Hordaland Mountains - Route Descriptions - Selifjellet Skausnøyi Reikeråsloftet

Selifjellet, 395m
Skausnøyi, 363m
Reikeråsloftet, 351m

Mountain area :	Lindås
Fylke/Kommune :	Hordaland/Lindås
Map :	1116-II Sæbø (Statens Kartverk, Norge 1:50 000)
Primary Factor:	Selifjellet: >300m (est.) Gladihaugen
Primary Factor:	Reikeråsloftet: >50m (est.) Selifjellet
Primary Factor:	Skausnøyi: 100m (est.) Selifjellet
Hiked :	Feb 2002

Selifjellet seen from Reikeråsloftet

Introduction

Selifjellet has a modest height, but compensates with a fantastic view due to its location mid-between the ocean and the Masfjorden mountains. The walk between Skausnøyi and Selifjellet is mostly a forest ridgewalk, but above the trees. The hike, including Reikeråsloftet is a 4-5 hour walk on narrow trails.

Trail descriptions:

Fjellsbø - Selifjellet - Skausnøyi (winter)

Difficulty : None

Risk : None

Distance : 12,7Km round-trip

Time : 4-5 hours round-trip

Starting Elev.: Approx. 250m

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Access:
From Bergen, head north on E39. Pass the toll booth at the Nordhordalandsbroa (bridge) and continue 5 more minutes to Knarvik. After the Knarvik bridge, go left in the roundabout and follow highway 57 (Leirvåg).
18,6Km from the round-about in Knarvik, exit right towards Fjellsbø (2,2Km after the Hundvin exit). The exit is signed. Follow a narrow paved road for 1,2Km and turn right in the first junction (don't go left towards Øvre Skodven). Continue 300m and turn left in another junction. Follow a narrow and steep road upwards to Fjellsbø for 1,25Km. Near the top, find parking on a obvious parking area on the left hand side of the road.
If the road up to Fjellsbø is snowy or icy, I would not recommend that you drive up, unless you are confident in your car and tires.

The trail:
From the parking, continue on the road 50-100m and locate a small gravel road going between a yellow house and yellow garage. There is a forest road to your right and a newer gravel road to your left, but don't take any of these.
Follow the gravel road for approx. 400m (you pass a white house on your right hand side). When you get to a gate, and the only way ahead is down, turn 90 degrees to the right, and you will notice a small trail that follows the ridge towards the mast at 364m.
From the mast, the trail continues straight ahead, but takes a little dip before you get on the ridge that leads to the Selifjellet cairn at 395m. There is a mailbox on the cairn if you want to leave your name.
From Selifjellet, the trail continues down to your left, and is now marked with small red bits from a plastic hose, hanging here and there on trees. Follow the trail over a short wetland before the trail climbs again. The trail seems to end at a minor cairn, before the terrain descends towards the south. You have the Reikeråsloftet plateau on your left, and there is a small cairn on the far east end (towards Austfjorden). The ground is very boggy and you have to bushwack some, in order to get to the other side.
Once on the cairn at Reikeråsloftet, find the shortest line back to the Selifjellet ridge and join the trail you initially were on. Once on the trail, head back the same way until you get to the gate where you went to the right.
By the gate, you see a sign pointing towards Skausnøyi. Follow the narrow trail through another gate up towards the small collection of pinetrees on the first hill. From here, you see the remaining ridgewalk to Skausnøyi (approx. 2Km from the gate to the top, approx. 45min to walk). There is also a mailbox on the cairn. Head back down the way you came.

Notes:
As it rains a lot in this area, the trail is most likely seldom dry. Due to the narrow trails, small bushes will touch your legs throughout the hike. In addition, boggy ground and wetlands will test if your boots are really water-proof. Dress appropriately.
Most of the trail will be impossible to see in deep snow, but as long as one stays high on the ridges, it shouldn't be difficult to find the way.

Trip Report Feb 10 2002:
The weather forecast was predictable. Snow, fog and rain. For these kind of days, I hike the lower mountains of courtesy to the dog. (Sounds like bragging? Honestly, I've grown used to hiking in shitty weather. I don't mind, except for the pictures). Fjellsbø was easy to the find, but I took the wrong trail from the parking, and was chased away by a bitchy old woman living in the first house.
Back at the parking, a young boy came along, and he pointed me towards the trail. He must have had doubt in my ability as a hiker, as he insisted to lead me all the way up to the mast (a 30min. hike). He looked like he wanted to come all the way to Selifjellet, but I had to chase him down as I watched the "big white" coming in. 10 minutes later it was snowing heavily.
It was the kind of day where the weather shifted every 20 minutes, and when I finally reached Reikeråsloftet, I had a nice view towards the great Masfjorden mountains. Troll had been a good dog and walked up to Selifjellet, but I had to put him in the backpack as I left the trail, and crossed major boggy ground on the way to Reikeråsloftet. After the short stop, another "big white" came along, and I returned to the trail.
Troll, back on the ground, knew we were heading home, and had a major disappointed look when he realized we were hiking towards another mountain. He took the "50 meters behind" attitude, but made it all the way up to Skausnøyi. For Troll, every bit of the trail was a small challenge. Low bushes beating on his face, water up the chest when crossing wetlands, and mud every where else.
Heading home, he took the "50 meters ahead" attitude, and knew this return was for real. We were back at the car 4 hours and 15 minutes after we left it. The GPS indicated a 12,7Km round-trip. Not bad for a day where most sane people would stay indoors.