Hovda 159m asl
I hiked on this hill completely by accident. And it is the story. For some time my car was making strange noises while driving and I started to suspect that the bearing in one of the front wheels was the case. I had contact with a good, and what is important, offering competitive prices mechanic, and as soon as we agreed on the repair date, I appeared in his area. He took the car from me and sent me for a walk so that I would not be bothered him at work. What could I do, I took my backpack with a photo camera and went on hike.
Innbjoa is a small town, although it is rather difficult to call it a town because of cluster of houses and farms only. However, it is picturesquely situated, right on the shore of the fjord. To the south, behind the pasture strip, there is a forest wall, rising along the slope of the terrain and turning into larger or smaller forested hills. From here, one of the trails leads to the highest mountain in a radius of several dozen kilometers, Gråhorga (740m above sea level). Recently, I was in this area and I even managed to hike on one hill nearby (Kyrkja). This time I just had to pass the time wandering around aimlessly as Innbjoa does not offer any tourist attractions. But when I got to the road leading to the waterfront, I saw something that immediately cheered me up.
Above one of the tree-covered hills I saw a weather vane. A huge black metal arrow above the treetops. It had to be installed on top of the hill, which meant that the top was not covered with trees. And if such a thing is mounted, then there probably is a path there. I pulled out my cell phone and looked carefully at the map of the area. Indeed, the hill was called Hovda, it was 159 m high and there was a path leading to it. It seemed close enough, so I decided to go uphill and see if I could catch a view of the fjord from there, between the trees.
The route is really neither long nor demanding. The path was well-trodden so I made it to the top without any problems. Even before I get there, I heard a terrible screeching noise. It was the sound of a wind vane spinning in the wind. The metal structure was definitely lacking of grease. Next to this 5 meters high piece of iron, there is a picnic bench. And in fact, the view from the hill was impressive.
After descending back to street level, I went to the marina, where the ferry (probably running on the Utbjoa – Sundnes – Kåravika line) moored. And from there I returned to the mechanic, where the repaired car was waiting for me.
