Ulvanosa 1246m asl
Ulvanosa, a peak of 1246 meters above sea level is located between Utåker and Uskedalen. The characteristic shape of the ridge makes the mountain quite popular in summer, when the snow cover has melted enough to make hiking possible. I noticed Ulvanosa the first time in May from the distance, when I hiked on mountains Kjellesviknuten and Børkjenesnuen. It looked like an inaccessible colossus, still covered with a thick layer of snow. And yet the characteristic shape with three distinct vertices captivated me so much that I decided to put my foot on the top of this giant.
Get Directions
There are two roads to the top. One from the south from Utåker, the other from the north from Uskedalen. Both more less the same length. I decided to climb from the south as I was closer to Utåker, where I get by the ferry from another small town, Skånevik. From the ferry in Utåker, I had just 5 kilometers to Tveitedalen Skisenter, where the trail started. According to information on the ut.no website, it was supposed to take me 3.5 hours to go up and go down should take a bit less.
I reached the parking lot at the Tveitedalen skisenter without any problems. I left the car and started my trip. The trail itself, according to ut.no, started a little bit further. The road took me along the lakeside and then split up and turn east. The trail to Ulvanosa should start from this place. And this „should” is the right word, because despite strenuous attempts, even with the ut.no application running, I did not find the path that should be there. Finally, I went through the forest, all the time with the phone in my hand, following the map. Usually the routes marked by DNT are visible and well maintained. This one was clearly the exception. Well, it didn’t actually exist. I finally managed to reach some unused road, covered with tall and wet grass. It was going in more less the same direction I was going, so I decided it was better than nothing, and I moved along it, making no further efforts to find the nonexistent path. The shoes were soaked with wet vegetation. My route has finally led me to the DNT route. Its routing suggested that it led from the lake, from the road I was walking earlier, but following the map in the phone, I turned to its eastern branch. Well, at least I’m on the right track now, I told to myself.
The road led uphill through the forest. It was not easy, but I stubbornly took the following steps, knowing that this was just the beginning. The real fun starts as soon as I pass the tree line. Soon, the wide road turned into a narrow path and after some time later I came out on a vast clearing. I saw a cabin in the distance. The cottage turned out to be a typical Norwegian cabin, but to my surprise it was not closed. A sign on the front wall said that door are always open to everyone. I could go inside and see the interior. It seems that the cabin was built from public money and indeed anyone can stay here for free. Quite interesting solution.
A few minutes later I was back on the trail. I was climbing with nice views around this time. I didn’t get very far when I saw the three hikers following my footsteps far behind me. The higher I climbed, the landscape around me changed more and more. The lush vegetation around the cabin gradually thinned and soon I was moving along less and less frequently trodden paths in the ground, and the trail led more often along the stones themselves. Soon, I lost sight of any specimens of flora and my steps were taken only by rocks. The area exactly as you can find on Gaustatoppen. A truly lunar landscape.
I came to a crossroad of the trail. One, the shorter, led directly to the summit of Ulvanosa, second, the longer to another peak on the way, Øktaredalsnuten. I decided that I would not go the easy way and chose the longer route. The longer trail seemed to be quite long. It took ages before I finally got to Øktaredalsnuten. It didn’t stand out with anything special. Only stones surrounded me, but the space and views were impressive. I didn’t stop being ‘chased’ by a group of hikers behind.
I kept walking. The route was very long again, and I realized that I have almost run out of water. The views that accompanied me were a consolation. The trail led me to the cliffs on the very ridge between the peaks. The amazing view aroused admiration for the works of nature. Soon I found a field of still unmelted snow. I took the opportunity and packed it into an almost empty water bottle. At least one less trouble, I moved briskly ahead. Soon, a characteristic mound of stones rose in front of me. I was at the top. As usual, I signed in the notebook hidden in a metal box and reached for the photo camera. While taking photos, another person who had been following in my footsteps so far arrived, a young girl with a dog on a leash.
It turned out that reaching the top and entering the notebook is not the end of the journey. There was another narrow ridge in front of me and three more peaks. I could have given up at this point and turned back, I finally climbed Ulvanosa. But I would probably be bothered by the fact that I gave up on something like that.
I took a sip of water, threw my backpack over my shoulders, and continued my way. The trail continued north to three more peaks. I was already walking for 4.5 hours. An hour more than what they say on ut.no. The road ahead seemed to be still long, and I still have to come back somehow. I passed hikers walking from the opposite direction and a moment later I reached another snow field. The scorching sun made me realize that I needed to fill the water bottle, even though I still had some reserve in it. You never known whether there will be an opportunity to refill water bottle. A few minutes later I saw a girl with a dog behind me. The same one I met at the top. She was fast so I let her pass. The dog was keeping pace with her, even though the terrain was getting more and more difficult. The trail did not go along the ridge, but slightly below the western, gentler slope. Probably for security reasons. But here, several dozen meters below it was not at all colorful. The large stones, resembled the last stretch of the trail to Gaustatoppen. The girl in front of me increased the distance between us every minute. I admired her condition and admired her dog, which was doing so well in such terrain. Soon the trail turned upwards. It seemed that it leads to the highest, middle peak of the three I seen earlier. It is called Geitadalstind.
When I get finnaly to the summit, a girl with a doggie was sitting on one of the stones resting after the climb. A moment earlier, one couple had arrived from the direction of Uskedalen, and they were resting too, admiring the view. There were a lot of flies flying around my face, and that was very frustrating.
And then the girl I was chasing for the last minutes surprised me. She got up and instead of turning back she continued on the trail descending to Uskedalen. How is that, I asked myself. Is she not coming back the same way? Maybe he has some transport there? And suddenly I realized that I do not want to go back the same way. Of course my car is left in the parking lot near Utåker, so if I don’t have any transport to pick me up, I have to go back.
I pulled out my mobile and found a bus schedule on the internet. God bless the technology in the XXI century. I found out that if I hurry up, maybe I can catch the bus at 4:48 pm that will take me to the quay at Utåker. It was 1:15 pm and it seemed to be a lot of time, but I knew that I had a long way to go. In addition, I had to descend from over 1,200 meters and my knees are just waiting to give me a shot of unpleasant pain while descending.
Wasting no more time I went down. On the way, I encountered a few groups wandering hikers in the opposite direction. The girl with the dog was just a tiny speck far ahead. As expected, my knees soon gave up. The road over the stones turned from tiring to torture. I ran out of water again, but I filled the bottle at the next snow field. Unfortunately, it didn’t melt as fast as I would like, so I had to melt it directly in my mouth. Slowly, the landscape began to change. Endless stones were replaced by vegetation. I found a stream where I replenished the fluids. There were also grazing sheep and finally the first trees. However, the map on the cell and GPS indicated that there was still a long way to go. I rushed myself. If I hadn’t catch the bus, I wouldn’t have another one until two hours. And I still have a walk to get the car in Utåker. And I also have to catch the ferry to Skånevik. I slowly began to regret my decision. Maybe it was better just to turn around than to go to Uskedalen.
Meanwhile, I entered into the forest. I was still struggling with the pain in my knees but I felt that I am closer to the end of this journey. Finally, after centuries of suffering, I ran out of the forest path to the parking lot and the gravel road, which was supposed to give me a little relief. Indeed, its slope was not that tiring and I could continue my walk relatively calmly without straining my knees. Soon, the road took me to the asphalt road, which I was supposed to reach Uskedalen. I was hoping to make it on time for the bus.
I got to the bus stop about fifteen minutes before it comes. Another challenge was the race with a running out the battery in the cell phone. Using the last percentages of power, I had to purchase a ticket. Luckily, it was successful, although no one checked my ticket during the ride. I got to the quay in Utåker with one change. I still had a long walk to get my car to Tveitedalen Skisenter. A bit up the hill by an asphalt road, and then the last 2 kilometers by a gravel road to the parking lot at the ski resort. I had run out of water on the bus, so my body was now using up deep reserves. I was relieved to greet the car waiting for me and the bottle of water in it. It was warm from the heated interior of the car, but I drank greedily anyway, as if it came from the mountain spring. Finally, I was able to get behind the wheel and drive to the ferry quay.
When I was there, it realized that I had to wait a whole hour for the next crossing. I spend this time thinking what should I eat for dinner, when I get home. Finally I decided for pizza and cold beer.
