Vesle Nup
Welcome to Hardangervidda.
I have been dreaming about the Hardangervidda plateau for a long time. And even though I have already managed to touch it, climbing the Troll Tongue or traversing the Queen Sonja Hiking Trail, I haven’t fell I am at right place until now.
I decided to visit Haukelifjell in one spontaneous thought. I’ve been at Haukeli before, but only once I managed to go to the mountains there. Description of that trip can be found here. This time I chose a lonely mountain, rising up at the southern end of the Hardangervidda plateau. The hill is called Vesle Nup and it has 1510 m above sea level.
Getting to Vesle Nup is not too demanding, the route from the Haukeliseter lodge has only 6 km. But from the top there is an amazing panorama of the plateau. Isolation the mountain from other peaks in the area makes the view really extensive and in good weather you can stare at the horizon for hours. And this day there was probably the best weather during this fall. Forecasts predicted 20 degrees and clear sky. And it really was warm during the day.
The trail starts at the Haukeliseter Fjellstue lodge, just along E134 road. The first stage is overcoming a 100-meter-high slope. Behind your back is an amazing view of the Ståvatn Lake and mountains on its other side. The reward for ending the slope is the vastness of the plateau. During the trip you can see two characteristic mountains on west: Store Nup with a vertical southern wall and Verjesteinsnuten. Both outnumber Vesle Nup by more than 100 m. The path, marked by the Norwegian Tourism Association (NDT) does not lead directly to the summit and leads deep into the plateau. However, when approaching the mountain, just follow the small mounds of stones to get to the place.
Pictures will describe this view better than words.
