Summer vacation, day 12
Index
| Peak | Height | PF | Municipality |
| Øyfjellet (Stortuva) | 818m | 319m | Vefsn, Norway |
Continued from day 11
Øyfjellet, Mosjøen
We woke up in our room at Korgen Fjellstue after a MIGHTY good sleep. It has been almost 2 weeks since we slept in a bed. After walking the dog, it was breakfast time. The breakfast buffet was extremely limited, but they had eggs – which saved the day.
Then we drove to Mosjøen to hike Øyfjellet, aka Stortuva. There wasn’t a whole lot going on at the trailhead. There was a Tivoli nearby and a guided group getting ready for the Via Ferrata. Turns out you *have to* have a guide for the Ferrata. Which we don’t like, but that’s more and more the norm. In any case, our agenda wasn’t to climb along a wire but to see the new Sherpa trail.
The Sherpa trail starts out with high steps and if you’re not fit and start out with a high pace, you might run into problems before you’re really got started.
After a while, it gets easier although the steepest part is yet to come. One has to admire the craftsmanship, though. Pretty impressive!
The upper part of the valley route offers a rope you can hold on to. We witnessed a woman with severe vertigo coming down. She didn’t trust the rope, and crawled more than she walked. My sympathy. I used to know how it used to feel like…
Once up in the Trongskardet pass between Stortuva and Storfjellet, the path turns north/northwest but still offered nice steps.
Gradually, we were gaining vertical meters and it had already begun to feel like a long hike.
Above 700m, we ran into fog, but as long as it wasn’t raining – we didn’t care.
After 1h:40m of hiking, we reached the top. A woman on her way down offered to take a picture of us. We gladly accepted…
When we got back to the trailhead, it was altogether a different planet. There were cars and people all over the place, primarily because of the Tivoli. As it happened, my very good friend (and relative) Jorun and her family where there. This, we learned when we visited Jorun outside Brønnøysund the very next day.
Trip statistics: 6,9km, 830 vertical meters, 2h:55m
Pictures (Canon EOS RP) from the hike:
Brønnøysund
Usually, we drive to my mom’s place. This year, I thought – how about a different approach. Like – arriving in a kayak?
I discussed this with Anne and my original plan was to kayak from Skillvika. I realized that this would take too much time and settled for Urdstabbvika as the starting point.
The fjord was calm and everything was smooth in the beginning. But when I rounded Smiholmen, the fjord was not so calm anymore. The waves came sideways, which made the ride a bit bumpy.
Passing Trælvikodden, I noticed I was being observed. I was not in a position where it was easy to take pictures, but I *had* to get a picture of the moose observing me. After a minute or so, the moose decided that enough was enough and headed into the forest.
I felt a need to stay close to the shore. The sea wasn’t a problem (albeit bumpy) but I wasn’t sure how rough it could get. I’m not used to these waters, and still felt like a rookie after not having been into a kayak since 2011 – until this summer vacation.
Once I had passed Brønnøysund, the sea calmed down and I could enjoy kayaking again. Anne called me and wondered where I was. She told me that she and my mom where waiting for me at Salhus. I told her that I was not far away.
After 6,2km, the trip was over and I could join Anne, Karma and my mom. It was a really fun way to get to my mom’s house and I’m pretty sure mom thought this was a cool arrival too!
Trip statistics: 6,2km, 0 vertical meters, 1h:12m
Continued on day 13
