How to get there:
The best place to start is the small farm community Bygstad.
From the south, drive 15 km north from Vadheim (about 3 hours from
Bergen) along E-39 towards Førde.
Make a left on Hwy. 610 in Sande and continue 10 km to an intersection
called Osen. Make a sharp right here across a bridge and continue on a smaller
road.
The road narrows and takes you along the inner part of
Dalsfjorden shortly before Bygstad where the road forks.
From the north, you must drive
about 13 km south along E-39 from Førde then 12 km to the right along
Hwy. 57 in order to reach this intersection.
Measure from here and
continue west (left) along the fjord, the sign says Laukeland.
The road heads inland towards the very impressive face of Kvamshesten.
After about 1.9 km, locate a small road that goes right. Turn onto this
road, drive by a house on your left, and turn left after
about 200 meter. This road is the first going left after the previous
intersection. Head up the hill towards a house, make a right turn and continue
along this road that now turn into a forest road. There are two gates along the
road that must be opened and closed behind you. After about 3.2 km from your
start of measurement (or about one kilometer along the forest road), the road crosses
the creek just before the second gate. Continue less than 100 meter and park without
blocking the road. This is the best trailhead for this route. Route description:
From the parking area, continue along the forest road, do not go left.
The road is fairly level heading east, before switching left and gradually
gaining more elevation. The road ends near the creek at a place that seems
almost perfect for a camp site.
The route continues along a trail that heads our slightly to your left
and more or less follows the right hand side of the river. The farm cabins,
Kvamsstølen (470m) are nicely situated in the bowl that forms the end of
the valley. From here, head up the pretty obvious slope on the right side of
the river. There is a pretty good trail, but it may be hidden by patches of
snow (in the spring).
Comments:
I did this trip with my friend Arnt. We drove from Bergen at 0725, and started
hiking from the car at 1040. We made the farm cabins, Kvamsstølen (470m), after one hour and the top
of Kvamsskardet (680m) at 1210. The summit was reached in 4 hours at 1440. After 20 minutes enjoying
the 360 degree panorama, we started the return and reached the car at 1710, a 6.5 hour trip
in good spring weather.
Two hikers started out for Kvamshesten from Kvamsskardet at the same time, a single man (Kjartan) headed
towards Blægja. Later, at the narrow spot on the ridge,
we met Sunnfjord turlag (about 15 people) descending and later we caught up with them
back at Kvamsskardet. It is nice to see this many people enjoying such a fine day
in the mountains.