Buerbreen is a glacial arm off the east side of the Folgefonna icefield near Odda, accessible through a relatively easy and interesting hike with excellent views to the glacier en route. We’d already hiked up to the west side of the icefield at Fonnabu, and after hiking to Buerbreen we’ve now stood on both sides.

Below are highlights from September 2, 2020. Click any image for a larger view, or click the position to view the location on a map. And a live map of our current route and most recent log entries always is available at mvdirona.com/maps.

7000 Hours on Gen Position: 60°4.18’N, 6°32.66’E Our generator has been used a lot this year and just crossed 7,000 hours. It’s been running great since the cylinder head and injector replacement 265 hours back. The big service that still needs to be done is the rear main oil seal change. It was a real mess for the 2 months leading up to the cylinder head change. The rear main oil seal leaked into the generator cooling fan area which sprays it everywhere. We decided to defer the rear main seal change until the winter when we have more time. It has since stopped leaking and hasn’t leaked anything in over 100 hours. We’re sure it’ll be back—rear main oil seals don’t “get better”—but it’s wonderful to have the generator back to the sparkling clean and white and we’ll happily defer the rear main oil seal change to when it starts leaking again.

Odda Position: 60°4.17’N, 6°32.70’E Dirona moored in beautiful Odda at the head of Sorjforden off Hardangerfjord.

Trailhead Position: 60°2.67’N, 6°28.49’E At the trailhead for the hike up to the Buerbreen, two glacial arms off the Folgefonna icefield. We’d hiked up to the west side of the icefield from Sundal, and today we’ll hike up to the east side from Odda.

Campsite View Position: 60°2.67’N, 6°28.24’E Most of the trail had great views to Nedre Buerbreen, the southern of the two glacial arms. This is looking from the camp site not far from the trailhead.

Cableway Position: 60°2.67’N, 6°28.10’E We’ve seen several cableways like this in Norway, with the cables strung way high up in the hills, to bring wood down from the mountains.

Bridge Position: 60°2.73’N, 6°27.24’E Crossing a small bridge across a creek en route to brought us across the flow from a tributary.

Lunch Position: 60°2.72’N, 6°27.21’E Lunch below steep cliffs alongside another river en route to Buerbreen.

1518 ft Position: 60°2.70’N, 6°27.04’E Another view to Nedre Buerbreen from 1518 ft (462 m) as we get closer.

Suspension Bridge Position: 60°2.68’N, 6°26.91’E We’re be hiking along the river Buerdalen, at right, that drains meltwater from the glacier into the big lake Sandvinvatnet directly south of Odda. This Beautiful suspension crosses a tributary.

Climbing Ropes Position: 60°2.60’N, 6°26.75’E Climbing ropes at some steeper parts of the trail to Buerbreen.

2248 ft Position: 60°2.56’N, 6°26.45’E Getting closer to Nedre Buerbreen at 2248 ft (685 m). It’s really a spectacular sight.

Nedre Buerbreen Position: 60°2.62’N, 6°26.22’E The DNT-marked (Norwegian Trekking Association) trail ended at the base of Nedre Buerbreen, but we continued east towards the northern arm, Ovre Buerbreen. This is the view to Nedre Buerbreen en route.

Between Glaciers Position: 60°2.58’N, 6°26.26’E James perched on glacial-scoured cliffs between Nedre Buerbreen (left) and Ovre Buerbreen (right).

Ovre Buerbreen Position: 60°2.66’N, 6°25.98’E The trail to Ovre Buerbreen was marked with faded orange blazes that we were mostly able to follow. We couldn’t see much of the glacier until it suddenly burst into view as we crested a hill.

Ice Patterns Position: 60°2.67’N, 6°25.95’E Close-up to the fabulous ice patterns at the top of the Ovre Buerbreen glacier.

Glacier Edge Position: 60°2.67’N, 6°25.78’E Looking along the edge of the Ovre Buerbreen glacier. As at Fonnabu, it was super-exciting being so close to the glacier.

Ice Chunks Position: 60°2.67’N, 6°25.78’E Huge chunks of ice that have fallen from the Ovre Buerbreen glacier. This is a good place not to linger for long. :)

On the Glacier Position: 60°2.69’N, 6°25.70’E We’ve now walked on both sides of the Folgefonna icefield, here and at Fonnabu. The only thing left would be to take the tourist route all the way across, but that requires ice equipment plus two overnight cabins stops.

Mountain View Position: 60°2.68’N, 6°25.70’E Clear view to the mountain ranges southeast of Odda as we begin our descent from Ovre Buerbreen glacier.

Cairn Army Position: 60°2.64’N, 6°27.80’E A small portion of the cairn army alongside the river Buerdalen as we near the Buerbreen trailhead after completing another exceptional Norwegian hike.

Click the travel log icon on the left to see these locations on a map, with the complete log of our cruise. On the map page, clicking on a camera or text icon will display a picture and/or log entry for that location, and clicking on the smaller icons along the route will display latitude, longitude and other navigation data for that location. And a live map of our current route and most recent log entries always is available at mvdirona.com/maps.