go. If I headed down towards the north, I was afraid I would end up down in Haus. I decided to go through the forest, and quickly I saw the wide pass beneath Åseim. The problem was that it was an insane drop in front of me. But after a short while, I found a steep, but safe route down to the pass. From the pass, I picked up a nice and cosy forest road that took me back to Kvisti, and then back to the trailhead. I arrived the car 17:05PM, so the hike took alltogether 2 hours and 10 minutes. But the pace was pretty fast, so you should plan for some more.
|
Move cursor to read notes, and click on the images to see full version.
Some of the thumbnails may have been cropped to fit the format.
Pictures are presented in the order they were taken.
Other hordaland mountains
Other Osterøy K. mountains
Other Vaksdal K. mountains
westcoastpeaks.com
