Skarstadsfjellet, first in a series about a great vacation
After 20 days on the road I am now back on the web. All in all it was brilliant, 20+ days in the mountains, some of them on old favorites and some of them on new grounds. A lot of laughs were had, and a lot of pics were taken. Some of those pics and the rides rides they were snapped on will be described here, one at a time and in no particular order, starting with a brilliant late afternoon ride at Skarstadsfjellet, close to Efjord in northern Norway.
Skarstad is not a place one usually drives past, it is situated literally on the end of the road. The only reason we came was that we got a tip in the very nice outdoor store in Lödingen, promising slickrocks and “the most beautiful fjord in Norway”. We arrived late in the afternoon, tired and hungry from driving and having our eating rhythm disrupted by ferries. The village itself is tiny, some twenty houses scattered along a road and what appeared to be a closed camp site. There was some happening going on, with the locals having a barbecue in the minute harbor. Lucky for us, since we got som very good directions for the trailhead, and also for a couple of other awes rides, thanks a lot!
Skarstadsfjell is 527m high, and the trail goes practically down into the fjord. It is very well marked once one know where to look, just start by the camping site and follow the white rings up on the ridge.
Maria pushing in the sunset
The higher one goes, the more rocks
The trail stops right at the summit
Me having that summit feeling
The day had been mainly overcast, but the skies were clearing just enough to let the evening sun through, adding a fantastic light to the already spectacular views.
The trail is half slickrocks and half alpine singletrack, all of it very good and most of it not very difficult, with just a few steeper bits, but mainly just flowy trails with a nice easy gradient. There was a bit of chill in the air, as the setting sun did not provide much in terms of heat, but nothing a light shell jacked couldn’t cope with. Playing around on slickrocks is just plain addictive, and the gorgeous light did not make matters worse. For once we took our time on the way down, snapping pictures and riding some sections over just because it was fun.
Perfect playful trail
Following the trail down into the fjord
Trails, slickrocks and orange clothes
Magic light
A very nice little mountain, we spent approximately 2 hours on the whole ride, but of course as is always the case with good slickrocks there is no upper limit on how much time one can spend playing around. The nice lady at the campsite let us use the showers even though theywere officially closed, thanks a lot! A perfect ending to a long day on the road, and nice change of scenery from the ultra steep, fall line vertical madness that is Lofoten. Ah, a bit of a teaser for what is to come, exciting isnt it?
Big thanks go to Maria for letting me tag along in her van, climbing countless mountains with me, and last but definitly not least for letting me use some of her great pics, cheers!