Island hopping on the Sør-Helgeland coast
Peaks visited:
| Peak | Height | PF | Municipality | Location |
| Ravnfloget (Mindlandet) | 162m | 162m | Alstahaug | GPX |
| Rødøyfjellet (Tro) | 307m | 307m | Alstahaug | GPX |
| Trohatten (Tro) | 135m | 132m | Alstahaug | GPX |
| Veten (Hamnøya) | 278m | 278m | Vevelstad | GPX |
Summer vacation 2016 continued…
Ravnfloget (Mindlandet), 162m
Anne and I woke up to a beautiful morning in Sandnessjøen. Today would be island hopping day and we got up early and enjoyed a gorgeous sea view…
After breakfast, we checked out from our hotel in Sandnessjøen and drove to Tjøtta. We took the 8:15am ferry which went to Mindlandet first. We informed the ferry crew that they had to stop by the island to pick us up on their next trip – at 11am.
We took the east side road to a road for near Øvergården and parked by the school (Mindland skole). After a few minutes, we found a path that took us west up to the pass below Kruna. From here, we went off-trail up to the left and then into a small valley which we followed until we were at the foot of the island high point – Ravnfloget. We arrived there at 9:07am. Norgeskart.no has 163m as elevation, while Økonomisk Kartverk (which I normally rely on) has 162m.
It was a hot day and this was a beautiful place to be. We enjoyed ourselves, despite of the flies. We were well ahead of schedule and on the way down, we had time to let Karma take a swim in the small lake below Ravnfloget.
Once back in the car, we drove to Ervika and spent a few minutes there before we drove back to Mindtangen and waited for the ferry which would take us to the island Tro.
Pictures from the hike:
Rødøyfjellet (Tro), 307m
Trohatten (Tro), 135m
10 minutes after leaving Mindlandet (11:10am), we arrived on Tro island. We were not pressed for time on the hike to Rødøyfjellet – the highest point on the island. The ferry that fit our schedule didn’t return until 3:40pm.
We went to the left in the first fork and followed this road north to Rødøy (3,1km from the ferry). We parked by a power transformer, followed a path across the acre that led to a gate in the fence. From here on, the path was visible – or marked all the way up the mountain.
This mountain struck me as nothing like I’ve ever seen in Norway. Rødøyfjellet (Red island peak/top) carries its name deservedly, through its the red-ish color from the serpentine rock. If I was blindfolded and put on this island by a helicopter, my first thought after removing the blindfold would be the Canary islands.
The hike up the mountain was easy. We passed a family on their way up, but besides them, we saw no one else. The path took us up to a viewpoint cairn on the south side of the summit ridge. The high point (where the triangulation point is) is located 0,5km to the northeast. The view from the summit was second to none!
We took the same route down and arrived at the trailhead 12:48pm, after a 3,8km hike.
The island is more famous for its petroglyphs, and Anne went to locate the one with the skier that became the model for the pictograms at the Lillehammer Winter Olympics in 1994.
Meanwhile, I drove to Bøen on the south side of the island and located the path to Trohatten. There is a farm where the gravel road ends, and a tractor road continues down to the sea. I followed this road 100 meters, then went over to a summer house, through a gate on the back side of the house, crossed the acre and found the path where the forest begins. I followed the path up to the ridge, and joined another path (from the north) just before the summit. Because of the forest, I didn’t think I would get any views from the summit, but was pleasantly surprised.
Back in the car, I drove back to the north side of the island and talked to Anne on the phone. She had not located the petroglyphs and were on her way back to the road. I got there first and went looking for her. I went up a rock, overlooking the meadows and in the meantime, Anne had returned to the car.
Once reunited, we got back into the car and met some locals along the road (well, I think they were there only for the summer) who promised that signposts would be in place before the next summer. They told us about another petroglyph on the south side of the island, so we drove there and looked for it. But to no avail.
A bit fed up of chasing ghosts, we drove back to the harbor to wait for the ferry. We started talking to some of the others also waiting in line, and learned that there had been a festival for Shamanic drummers. Being quite a novice on the topic, I talked a while with a woman who was very passionate about this. I might be ignorant, but I soon felt there was a huge gap, if not a void, between my world and hers. Although it started out quite well, when I asked if angels were involved and she said she didn’t believe in them. I don’t know if angles exists, and I’m quite open to the idea that there is more between heaven and earth than … than anywhere else, but she really lost me when she added – “but dragons, on the other hand…”
She had a personal dragon. She had not seen it, but it was there – guarding over her. After all, she had personally created this dragon. There were many examples. At one time, she left her cup of coffee on the roof of the car, and when she arrived at her destination – many hours later – there was no spill from the cup. Voila! And then there were of course the car keys, which she frequently misplaced. But the dragon made sure she found them again.
The ferry came to my rescue, or hers – depending on how you see this. But I’ve been thinking a lot about this encounter. Was she living on a different planet that me or was I hit by a series of metaphors that I’m just too plain dumb to understand? I don’t know. She seemed perfectly normal until she dropped that dragon bomb shell. I guess I need a revelation of some sort…
Pictures from the Tro hikes:
Veten/Hamnfjellet (Hamnøya), 278m
We arrived on Hamnøya 4:10pm and had plenty of time before the 7:15pm departure. We drove 5,4km to the trailhead (with parking for 1 or 2 cars) where the Mølnhaugbekken creek crosses the road. The strange thing was that no path was to be seen! So we walked 80 meters to the top of the hill and got on the ridge. Then we found the path – vague, but with plenty of small cairns.
From here, we had a nice, 3km walk ahead of us in gentle terrain. We had plenty of time but when the day as a whole is on a timetable, it’s hard to all of a sudden change the pace. We left the trailhead 4:20pm and reached the top 5:02pm.
From the summit, we had a great view towards Høyholmstindane, and I was thinking that it would be nice if Anne and mom could stand on top of the highest of these tops. And less than 24 hours later, we all were standing on that very top!
We left the summit 5:11pm and were back at the car 5:57pm – taking it slow and easy on the way down.
Afterwards, we drove to the road end before returning to the ferry harbor. With no one around and still plenty of time, we took a bath in the sea. A bath – not a swim. There is a distinct difference. The temperature in the water was NOT so great…
Finally, the ferry arrived and took us over to Forvik. It had been a long, long day and now we were only one ferry away from – almost calling it a day. It was nice to return to base-camp (mom’s house) and have a nice dinner.
Pictures from the hike:
