Norwegian Mountains, Sogn og Fjordane

From Veitastrond to Fjærland, through Supphelleskaret. With Sogndal Turlag, Sep 22 2013


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Google Earth view of the route

Google Earth view of the route
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The route from Veitastrond to Fjærland through Supphelleskaret is one of several that used to link the valleys surrounding the Jostedalsbreen ice cap. On Sep 22 2013, Sogndal Turlag organized this classic hike which included shuttle service from Fjærland to Veitastrond and from Fjærland to Sogndal. Anders Bøyum and Anne Rudsengen were guides on this trip.

 

Google Earth view of the route

Google Earth view of the route
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That was the intro. Now, as this is a personal trip report I have to add that I have absolutely nothing against organized hikes such as this one. In fact I find it extremely positive that this type of offering exists and that people in general embrace it.

However - I do not normally attend these organized trips as I like to find my own way in the mountains. And besides - large groups are moving a bit slow for my taste. But since my girlfriend was one of the guides, I felt obl... err ... really willing to come along. And besides - and this is for sure; I love any hike that is connected - or even remotely connected to Jostedalsbreen. So the decision to come along was easy enough...

Those living in or near Sogndal met at Almenningen at 9:30am. It was indeed a grey morning. The bus from Fjærland arrived on time and included 10 hikers. In total, the group consisted of 33 souls and 2 dogs. Anders welcomed us over the speaker system and promised us sunshine by noon. It took a long and winding road to get us to Veitastrond, but roughly one hour later, we arrived at our destination. After a short brief from Anders and Anne, we headed out at 10:50am.

 

At Veitastrond - ready for departure

At Veitastrond - ready for departure
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The weather was gradually improving as we made our way into Snauedalen. The fog was clearly lifting and we could see blue sky above Kaldakari. The pace was modest, as one could expect with a group of this size. But I had nothing else to do besides being outdoors and enjoyed myself. And it seemed that Karma enjoyed herself too. Unleashed, lots of friendly humans and last but not least - another dog!

 

Karma in Snauedalen

Karma in Snauedalen
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A bit more than halfway into Snauedalen, we stopped for lunch. The time was now 1pm. I found a good rock to sit on, a bit away from the others. They probably wondered what kind of an oddball I was, who couldn't join them for lunch. Humored as I was about this assumption, the primary reason was to get a picture of the group. The secondary reason was that I was actually sitting darn good!. But once I had finished lunch, I went over to the others and said that it was OK to move on now that I was done. I heard scattered laughs and felt some sort of redemption...

 

Lunch below Supphelleskaret

Lunch below Supphelleskaret
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We moved on after half an hour and had a river crossing ahead of us. I crossed the rivers and made a mental note about having never, ever encountered more slippery rocks. The rest of the group continued up to Skarbotn and had a much easier river crossing.

Next stop was Supphelleskaret which had a bit of snow left that posed a small challenge...

 

Supphelleskaret challenges...

Supphelleskaret challenges...
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The descent into Supphelledalen was just magical! The fog - which came and went - only added flavor to everything. And so did the Vetle Supphellebreen glacier. Once we had completed the steepest descent (without kicking loose rocks around), we stopped again for some food. And this time I was a bit more social...

 

Group picture in Supphelledalen

Group picture in Supphelledalen
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The walk throughout Supphelledalen was altogether enjoyable. What an amazing area! I explored my social skills even further through small talk with several of the others. We reached the road at 6:28pm and I volunteered to run the 550 meters up to Fjellstølen to alert the bus driver - who was waiting there. The bus took us back to Sogndal after a short stop in Fjærland. One of the hikers came on the bus at Hafslo and had no transportation waiting for her. I volunteered to drive her to Hafslo while Anne prepared a nice meal...

All in all - a very enjoyable hike in amazing terrain! Many thanks to Anders and Anne and especially Anders - for sharing his local knowledge with us.

(The total distance was 15,6km and the total hiking time was 7h:38m. Total vertical gain: 650 meters)

 

In Supphelledalen

In Supphelledalen
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Pictures

The pictures were taken with a Canon EOS 60D + EF-S 18-200mm F3.5-5.6 IS

 

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Pictures from the trip

1. Google Earth view 2. Google Earth view 3. Waiting for the bus in Sogndal 4. Pep-talk at Veitastrond 5. Pep-talk at Veitastrond 6. Heading out 7. Into Snauedalen 8. Looking back on Veitastrond 9. Following the river 10. A short technical break 11. Into the valley proper 12. Tall mountains above 13. Karma - mountain dog! 14. Fog can be beautiful 15. View up 16. Fog-friendly route; follow the river 17. Kløvasteinen 18. Amazing discoveries... 19. The others socialized 8| 20. The -Chain Gang- 21. Extra service 22. Wide angle view 23. Snauedalen 24. Karma, having high lunch hopes 25. Break for lunch 26. Lunch is over 27. Moving on, towards Supphelleskaret 28. Kaldakari 29. Rocky terrain 30. Snauedalen overview 31. Mirrors (I) 32. Mirrors (II) 33. Enjoying the views 34. Karma and Pluto hit it on 35. A problematic crossing 36. Crossing works best in inner basin 37. Supphelleskaret ahead 38. Into Supphelleskaret 39. Into Supphelleskaret 40. Into Supphelleskaret 41. A mailbox 42. In Supphelleskaret 43. In Supphelleskaret 44. Small challenges 45. Supphelledalen comes into view 46. Supphelledalen 47. Words of advice before descending 48. Fog comes and goes 49. Descending from Supphelleskaret 50. Descending from Supphelleskaret 51. Descending from Supphelleskaret 52. View up 53. View up 54. View up to Supphelleskaret 55. Vetle Supphellebreen 56. Another stop for food 57. Vetle Supphellebreen 58. Vetle Supphellebreen 59. Vetle Supphellebreen - activity 60. Vetle Supphellebreen 61. The group 62. Me 63. In Supphelledalen 64. In Supphelledalen 65. In Supphelledalen 66. Several bridge crossings 67. Almost there

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