Top of Segla, Mefjord straight below!
Segla is a beautifully-crafted peak along the east side of Mefjord. Its all in the name. You can't help but be mesmerized by its distinctive shape when seen from one of the other nearby mountains. For me, my first encounter with this stunner was on Breidtinden on the day before we went on the hike up Segla. So anyway, this was going to be our Sunday afternoon stroll in the mountains on the second day of the very excellent weekend trip to Senja with the fjellsportgruppa i Troms. It all started with a very laid back start, pulling back the zipper on the tent door and being greeted to the most wonderful sight of the beach at Ersfjord. It was all a bit too good to be true, and my spirits were only marginally dampened by the fact I had to drink instant coffee on this morning because I didn't have a mobile filter coffee machine. But what else is there to be said - sacrifices have to be made sometimes eh? The rest of the group had not yet woken up to the gloriously warm and sunny day, and so I spent the next two hours laying on my thermarest in the morning sunshine and reading my new issue of Fjell og Vidde. Perfect.
Right, that's the pre-amble to the hike done with. Finally, after taking it easy for far too long, we reluctantly packed away and got back into the cars for the drive to Fjordgård. It wasn't too long, and we were parked up in virtually no time at all. It was sooooo warm outside though, I think my car temperature sensor was indicating nearly 20 degrees! Shorts and sports vest was just the job for these kind of conditions. The trail was pretty well marked, since it was one of the Lenvik Ti på Topp hikes, and so it would have been almost impossible to get lost on the way up the mountain. Initially it was an easy gradient passing through the trees and leading up to the slight plateau at the crest of the ridge connecting Segla to Heia (further to the south). We took a short break here before grinding on with the steep pull up to the top. It wasn't really that bad, but after not sleeping that well and being now the 5th hike of the week, my leg muscles were having to try hard not to give up on me. Still, since there was really no hurry, I went on at a pace I could keep on at rather than trying to keep up with the insanely fit companions who were steaming up the mountain at full power ahead of me. It was a clear difference in fitness between those who had been skiing all winter and those (i.e. me) who hadn't yet discovered the ski addiction..... The sky was by this point a little more clouded over, as the weather forecast had predicted, but it was still warm - and in some ways it was actually a bit more pleasant for hiking because the sun wasn't quite so strong. Just before gaining the summit, the impossibly steep west-facing wall of the mountain came into view in all its glory. The more curious of us decided it would be pretty cool to crouch and peer over the edge of the peak and straight down into the fjord. It was brilliant - not to mention it made a good pose for photos too!! Many oohs and aahs followed before sitting down at the top to have some lunch and take the obligatory summit shots, but after that it was a quick descent all the way down to the fjord, or thats how it seems at the time. It was a really good little peak to finish off the weekend with, and done just in the nick of time - because by the time we'd arrived back at the ferry queue at Botnhamn, some spots of rain had already started to fall. Quite satisfying when it works out like that isn't it?
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