Klettaelva Traditional Cache
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(regular)
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Klettaelva used to mark the divide between the old "Valsøyfjord" and "Halsa" municipalities. It is mostly, though, a cozy creek with steep banks and the odd trout, despite a, still, symbolic value. This is also a large rest stop and a place to take in your lunch and some scenery?
Klettaelva collage
NORWEGIAN:
Klettaelva er elva som en gang gikk mellom Valsøyfjord kommune og Halsa kommune. Ennå i dag er det noen som kan finne på å spørre "hvilken side av Klettaelva bor du på?", men det er mer for moro skyld. En skal dog ikke så langt tilbake etter kommunesammenslåingen i 1965, før hvilken side av denne elva du kom fra kunne ha noe å si for hvordan du ble oppfattet av motparten.
ENGLISH:
Klettaelva (Kletta river) is actually more of a creek that runs from Steinsetertjønna (The Steinseter pond lake) further up the mountains. This creek used to mark the municipality border between Valsøyfjord and Halsa municipalities. The to municipalities (or "kommuner" in Norwegian) were merged in 1965, but a "hang-up" on "what side of the Kletta river" you lived, was common for many years after the merge. Today it is seen more of a joke, even though several local volunteer associations haven't combined forces yet. One will have two groups, doing the same kind of volunteer work, one for the "Valsøyfjord" side and one for the "Halsa" side. There is noe inhospitality, of course, but some things are still set in their ways.
Other groups have joined forces though, like the Halsa choir. They symbolically marked their joining together by walking towards eachother and singing on the old Klettaelva bridge. A bridge that used to be the only link between the two municipalities. Not many years ago, Halsa kommune (Halsa council) built a rest stop here. There is also access to a motor sport centre from this site.
Halsa
Halsa has it's pluses and minuses. Great nature. Beautiful scenery. Excellent hiking possibilities. Easy access to the main road along the Western coast (E39). Still, population is declining. Urbanization has hit Halsa harder than many other municipalities, even though people leaving for the cities is a problem in many rural areas in Norway.
Different areas of Halsa have very different identities. Valsøyfjord is an old industrial area and used to be the largest industrial centre in Møre & Romsdal county. Here, people from all over the world used to come to find work. The labour movement was very strong. Traditional boat building still stands strong here.
The other side of the Municipality (Halsa and Halsanaustan) was more proned to farming the land, land ownership and running timber industries. The labour movement was, therefore, not very strong here. One can still sense "remains" of that difference today.
Halsa is not spectacular at first glance (besides the scenery), but it is a very "honest" piece of rural Norway. And, as with most things, once you get to know the place, it actually is quite spectacular and has a very interesting history.
I therefore found making a kind of Halsa themed series was a fun cache project. There are/will be caches with short snippets of local history all over the municipality. At least one for each "grend" (village) and noticable site. If you are new to Norway, this example of a typical Norwegian municipality, everyday rural life and varied scenery, could make for an interesting experience and sightseeing.
Halsa has 1595 inhabitants and 300 sq. km. land mass, whereof 8 sq. km. is water. Halsa is also known for being the place where the world famous Killer whale "Keiko" swam to and stayed until he died some years ago.
The "Halsa" chapter in every cache decription will be identical.
FTF: MAJO36
BE CAREFUL when stepping down here. Don't want you to fall into the creek. It isn't deep, but rocks are hard. Be careful when putting the cache back, so that it is not too easily spotted, and sits well in it's place covered by the rock.
Happy caching!
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Oruvaq ebpx