Dronningruta in Øksnes
In Norwegian by Anne Margrete Torseter
The hiking trail was waymarked with red letter Ts by the Trekking Association in 1992. Stø is both the starting and ending point and forms a circular path along the mountain range. You can also follow a T-marked side path departing from the main trail and down to Nyksund.
Stø is an active fishing village on the northern tip of Langøya, Norway’s third largest island, and belongs to Øksnes municipality in Vesterålen.
The main route is 15 km, and 6 hours is usually estimated from start to finish on guided tours led by the Trekking Association. This includes food breaks and other small ones just to take in the impressive views. Due to its location on the northern end of the Langøya island, you can enjoy the view of the sea throughout almost the whole length of the path, even from the mountains. Down in the valley, the sunlight is reflected in the freshwater lakes.
The usual starting point is at the end of the road in Stø, where you will find a parking area and an information board about Dronningruta. From there you walk for an hour along the sea in a mostly flat terrain. Along the way you will pass an idyllic sandy beach, the evidence of a longhouse from the Viking Age, an impressive pebble beach, and a great lean-to shelter/”gapahuk” (built by volunteers in 2012). In the final part of the first section of the trail, 20 meters of planks were laid out on the path in 2007, as the ever-increasing number of hikers had made the trail extra muddy.
Photo: Halvard Kr. Toften
Photo: Halvard Kr. Toften
From the bottom of the valley and up to the mountain pass, the trail has been placed diagonally through the only stretch of forest. When you reach the mountain pass, the trail splits into two. From here, the mentioned side path goes down to Nyksunddalen. A couple of years ago, the Trekking Association waymarked a new path from the pass and down the valley. The great number of hikers throughout years had led to substantial erosion of the landscape where the old one was located. This side path leads onto the main road towards Nyksund and can also be used as a starting point for Dronningruta. There you can find an information board about the hiking trail, and a small parking area. To walk from the pass and down to the car road takes about half an hour.
For the hiker who prefers to continue along the main path from the pass, follow the red Ts up the mountain side until you reach a wide moorland; Sløykmarkheia (also called Nyksundheia). The section of the path between the pass and the moorland is the steepest of the whole trail, and you might want to use your arms to support yourself in the climb. At this point you will have a view down to two valleys. The amount of people using the trail has made it gradually erode into the terrain and created a greater height difference than originally was the case. Halfway to the top, the trail joins in on an old sheep track with views down on the Langvaddalen valley. Here the slope is quite steep, so the Trekking Association have fitted a rope on a section of the path where some hikers have felt unsafe.
When starting the descent from Finngamheia you will cross a low pass where you will get a view of the Langvaddalen valley, before continuing along the slope of Sørkulen (517 m.a.s.l.). It is also possible to take a detour over the top of Sørkulen instead of following the waymarked path over the slope. After passing Sørkulen, you will be turning north and follow the mountain range while facing the sea and Stø. To the right you can see Gavlfjorden towards Andøya, and down in other valleys and fishing lakes. The rolling mountain range, consisting of Kjølen, Kjølheia og Gjuraheia, leads you in the direction of Stø. The old path used daily by workers at the radar station on Valaksla (built in 1961), is the last descent of Dronningruta. The watchmen originally used the path all year around. Back then they had help of a handrail made out of chains. Today, there is an asphalted road and tunnel (completed in 1993) through the mountain and leading to the now automated station. You reach the car road in Stø about 200 meters before its end, and where you started walking earlier in the day.
Pars of the waymarked trail follows an old walking and transportation route between Stø and Nyksund. Until 1939, the children in Nyksund had to go all the way to boarding school in Stø for tuition. They were among the regular users of the trail.
Higher up in the mountains, the path sometimes follows sheep tracks. However, the hiker should pay attention to whether it is waymarked with red Ts. One will encounter many sheep tracks that are not part of our trail.
Her Majesty Queen Sonja completed the hiking trail for the first time in 1994, and the people of Øksnes did not hesitate to name it after her; the Queen’s Route – Dronningruta. The name has stuck ever since.
Photo: Halvard Kr. Toften
Photo: Reidar Bertelsen, 2016.
The cultural heritage trail
Av Reidar Bertelsen, professor i arkeologi
By Reidar Bertelsen, Professor of Archeology
Dronningruta is one of the most used hiking trails in Vesterålen. The combination of the section of the route running along the shore from Stø to Nyksund, and the one over the rolling mountains on the way back to Stø, creates a powerful experience of mountains meeting the sea. When the weather is good, one can enjoy the view of the Great Sea and the northern part of Vesterålen. I have yet to meet anyone who is not overwhelmed by the sight. In addition to seeing the wilderness of nature up-close, one gets close contact with the paradoxical lushness caused by the age of the mountains and the erosion occurring during the Ice Age. The power of the sea and of the weather after the ice ages have also left distinct traces. This is enough to produce an abundant and unforgettable experience.
The terrain also offers additional astounding experiences for the observant hiker. Others have been here before us and left their marks. It is especially the northern part of the trail along the shore, from Stø to Vargnesset south of Skipssanden where the landscape is rich in cultural heritage. The area was deserted after the Black Death, giving nature 670 years to remove the traces of any settlement. Consequently, they are not very clear and easy to identify for the untrained eye. Although hundreds of years have passed since the last people lived here, it is surprising how long of a time period these cultural heritage sites cover. The oldest remains of houses may date back as far as to the Older Stone Age, and it is likely to believe that people have been living here until the Middle Age, perhaps for 8-9,000 years.
300 meters further along the path, you can see a small oval house ruin. It is located about 3x2m below the trail, where the land slopes down to sea level towards the northwest. 150 meters further along you can see a small cluster of three house ruins on the flat about 80 meters west of the trail. Between the first and the latter three house ruins, there is a natural landing place in a gap in the smooth rock slopes leading down to the sea. This feature is called Melkarstøa (roughly translated to “milking landing place”), probably because people from Stø came rowing here to milk their cows on pasture. The landing place is presumably the most important explanation for why the four house ruins can be found so close by. If steered by a skilled fisherman, a slender boat could quickly get out on sea and safely back again. The location of the house ruins gives us a clear indication of what the earliest people who came to this area lived off. Seals, whales, fish and seabirds have been the most important sources of nutrition, and there is hardly any stretch of sea along the Norwegian coast richer than right here. However, at the same time, the area is highly exposed for the harsh climate, leading to the assumption that only a few days during the winter were suitable for using the boat. None of the sites with house ruins have been examined formally, making us guess which time period it dates back to; the Stone Age seems the most likely.
Photo: Reidar Bertelsen, 2016.
Photo: May Britt Helgesen
Furthest south of the bay, where the trail reaches the pebble beach, lies a group of cultural heritage sites that are far better preserved. If you stop and turn your gaze downhill, you can see a slight hollow in the pebble beach. These are traces of a landing place which has hardly been used in the last 6-700 years. As a result, it is almost filled with stones carried by the sea. On the other side of the trail you can see a depression in the terrain; a boat-house plot. If you walk up to the grassy hilltop above the boat-house ruin, you are on top of a mound consisting of the remnants of a settlement located on the same site for hundreds of years. Beneath the sod lies the remains of houses and waste from humans and animals from at least five hundred years of continuous settlement. Charcoal from the surface of the mound is radiocarbon dated to the mid-1300s, i.e. roughly the time of the Black Death. The Norwegian term “gårdshaug”, directly translated into “farm mound”, is inadequate to describe the mound found here, because it implies the type of settlement was a farm. The occupiers lived to a greater extent off food from the sea, but did also have livestock like cattle, sheep and goats. They might even have had pigs. Historical literature refers to such households as “fiskerbønder” or “fisher-farmers”. However, this is also misleading, since the wife often carried out the farming whilst the husband took on the fishing. “Boplasshaug”, or “settlement mound” in English, is a more suitable term to describe such cultural heritage sites. This mound is small, only about 40 metres across, but it is well preserved. During spring and early summer, it is particularly visible because the vegetation here is lusher and turns green well before the surrounding areas. This is due to the fact that at least the first metre of the top-soil of the mound is rich and nutritious.
Photo: Reidar Bertelsen, 2016.
Photo: Reidar Bertelsen, 2016.
The cultural heritage sites are exposed to attrition, both from nature itself and from us who use the areas. Be careful and avoid causing further damage. Vandalism is punishable by the Cultural Heritage Act, but do not let it prevent you from being astonished by the traces of those who have been here before us.
The cultural heritage sites of Skipssanden are important because they give us a deeper insight into a way of life which seems a bit strange to us, even though there is a clear connection to the foundation of the community in Øksnes today. There are also many interesting traces of historical settlements spread across other parts of Dronningruta. We will get back to these another time.
Photo: Halvard Kr. Toften
Photo: Halvard Kr. Toften
A changing landscape
In the period between about 16,000 and 6,000 before present (BP), the sea was below the current sea level. At about 10,000 BP (when the first people came here), the shore was over 20 metres lower than today. Consequently, most traces are today covered by the sea. In the period 6,000-3,000 BP, the sea was higher than the current level, up to 5 metres. After this, it has been rather similar to today’s level. However, now the sea rises again.