If you find yourself in Senja, Norway this is a hike that is not to be missed. For us this was an accident hike, we were on our way to the hike Segla which is ranked #1 among many people’s hiking lists, unfortunately, the road from where we were staying was closed due to a rock slide so we had to turn around and luckily I had this Husfjellet hike downloaded as a backup plan. I had read about Husfjellet many times and it was said to give very similar views as Segla if not better and oh man did it deliver. This was one of the most amazing hikes I have ever done! We headed to the town of Skaland where we parked at this church just past the general store and campground in town. Took the narrow trail past a white house up to the trailhead. From there it was about a mile walk in a fern and tree forest till we got above the tree line and the views started opening up. It had rain the day prior so the trail was a bit muddy and unfortunately there were a lot of flies, but the sun was shining and the temps were perfect so we couldn’t complain. We chose to do this hike as a loop instead of the more popular out and back. choosing to do it as a loop requires about 2 miles extra of hiking along the road back to your car. However the views going down the loop trail were pretty amazing so I would suggest doing it this way if you have time and the energy to do so.
Right from the beginning this trail starts climbing and really does not let up until you reach the top. There is a bit of tree cover the first 1/2 mile other than that it is pretty exposed and if it has rained recently it will be very muddy. At about halfway to the op you reach a clearing and the summit of Sommardalen that offers up some amazing views and could be an alternative finish point if you are finding that the trail is a little to muddy or challenging to continue on.
From this point you can see the summit and when looking at it, it may look incredibly far but it is closer than it looks and there are plenty of rest points to stop and soak in the amazing views as you continue to get higher and higher. We did this hike in late June and there was still a little patch of snow right before the summit, nothing to be alarmed by. Once you make it to the summit you are rewarded with a 360 view of the Senja peninsula. To the left the jagged peak of Ramnen that seem to jet right out of the sea and to the right the town of Hamn and the turquoise blue waters that are sprinkled with the most picturques islands throughout, and giant snow capped peaks in the distance. It’s truly a one of a kind experience being at the summit of Husfjellet on a clear sunny day. We stayed up on the summit for about 30 minutes eating snacks and admiring the view.
To take the loop trail down you hang a right at the plateau section right before the summit and traverse down the northern ridgeline till you get the the saddle of Skinnarmen. You then take a narrow trail left towards Bovaer down to the road. Once at our car we decided to stop at the only store in town for some ice cream and cold drinks before heading back to Hamn. The loop trail was 6.82 miles, 2,410 feet of elevation gain and took us 4 hours to complete.
