Norwegian Mountains

Kjerringefjellet, 388m*

Fylke/Kommune : Hordaland/Masfjorden
Maps : 1116-I Masfjorden (Statens Kartverk, Norge 1:50 000)
Primary factor : 110m
Hiked : July 2005
See also : Heinakken
See also : Skarpefjellsnakken
See also : Nonklettfjellet
See also : Vardefjellet
Kjerringefjellet seen from Heinakken

Kjerringefjellet seen from Heinakken

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Introduction

Kjerringefjellet is a forest hill located above Haugsværfjorden - a branch of Masfjorden. It is far less distinct than its neightbour Heinakken, which is a characteristic and popular hill by Masfjorden. Kjerringefjellet and Heinakken offer in general the same views, but the Heinakken views are better because of the lack of trees high on the ridge.

Without having walked this route, I would recommend that you hike Kjerringefjellet from Furebotn - NE of the hill. The map indicates that a path will take you up to the Kjerringefjellet - Skarhaugane ridge, and the remaining walk up to the high point should be easy.

I would strongly recommend that you do NOT follow the route description provided below. I considered submitting a trip report only, but as it is fully possible to reach Kjerringefjellet from Lake Midtkviltjørna, I decided to add the off-trail route description.

Primary factor:

Kjerringefjellet (1116-I: -, Ø.K: 387,5m ~ 388m) has a primary factor of 110m towards the higher Jernfjellet. The saddle is found between on the ridge towards Skarhaugane (Sygnegga - Ø.K.). Ref. Økonomisk Kartverk (5m contours), you cross the 280m contours on the high route, but not 275m. The saddle height has been interpolated to 278m.

My GPS reading on top was 393m. After correcting for error margins, the height is likely to be approx. 390m. Given the fact that there is no 390m contour on Ø.K., it is reasonable to stay with the height given on Ø.K.

Note that there are several high points along the top ridge. The 1116-I map has a 375m trig. point, located 270m SW of the high point. The 388m high point was not marked, but I left three rocks to indicate the high point.

Trail descriptions:

Notes: Class ratings are in reference to YDS. Click here for more information.

The trails described below are not necessarily the *easiest* trails to this mountain.

Lake Midtkviltjørna - Kjerringefjellet (summer/autumn)

Difficulty : Class 2
Exposure : No
Comments : Bush war
Distance : Approx. 2Km to the top
Time : Approx. 1,5 hours to the top
Starting Elev.: Approx. 120m
Vertical Gain : Approx. 280m

Map of the area
Map of the area
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Detailed map
Detailed map
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Access

From Bergen, follow highway E39 northbound. After the Nordhordlandsbrua bridge, pay (NOK 45,- for passenger cars per May 2005) at the Toll station. Follow E39 approx. 62,9Km to Haugsvær and turn left towards "Solheim". Follow the road down to - and along the fjord 6,3Km (don't turn left towards Solheim as you pass Solheim). You are now approx. 550m from the Duesund/Solheim/Kringla junction and have a small lake on your right-hand side (Lake Midtkviltjørna). Find parking on a turn-out along the road.

Another alternative is to follow highway E39 to Kringla. This is a (perhaps) quicker road, but the road along the fjord is more scenic. You can always drive via Kringla on your way back home.

The route

Follow a forest road from the main road that leads to an old shooting range on the NW side of Lake 115m (Stemmevatnet). An old tractor road continues along the north shore of the lake, up to 160m elevation. From this point on, head straight north and seek to the left (west) when you reach high cliffs. It isn't difficult to advance up past these cliffs if you continue moving sideways and grab the first logical opportunity. Once above the cliffs, continue north until you are on the forest ridge.

When you get to two humps (both exceeding 380m elevation), keep moving NE until you reach the high point. If it is foggy, you may have problems locating the high point, which is (now) marked by three rocks. The UTM co-ordinates for the high point are 32 V 309197 6757098.

Return your ascent route or try to find a route down the west ridge.

Trip report July 17 2005

I had just hiked Heinakken and was just supposed to "quickly bag" Kjerringefjellet before I headed back to Bergen. It was raining light and it wasn't the best of days. It seemed very logical that I should hike Kjerringefjellet from Lake Midtkviltjørna (which was also the Heinakken trailhead), and I forgot to check alternatives. If I had taken a look at the map, I definitely would have hiked from Furebotn on the NE side.

But I didn't, and when I noticed the road to the old shooting range I had already made up my mind. I wanted to leave my dachshund "Troll" in the car. He didn't seem very interesting in walking on Heinakken, and it would be good to take on this forest hill without the additional 8Kg on the back. I drove to the shooting range, which was a questionable thing to do. On more than one occasion, I had to get out of the car and check if I still would have oil by the time I parked the car.

A swarm of flies seemed to have followed me from Heinakken, and as I would have to leave the car window open when leaving the dog behind, I pictured myself beating up flies all the way back to Bergen. I don't like flies. I hate them so much that I decided to carry Troll all the way up to Kjerringefjellet.

I had mentally prepared for a forest fight worth remembering, and was a surprised when I noticed an old tractor road following the north shore of Lake 115m. But after a while it ended, and I had 200 vertical meters of bush war ahead of me. I'm not a stranger to this and let the war begin.

The flies followed my journey up the forest. The question was natural; do I hate flies more than juniper bush? Yes, I do. When I reached a cliffband that didn't seem to have an end to it, I nodded "of course!". There wouldn't be a forest fight without cliffs. After searching for a way up and some light scrambling, I had beaten the obstacles and could now focus on locating the high point. When I reached the point that I believed to be the high point, I checked witht the GPS. After confirmation, I announced that Kjerringefjellet was "in the bag". The time was now 13:00PM sharp, and it had taken me 55 minutes to the top.

Troll didn't seem to want to get out of the backpack. I could hear a series of AP .. AP .. AP sounds from the backpack. This was Troll trying (without apparent luck) to catch flies with his mouth. There would be no break on top. I turned around, with the ambition to follow the west ridge all the way down. But at 260m elevation, I stumbled onto something that looked like a path going south. I followed it for a few minutes, but it vanished just as sudden as it appeared. A long cliffband prevented me from getting back onto the west ridge, so I just kept on descending the forest. This course took me back to the tractor road down by the lake, and by 13:35PM, the hike was over. Two more Masfjorden hills were now "in the bag", and I could go home.

Pictures from the July 17 2005 hike

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.

1. On the way to the shooting range (308KB) 2. Walking along Lake 115m - Stemmevatnet (209KB) 3. A whole lot of forest ahead (225KB) 4. Vardefjellet below Blaafjellet (145KB) 5. Cliffs below Kjerringefjellet (408KB) 6. Above the cliffs (187KB) 7. View from Kjerringefjellet (436KB) 8. Solheim seen from Kjerringefjellet (183KB) 9. Heinakken seen from Kjerringefjellet (143KB) 10. Skarpefjellsnakken seen from Kjerringefjellet (692KB) 11. Jernfjellet seen from Kjerringefjellet (406KB) 12. Kalhovda seen from Kjerringefjellet (303KB) 13. Rock on Kjerringefjellet (197KB) 14. Heinakken seen from Kjerringefjellet (239KB)

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Pictures from other hikes:

1. Panorama from Heinakken (452KB)

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