Another challenging weather week, but with one exception…
Peaks visited:
| Peak | Height | PF | Location | WCP |
| Huldrehornet | 271m | 113m | Herøy, M&R, Norway | WCP |
| Lidafjellet | 200m | 47m | Herøy, M&R, Norway | WCP |
| Rørene | 295m | 72m | Ålesund, Norway | WCP |
| Myklebusthornet | 329m | 329m | Ålesund, Norway | WCP |
| Garnestua | 653m | 415m | Ulstein, Norway | WCP |
| Rambjøra | 132m | 109m | Herøy, M&R, Norway | WCP |
| Høgåsen | 240m | 240m | Ulstein, Norway | WCP |
| Svarane | 191m | 43m | Ulstein, Norway | WCP |
| Stemnehornet | 190m | 43m | Ulstein, Norway | WCP |
| Huldrehornet | 271m | 113m | Herøy, M&R, Norway | WCP |
| Huldrehornet | 271m | 113m | Herøy, M&R, Norway | WCP |
| Hasundhornet | 533m | 93m | Ulstein, Norway | WCP |
| Sandvikshornet | 352m | 13m | Herøy, M&R, Norway |
Huldrehornet (271m), Lidafjellet (200m), Feb 17 2020
Monday: As it was pouring down all day, I didn’t expect that I would go hiking at all when I left work in Hjørungavåg. The windshields were going nuts…
But when I got home to Myrvåg, it wasn’t raining just there and I decided to take Karma for a walk in the Huldrehornet forest. I decided to walk until a) it started pouring down or b) it got dark. Whatever came first.
We took the forest route up from Myrvågane – a route I like but seldom hike.
As it still wasn’t raining, we headed for Huldrehornet and it was really, really windy on top. When I took the camera out of the backpack, I had to secure the backpack so it didn’t blew off the mountain. And it wasn’t empty either…
We were still in the clear of the rain showers that seemed to be everywhere around us, and took a steep, off-trail descent to get on the path to lake Stemmedalsvatnet. Then we followed the path across Lidafjellet. I was actually considering doing the same route as one week earlier – meaning I would have to go back up to Huldrehornet. But just then came the rain, and we continued across Dyrkyrkja and returned home.
I was mighty pleased about doing almost 2 hours of walking this afternoon! Not what I had imagined earlier in the day…
Trip statistics: 8,2km, 555 vertical meters, 1h:53m
Rørene (295m), Myklebusthornet (329m), Feb 18 2020
Tuesday: Every morning, before going to work, I always pack my backpack and bring all the hiking gear I need for any afternoon condition. Even skiing. It’s a ritual with two main aspects: a) stay positive – it can clear up and b) if it doesn’t, then still stay positive – and don’t let the weather get to you.
This Tuesday was one of these days. It was raining most of the day, but not when I left work in Ålesund. I drove to Ellingsøya island to visit Myklebusthornet and parked at sea level by Straumane. It was still not raining and I hoped to cover some distance before it would start raining again.
We almost got up to Rørene when the nasty weather caught up with us. It didn’t take long before both Karma and I were dripping wet. A hail shower preceded the rain shower. Nice…
On Rørene, it was windy too. Karma gave me the unmistakable “can we turn around now?” look, but I told her that “it’s just one rain shower”. That was kind of true, except that the rain shower lasted for the rest of the hike.
We continued towards Myklebusthornet and the rain was just POURING across the ridge.
My only motivation for continuing was that this route would get me a fair amount of vertical meters. 610 in total (upwards only). Which is not bad when the high point is only 329m above sea level.
Eventually we reached the top of Myklebusthornet, and I had to decide if we should descend here and get away from the wind, but also get at least 3,5km along the main road. And – no additional vertical gain. Or – descend the way we came – across Rørene. In the end, the vertical gain was too tempting and we returned the way we came.
When we got back to Rørene, it was darkening and I decided to keep a good pace down the forest so that I didn’t have to use the headlamp. I’ve said it before; it’s just a thing. Not important at all. I don’t know. I like daylight. And we made it down in time. Oh – how nice it was to change into dry clothes and get the car warmed up…
Trip statistics: 7,7km, 610 vertical meters, 1h:48m
Garnestua (653m), Feb 19 2020
Wednesday: Today we got a most welcome break between days and days with rain, snow, hail and wind. After work, I sat my eyes on Garnestua and the route from Ytre Haddal.
The forest was free of snow (almost) but I knew what would be awaiting on the high ridge – deep snow. But until then, just enjoy the awesome light…
I wasn’t wrong about the snow depth on the high ridge and while the snow for the most part carried Karma’s weight…
… it didn’t carry me. But today that was not a worry. At all…
I live for these days…
Eventually we reached the top and I was -almost- sad that there was no more mountain ahead of us. I’m not really sure if Karma gives a rat’s ass about the beautiful colors, but at least she seemed happy.
And then it was time to get back down..
Trip statistics: 5,3km, 610 vertical meters, 1h:50m
Pictures (Canon EOS RP) from the hike:
Rambjøra (132m), Feb 21 2020
Friday: The weather forecast from Thursday and out the week was grim. On my way home from work on Thursday, a snow storm came in and as I was already quite tired I didn’t feel than being outdoors longer than it takes to move from my car and to my front door. Which is a really short distance…
The weather wasn’t much better on Friday after work. The rain was pouring down and the wind was howling. But I could just not stay indoors two days in a row, pulled myself together and took the dog for a walk to our local top Rambjøra.
Karma loves this hike, which was a slight comfort. I was just thinking about how overgrown the path is and I need to put in some serious effort here.
When we reached the top, I was so wet that I might just go on walking. But then I got a text from Anne, saying she had already reached Volda. So, I decided to take the shortest route back down. I had a feeling we would get to my house around the same time, and we did – at the exact same time! I didn’t have the best conscience about my limited footwork the last two days, but now we would spend the evening together with other good friends and so it would be a good Friday evening after all.
Trip statistics: 3,4km, 110 vertical meters, 48 minutes
Høgåsen (250m), Svarane (191m), Stemnehornet (190m), Feb 22 2020
Saturday: The normal procedure for a Saturday after an evening with our friends Lena & Terje would be to park Anne’s car in Garneskrysset and hike across Hasundhornet to pick up my car at Strandabøen (where I left it the night before).
But today, the wind was strong and the hail showers would be painful for Karma at that elevation and I proposed to do the “big round” (Storronda) on Dimnøya island. The first hail shower came early on and I was so glad we were inside the forest at the time.
Then it cleared up, and we could enjoy the island high point (Høgåsen) with some blue sky above.
Then it was time to visit Svarane and Stemnehornet. If we could only get to Stemnehornet before the next hail shower, we would be sheltered by the forest for the rest of the hike.
We passed these tops and when we got back into the forest, we could see that something was coming our way…
It seemed like it was a biggie… It’s not nice to be in a hail shower, but they’re awesome to look at. From a distance…
Eventually, the hail shower came our way…
Next stop was Uglesætra where Anne accepted my challenge. I really hoped the ropes would hold. I swear 😉
As long as we get hail showers, there will be more hikes in this forest…
Trip statistics: 7,7km, 480 vertical meters, 1h:11m
Pictures (Canon EOS RP) from the hike:
Huldrehornet x 2 (271m), Feb 22 2020
Still Saturday: After the hike across the Dimnøya tops, I felt a certain “need” to make up for some of the “lost” vertical meters on Thursday and Friday. Hence, I decided to do a double-hike to Huldrehornet that would “balance my account” with 500 vertical meters.
On my first hike up to the top, the weather was not nice.
On my second hike, the weather was better, but it was still really windy. But Saturday evening would now get far better…
Trip statistics: 4,4km, 500 vertical meters, 1h:06m
Huldrehornet (271m), Feb 23 2020
Sunday: Anne was leaving early but asked me if I wanted to join her on a hike to Huldrehornet first. I was really low on energy and had to really pull myself together just to wrap my head around the idea of hiking. It’s that “thing” again – the one I’ve previously referred to as a virus. Now, I think it’s a reaction (allergy) to some kind of food and it’s a repeating pattern – occurred a number of times since December. I will just need to make a spreadsheet of what I’m eating and see if I can find the culprit.
But eventually, we got on our way and had a nice hike up the Huldrehornet forest.
Now that I was outdoors, I started to think about where I would go next, after Anne had left. But first we had to get to Huldrehornet…
We reached the top of Huldrehornet 11:05am, and this was my 3rd visit to the top since 4pm the day before!
Should I visit Rjåhornet? Nah, been there several times lately.
What about Haddalshornet or Blåtind? Nah, for the same reason. Besides, there would be a lot of snow to deal with.
Hasundhornet? Yes! Not only does this top offer less snow than other nearby tops but I hadn’t been there in 2020.
Trip statistics: 4,5km, 275 vertical meters, 1h:39m
Hasundhornet (533m), Feb 23 2020
Sunday: With Anne on her way to Sogndal, I took Karma and drove to Garsholhaugen outside Ulsteinvik, aiming for Hasundhornet. I’ve noticed that this route has surprisingly little snow after heavy snowfall. And this was also the case today. Heading up was not strenuous at all.
After a while, we had a good view towards Dimnøya island, where Anne, Karma and I did a round trip walk across the island tops the day before.
We still had sunshine but the dark blue color indicated that “something” was coming in from the ocean.
Reaching the top was a cold, cold experience. The cairn provided some shelter but it was clear that we wouldn’t stay long.
It was tempting to go to Garnestua, but I didn’t want to be up there if bad weather came upon us. So, I decided to descend on the other side of the mountain – along a route I’ve not done before.
I aimed for the pass between Hasundhornet and point 459m.
From the pass I found a route down what was clearly steep enough. With just a little more ice this would have been a no-go. Going through the juniper bush was a small nightmare. Even worse for Karma…
Eventually, we found the forest path down to Hasund. I love a “green environment“…
I drove into Ulsteinvik after the hike and when I looked back on the mountain, I could see that it was far less pleasant up there now. And it was getting worse by the minute.
Trip statistics: 5,9km, 535 vertical meters, 1h:50m
Sandvikhornet (352m), Feb 23 2020
Sunday: After the hike to Hasundhornet, we went back home and I spent some time on the sofa watching Norwegians “win the lot” in the Ski Tour and Men’s Biathlon World Championship. The snow was falling horizontally outside my window. But I had this feeling that I hadn’t accomplished my goal of 550 vertical meters in average this week. I reckoned that I ought to do one more hike to be on the safe side. And Sandvikhornet seemed like a good option, with 350 vertical meters and not so much effort.
Then the snowfall took a pause. I decided to get ready and leave when the next wave of snow came along. It didn’t take too long and when I arrived at Tjørvåg (only a 5-minute drive) I was in the outskirts of the passing shower. The timing couldn’t be better. Karma and I then headed up the gravel road leading to Sandvikskaret.
At Sandvikskaret, the weather was still holding up and I decided to hike really fast. I was even wearing sneakers and had brought poles to make sure I could go as fast as I could.
20 minutes later (which is NOT as fast as I can go), we stood on top of Sandvikhornet – which is just a hump on the beginning of the much longer and higher ridge. But – it is a named point and a popular walk.
Out in the ocean, I could see the next shower moving in – fast! Snow is normally not a problem for Karma, but when accompanied with a strong wind – it can get unpleasant. So, I decided that a fast descent was in order.
The shower was much faster than we were and pretty soon we were in the middle of it. But for every meter we descended, we got less wind. So we were quite OK.
Back in Sandvikskaret, the snow kept on coming but there was no wind down here and we could have a nice stroll back to the trailhead.
It turned out that my week average before this hike was “only” 525m. But with 360 additional vertical meters, the average was now 576m. Which made me rest of the evening a little bit better…
Trip statistics: 4,4km, 360 vertical meters, 48 minutes
