Hike description

Erdalssetra is one of our most beautiful summer farms. The landscape is open and free, but high, steep mountain walls are still not far away. Glaciers lie in the mountains and constantly send snow and rocks down the mountain sides, and the river runs in rapids down the valley. There is life in the landscape.

From the farm Greidung there is a toll road that bring you 2.2 km further in the direction of Erdalssetra and approx. 250 meters in hight. Here you can pay in cash or you can pay to:

Setrevegen i Erdalen
IBAN: NO0437951560368,
SWIFT/BIC: SOFJ 22

From the car park to the summer farm, it is approx. 1.7 kilometers and almost 130 meters in height to go.

You should allow two hours for the entire hike – from Greidung the double.

Sherpas from Nepal helped to restore the old path from the car park to the summer farm some years ago, and gravel has been laid on the path most of the stretch.

A short distance from the car park, the path splits. You can walk the old path past Loppeset, or you can follow a tractor road that has been built up in recent years. It won't be long before the two paths come together again.

Loppeset was a resting place for the girls and boys who went to the summer farm to milk the cows every afternoon and morning in the olden days, and they returned home every morning with the milk in a spesial milk pail on their back.

Further on, the path passes a stone that has stood there for many generations. With a little imagination, you can see a person, and the stone has been named Gryte-Pål. At all times, people have had a lot of fun with Gryte-Pål. You try to trick each other into bowing to him, but the tradition says that you should not salute Gryte-Pål!

Just before you get to Hesthammaren, you can see a small sign showing that here is the border with Jostedalsbreen National Park.

The name Hesthammaren comes from the fact that the horses used to graze in this area in the olden days.

When you have gone up the hill at Hesthammaren, the path flattens out. Here you can see straight towards Heimste Skadefonna on your right hand, a dangerous avalanche. In some years, this might be so large that it dams up the river and can cause damage further down in the valley.

Skadefonna often comes big in the middle of June. When it comes, it makes a very strong wind with a lot of snow and water in the air. Then it can be dangerous to stay in this area.

Den Fremste Skadefonna (see map) killed in ancient times cattles that sought their way home to this area early in the summer. The farmers then got together to build a wall to prevent this. This is called Muren (The Wall) to this day. They opened the wall after the avalanche had passed.

After a short stop, you continue up a steep hill, and then you are at Langesvodene. Here the path runs on rocky ground.

Midway on Langesvodene, you pass Tobakks-Jørn, a small rock on the right side. The tradition says that he should have some fresh "tobacco" as you pass.

Then you come to Sleipesvoda. "If you go out on Sleipesvoda, you'll fall, and you'll slide all the way down to the river." That's what the adults told the kids in olden times. Scaring the kids like this was not unusual a few generations ago.

Water usually flows down Sleipesvoda, and this makes it slippery. But there is no danger of slipping all the way to the river.

The path flattens out and you pass Kolhammaren. One can wonder if the name comes from the fact that coal has been burnt here in older days, but the most likely explanation is that the name comes from the dark colour.

When you arrive at Setresvoda, you can see the summer farm, and you are immediately there.

There are more information about the summer farm and cultural heritage in the PDF with hike description.