Norwegian Mountains, Sogn og Fjordane
Fodnes - Vetanosi - Lærdalsøyri on foot, May 23 2010
To the main Vetanosi page (maps, route descriptions, other trip reports, etc.)
The route from Fodnes
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Not really knowing anything about Vetanosi, the mountain had never been a priority on my (virtual) to-do list. But when Anne Rudsengen made me aware of the Fodnes - Vetanosi - Lærdalsøyri walk, my interest quickly grew. We agreed to do this walk already the upcoming Sunday, OK weather permitting.
Come Sunday, we drove to the Mannheller ferry, with Gråbrørne as plan B in case Vetanosi was fogged in. As we arrived at Mannheller, we could see that the fog hung thick above Bermålsnosi - Vetanosi's higher neighbour. But Vetanosi (barely) stayed in the clear, so we decided to proceed. With good luck and fortune, the fog would lift during our ascent and everything would be honky dory fine...
Vetanosi in the morning
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We left the Fodnes trailhead 11:23am and had a nice walk up the forest path. An important part of Norwegian history was witnessed through the foundations of the Oslo - Bergen telegraph line - work in progress at the end of the 19th century. Caretakers have put up signposts along the path; Erikhaugen, Grisegarden, Lisbethaugen, Olavskjelda, etc. It was quite apparent that someone has a strong love for this route...
Telegraph foundations
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The path followed Vetanosi's west ridge up to 720 MSL. Then the direction changed to the northeast. We followed the path until we realized that it would take us to Fagerset. This meant that the path on the GPS map was inaccurate, and we concluded that we wanted to stick to the ridge all the way to the top.
Rising above the forest, the mighty Sognefjorden (and its side arms) blended us with all of its beauty. The green water (algea, not glacier melting water) added an extra dimension, and the hike up the ridge was nothing but pure joy.
Mighty Sognefjord!
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We reached Vetanosi summit 1:36pm - 2h:13m after heading out. Quite out of the ordinary, reaching the summit was merely a parenthesis to the hike, knowing that the highlights would be the ascent and the descent. From Vetanosi, we could only see mountains hidden in fog. In other words, not very exciting and we moved on after a short stay.
We couldn't see any paths near Vetanosi, so we headed off-trail along the southeast ridge - expecting to find a path further down the forest. We passed a tiny cabin (Tråna) (1030 MSL), and this was the most exciting moment until we found the marked path just east of Lomtjørn. The path took us south/southeast to Åsen, where we signed the visitor's register. Then we continued down the forest until we reached the Synshammar viewpoint (720 MSL).
Lærdalsøyri seen from Synshammar
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Further down in the forest, we reached the Stødno/Hedlerstegen fork, and we turned right onto Hedlerstegen. Exposed as it was at times, Hedlerstegen became the highlight of the trip. And I have not forgotten about the green fjords...
Along Hedlerstegen
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After passing a very interesting boulder area, the trail turned more gentle through Mjølkeflaten before it ended at Jektesanden by Lærdalsfjorden. After a short walk along the river, we were on the bridge across Lærdalselva and it was time to figure out how to get back to Fodnes.
Anne seemed to be in the mood for hitch-hiking, but I wasn't. After discussing the matter, she let me have it my own way and I called Lærdal Taxi for a cab. 10 minutes later, we were on the way back to Fodnes, and just reached the ferry. As this ferry runs every 20 minutes, it didn't exactly feel like winning the lottery, but still ... I hate watching ferries leave as I arrive...
Lustrafjorden
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Man, what a splendid walk, and what a privilege it is to be able to explore this wonderful part of Norway! Many thanks to Anne for showing me this route!
