Børkjenesnuten, Gaddanuten & Håfjell

Børkjenesnuten and the two neighboring mountains lying on the shores of Etnefjord have fascinated me for a long time. The list of peaks I wanted to set foot on without these three would be incomplete. The last trip to Kjellesviknuen, which had a direct view of Børkjenesnuten, further fueled the desire to head towards Etne next time. The only problem was finding the right trail that would take me to all three peaks.

There is no such trail on the ut.no website. I only found a description of the route to the first one, Børkjenesnuten, leading from a small village called Aksdal. However, while searching the Internet, I found a route record leading through the peaks I was interested in. The length of the route was about 20 km and it took about 8 hours. It looked quite serious.

Etne is a small town through which the E134 road runs from east to west in Norway. Located in a valley at the end of a fjord and surrounded by mountains, it seems to be a paradise for mountain hikers. The popularity of the local trails is evidenced by the fact that in the Etne Mountains (Etne fjell) there are several cabins belonging to the Norwegian Tourist Association DNT.

However, the paths in the mountains on the northern side of Etnefjord are not marked with the characteristic red letter T.

Before seven in the morning I found myself in the car, driving along the fjord and looking for a place to park. The narrow road leading along the shore to Skånevik did not provide much opportunity to leave the car on the side of the road. This was not made easier by signs prohibiting parking at the entrances to private properties. I also didn’t find any parking space in the place where the trail start to Børkjenesnuten should be. I turned around and headed back to Etne. I reached the Øvstebo estate and took a side road leading up the hill. At its end there was a farm, rest houses and a parking lot for hikers going to the mountains. I decided that I might as well start my journey from this end.

The route starts at the gate, behind which grazing goats were waiting for me. Some of them, scared, jumped aside, others, curious, came closer. The road winding along the slope is covered with asphalt and along it there are signs with Norwegian sentences, benches where you can get some rest, paintings depicting cartoon characters and other funny elements. Despite the arduous ascending, the mood was high and I would like to thank the person(s) for decorating the route so creatively.

The road ends at the cabin, about 460 m above sea level. Right next to it, I passed a sign leading to an old road through the mountains, connecting Etne and Skånevik. I was heading towards my first goal, the Håfjellet peak (579 m above sea level). The path was difficult to find, but once I found it, I followed it until it led me to the southern edge of the mountain, where the climbing seemed to be the easiest. There I found another path leading to the top. Soon one third of my journey was accomplished.

Getting back to the path below the summit was easy, but it continued in a different direction than I intended to go. I continued my march towards the south-west, sometimes completely off the trail, sometimes finding some paths, probably trampled by animals. A lot of time passed before I saw the next peak, Gaddanuten (623 m above sea level). Here, enchanted by the views, I took a short break.

Unfortunately, there is no direct route from Gaddanuten to Børkjenesnuten. Both peaks are separated by the Aksdalen valley, descending from the south towards the fjord. Descending from the peak on which I was standing turned out to be possible only from the north side. I reached the gravel road that came from the north and ended there. Only then could I cross the narrow valley at this point and follow its course south, heading for the opposite slope. The route I found online also included the Sauanuten peak (499 m above sea level), but I was too tired to reach it. My main goal was Børkjenesnuten. I crossed the terrain, finding no path that would lead me to the mountain. I passed the shore of Lake Vasstølsvatent, from where I had an over 100-meter climb to the peak (634 m above sea level). I was exhausted when I finally set foot on the site. Børkjenesnuten has been achieved. I stayed at the top for a shorter time than before. A few photos and it was time to get going.

I loaded the route from ut.no on my phone, but it was completely off the trail, often along quite steep sections. Only near the lake did I come across a path. This led me to the forest and then to a wider road, which I took safely down to Aksdal. I found myself on an asphalt road, where in the morning I was trying to find a place to leave my car. Now, on flat and stable ground, I could go to Øvstebo and get into the car.

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