Vakadalen
I didn’t plan any walking trips during this weekend. I had something else to do, the weather wasn’t ideal for going outside and besides, I wanted to let my aching legs rest . But when I looked out the window on Sunday and found out that there is quite nice, I decided to go on a walk. I pack up and dressed warmly very quick. I thought to go to Aurdal but before I get there I changed my mind. I was in Aurdal several times this year and walking there wasn’t fun anymore. Fortunately, I remembered about another quite flat and not so long route – Vakadalen.
Vakadalen is a valley, surrounded by mountains, situated near to Ølensvåg. Two roads lead there. One begins in place calls Vaka on the east side. The other goes from southwest, close to the trail to Ormåsen. I took the first one, because I knew that there is a parking place. The climbing to Vakadalen from Vaka has the additional advantage where you can enjoy beautiful views of Ølsfjorden, Skanevikfjorden, Etnefjorden and the mountains on the far north. Peaks Børkjenesnuten, Gaddanuten and Håfjelet which climbing over shoreline of Etnefjorden looks also amazing.
Uphill approach was not as flat as I remembered. But in the end, slope became more horizontal. In addition, the gravel road was covered with approx. 2cm layer of snow. I saw many footprints, which meant that the trail was very popular. I came to crossroads. Here began the loop running around the valley, so there was no matter which way I choose. I will end up here anyway. I went to the right. Soon, I passed another crossroad. This time, the branch road I passed led to the mountain Kjellasviknuten. I walked with the bottom of the valley on the left side and peaks Kåtanuten and Hovda in sight. I reached the end of Vakadalen soon. I passed the bench covered by snow, the road leading to Ormåsen and started to go the second half of the route.
Snow became to fall. First, there were single snowflakes, but soon it started to snow more and more. I had to wear the jacket and hide my head into the hood. In this way I reached the end of the loop and road leading towards Vaka. The lower I went down, the more snowfalls were replaced by rain. And when I was already at the car, it was pouring over.
The whole route, including the approach from the parking place has 8,6km. It took me less than 2 hours to walk in autumn – winter conditions. Not bad for a Sunday stroll.
This entry was originally posted 2016-11-21 on https://kraina-trolli.pl.
