Knuten is a 110 metre hill right above Mefjordvær, a fishing village on the Mefjord on the northwest coast of Senja. We walked it on 7 September 2022. It is the easiest hike we have done in Norway so far, and there is actually a recognizable trail.
According to ut.no the starting point is the football ground of Mefjordvær, where you can park. A second route description on ut.no explains how to get there. You drive to the breakwater, then up Brakkeveien, through a small turning area and along a narrow road to the old football ground. According to Mefjord Brygge there is a picnic area up by the football ground. None of the sources says whether parking costs anything.
According to Arctic Norway the path is clearly marked from the football ground. According to ut.no you follow the clear track to a fork and there go right along the ridge to Knuten. According to OpenStreetMap a second path leaves this fork heading west towards Skøyteneset. On our track it is 0.43 kilometres and about 74 metres of ascent from the car park to the summit, so 0.86 kilometres there and back. The sources give a little more. ut.no has 0.6 kilometres and 71 metres of ascent one way, nardieshuis.no 1.1 kilometres and 74 metres of ascent, without saying whether that is one way or there and back.
On our day the weather in the morning is not so good. We have an unhurried breakfast and edit photos. Around noon we see a few rays of sunshine, so we head out right away and do the closest easy hike, Knuten. It takes just under 15 minutes. Whether that was only the climb or there and back, we did not record. The sources allow more time: Mefjord Brygge gives about 30 to 45 minutes, ut.no about one hour and Arctic Norway about one hour there and back.
The view from the top is very nice. We look at the village of Mefjordvær, the sea and misty mountains. On the summit stands a cairn. According to a tip on komoot the summit stone carries a memorial plaque, and across the fjord you can see Hesten and Segla. In September the tundra is already autumn red, and a small lake lies in a hollow below the ridge.
According to ut.no you can carry on from Knuten to the navigation light by the sea, which Kartverket lists under the name Medfjorden. Mefjord Brygge describes the way back via the lighthouse as a variant. Our track only goes up Knuten and back the same way.
The sun is gone as fast as it came, it starts to drizzle, and we leave Knuten again. On the way back we visit the café Senja Lounge, where our landlady works, and do some shopping in the only grocery store for miles. ut.no gives the season as June to September. According to Mefjord Brygge the picnic area by the football ground has no light pollution and is good for watching the northern lights.
