Offersøykammen

Today is Sunday, and it is supposed to be rather rainy, except in the early afternoon. We make the most of that and head straight off to Offersøykammen after breakfast. It is another great hike we can do near here. After Reinebringen, Mannen and two hikes to Kvalvika Beach, we still can’t get enough of the beautiful views of the many fjords, mountains and the sea.

Offersøykammen stands on Vestvågøya, the island east of Flakstadøya, where Ramberg is. Between the two islands lies the Nappstraumen, and the E10 runs through a tunnel just under 1.8 kilometres long beneath the sound. The mountain rises directly above the Nappstraumen, and the path starts on the E10.

The name contains Offersøya, a hamlet about 600 metres from the trailhead, and kam is Norwegian for comb but can also mean a rise in general. At 436 metres, Offersøykammen is barely lower than Reinebringen, which we climbed a little over a week ago. Instead of a stone staircase, a path leads straight up the slope here.

Technically this hike is rather easy, but it is steep all the way. On average the path climbs at a gradient of just under 40 per cent, gaining around 420 metres over a little more than a kilometre from the road. The sky is overcast. Even on the way up we get a fantastic view. But when we reach the very top, we are surprised once more by a wonderful view in a different direction.

Below us lie green peninsulas in turquoise water, bays, meadows and small lakes, with mountain ranges behind them. Across a dark blue fjord we look at a mountain massif under the clouds, and a few houses stand on the shore of the turquoise water. This hike is little known, and locals do it more often than tourists. That is why we would never have expected such a spectacular view.

We have our picnic way up high. Afterwards Nicolas would like to fly the drone, because we are all alone on the summit of this mountain and it would surely make for fantastic shots. Just before launching the drone, Nicolas notices that he has forgotten the batteries. Very annoying. They are fully charged, but they are in the car and not in the backpack… Never mind, we can enjoy the view without it too. We only get our shots from the summit in September 2022, when we come back with the batteries.

We soon start our descent, on the same path we came up. Rain is forecast for later in the afternoon, and we would rather not get caught in it on this steep path. Luckily we make it back to the car in time and stop to fill up on the way. Thanks to its hybrid drive, our car only needs 5.6 l/100km. As petrol is much cheaper in Norway at the weekend, today we buy our 25 litres of fuel.

No sooner have we arrived at our cabin near Ramberg than it starts raining and blowing wildly outside. We are glad to be back indoors and no longer on the mountain. So we make ourselves cosy and cook a potato gratin for dinner.

If you want to do the hike yourself, you can park at the Skreda rest area on the E10, a Norwegian Scenic Routes rest area looking towards the Nappstraumen. From there it is 700 metres north along the road to the trailhead.