Some rain, some fog but also a good deal of sunshine!
| Date | Peak/Place | Height | PF | Location | WCP |
| 30.05.22 | Kongsvollen | 683m | 200m | Hareid/Ulstein, Norway | WCP |
| 30.05.22 | Hidsneset | – | – | Herøy, M&R, Norway | – |
| 31.05.22 | Skåla | 184m | 497m | Herøy, M&R, Norway | |
| 01.06.22 | Hasundhornet | 533m | 93m | Ulstein, Norway | WCP |
| 02.06.22 | Selsteinen | 598m | 90m | Herøy, M&R, Norway | WCP |
| 02.06.22 | Storehanen | 493m | 67m | Herøy, M&R, Norway | WCP |
| 04.06.22 | Nuken | 919m | 126m | Sogndal, Norway | |
| 05.06.22 | Solvornnipa | 1031m | 81m | Sogndal/Luster, Norway | WCP |
| 05.06.22 | Skurva | 1027m | 36m | Sogndal/Luster, Norway | WCP |
Kongsvollen (683m), May 30 2022
Monday: It was a beautiful day and I decided to hike Kongsvollen for the first time this year. This is the 2nd highest top on Hareidlandet, and the neighbor of Blåtind – which is the highest top on the island. The normal routes to the top runs from the transformer station (Blåtind trailhead) in Ringstaddalen and from Løset – via “Bukketrappa”. Today, I decided to do a traverse, starting by the transformer station.
The path across the meadow was very wet and my worn-out sneakers were soaking wet before the climb up the mountain could begin.
The path was free of snow, and I felt a bit exhausted, going up the mountain. It was nice to reach lake Hundelaupsvatnet and get a short break before the final ascent.
It took us one hour to reach the top, and I was feeling really old. Writing this, I went back to a 2014 track, where it only took us 50 minutes to reach the top. But I don’t know if I was really pushing it back then or if I even stopped for pictures. Note to self: do another hike and register the decay…
Anne was working in Stryn today but returned just as we were heading out from home. As I assumed she was eager for dinner, I felt that I should not spend the entire evening on this mountain, and I decided to jog back to the car.
Jogging down “Bukketrappa” isn’t really jogging – it’s just “fast movement” across a ridge where a fall could be potentially bad.
Once down in safer terrain, I was really jogging – although I felt my 8kg backpack more than I liked. I admit, it felt a bit silly to carry emergency equipment on such a hot day. But better every time than skip it the one time I might need it…
When I got to Løset, I had 3,8km of jogging along the road ahead of me. That was not so fun. Observers might not even call it jogging. More like – old man moving down the valley in a strange way. I did stop for a quick chat with buddy Martin, painting his barn.
But eventually, we got back to the car and were back at the house 10 minutes later. Anne had already warmed up the leftovers from the weekend and I could go straight from the shower to a hot meal!
Trip statistics: 11,4km, 690 vertical meters, 2h:23m
Pictures (Canon EOS RP) from the hike:
Hidsneset, May 30 2022
Monday: Late evening, we decided to take a trip to Hidsneset to enjoy the sunset. It’s a 20-minute drive from home and it’s a place we both enjoy. We’ve hiked up to Hidsegga from here a couple of times, and we’ve also camped by the lighthouse. Today, we only went there for pictures.
Pictures (Canon EOS RP/Iphone 13 Pro Max):
Skåla (184m), May 31 2022
Tuesday: This evening was reserved for “Dugnad” on the Sandvikskaret – Skåla trail. “Dugnad” is a Norwegian word for voluntary work, whatever it may be. Today, the “Dugnad” was about deploying wooden foot bridges and chips on the Skåla trail.
The local trail maintenance group has handy men and I’m not one of them. Thus, my part today was to carry plank and chips.
Karma was VERY confused about the back-and-forth thing but followed me blindly like a good dog should.
The end result was very good! Little by little always does it!
Trip statistics: 5,1km, 380 vertical meters, 3h:09m
Pictures (Iphone 13 Pro Max) from the hike:
Hasundhornet (533m), June 1 2022
Wednesday: Today was a rainy and miserable weather day. I had a bad physical day, with headache and muscular pain. Maybe (and not even maybe) I carried more than I should have yesterday.
I really, really wanted to go nowhere today at all but as a dog owner one has chores…
And when it’s raining and all trails are wet from recent rain, it’s tempting to follow the gravel road from Fjelle and up to Hasundhornet.
Once up there, I always follow the paths back to the road across Fjelle, like today and it doesn’t really matter if my shoes get soaking wet on the way down.
The important thing was just to get out of the house and walk the dog!
Trip statistics: 3,7km, 245 vertical meters, 50 minutes
Selsteinen (598m), Storehanen (493m), June 2 2022
Thursday: My hike to Selsteinen and Storehanen today had two purposes; 1) check the sticks on Selsteinen and 2) find locations for new signposts at Storehanen. I had heard rumours about the sticks on Selsteinen – not being in proper order.
The fog was thicker than I can remember it to ever be. But it’s OK, it’s a good opportunity to check how the sticks appear when they’re really needed. The idea isn’t that you should necessarily see the next stick if you’re standing by one, but if you continue you should the stick behind you and the next. It’s kind of an IQ-test and I’m not sure everyone will pass…
But today, most would fail because all the sticks from Selsteinen in the direction of Slettheia were lying on the ground…
I’m pretty sure sheep are not to blame for this. It seemed quite systematic. And it’s hard to think someone would commit plain vandalism although I don’t completely rule out the idea. I’m going to do some detective work on this and come back when the fog lifts to put the sticks back in order.
Then we moved over to Storehanen where a myriad of crossing paths can confuse someone who doesn’t know this area well. Signposts are overdue! I decided that I would contact the Moltu trail group to see if we could coordinate something together…
Trip statistics: 6,7km, 460 vertical meters, 1h:30m
Transport day, June 3 2022
Friday: Time to go to Sogndal again. This time there were convoys of Recreation Vehicles everywhere and the few times I was able to reach the speed limit felt like a blessing. What the heck is the problem? It’s not the cars. I drove an old and worn-out RV a couple to and from northern Norway of years ago, kept the speed limit without any problem and never had more than max. 1 car behind me at any given time.
It was raining all the way until I got to the Sogndalsdalen valley. Oh my, how nice it was to move from rain to sunshine!
And Anne had prepared a cozy afternoon outside…
Nuken (919m), June 4 2022
Saturday: Anne had things to do at the house, and Karma and I were free to go hiking by ourselves. As I hadn’t been to Nuken so far in 2022, that’s where I decided to go. And for the first time, I would do the Røvhaugane – Åberge – Hølsete – Nuken – Åsen – Bjellastølen – Åberge round-trip hike. I really looked forward to it!
The weather was beautiful and t-shirt + shorts would have been adequate clothing. At least in the beginning…
The Røvhaugane forest is always nice. The road from Åberge up to Hølsete is just … dull…
At Hølsete, I had to decide if I were to take the shortest path (2km) or take the longer way up (3km). I chose the shortest and sort of regretted it quite soon. It wasn’t just wet and boggy, it was … way, way, way wet and boggy!
But we reached the top of Nuken without touching snow!
The next leg was Nuken – Åsen (or Årvollåsen as the signpost said). We couldn’t escape snow on this route.
Just before Åsen, we went onto the Bjellastølen path. I had never hiked this route before and looked forward to it. My enthusiasm gradually faded as we encountered real treefall issues in the forest…
But eventually, we reached Bjellastølen.
I had done only part of the Bjellastølen – Åberge route and looked forward to getting to know this forest better. The last time I was in Sogndal, I tried to hike this route (in the opposite direction) but gave up due to snow and went off-trail towards Skjeggen instead.
After passing Åberge, we took a different route down the Røvhaugane forest and drove straight to the store meet up with Anne. I’ve missed the stores closing at 4pm for Pentecost for the past 15 years, but this time I was prepared!
The evening was spent just like any nice evening is spent in Sogndal – outside and with good food on the barbeque!
Trip statistics: 13,5km, 930 vertical meters, 3h:30m
Pictures (Canon EOS RP) from the hike:
Solvornnipa (1031m), Skurva (1027m), June 5 2022
Sunday: After breakfast, Anne concluded that she had too much going on back at the house to come hiking with me. I then decided that I wanted to hike from Barsnes to Solvorn, across Solvornnipa and Skurva (which I hadn’t been to before), providing Anne could drop us off and pick us up. She could.
From Barsnes, we followed the road along Barsnesfjorden for 1,8km before we could start ascending the forest.
It wasn’t sunny, but the temperature was good, and we were hot going up the forest!
The first (short) pause was at Dal (400m elev.) where the local sheep observed us with skepticism.
The next (short) pause was at Helgasete (600m elev.) where the local sheep were much more relaxed about visitors.
I had been considering heading off-trail up Sigledalen valley, but I abandoned the idea as the forest seemed to offer quite a bit of struggle. Instead, we followed the marked path in the direction of Solvornnipa.
Eventually, we reached snow. Although we didn’t have to walk on it in order to reach the top.
We reached the top of Solvornnipa at 1:43pm, 2h:12m after heading out from Barsnes. 1000 vertical meters done. Only some minor ups and downs to go before we could start descending to Solvorn.
Skurva is located 1km southeast of Solvornnipa, and it’s not a prominent top by any means. Still, it’s a hump with a name, and I tend to visit those too – if I’m in the neighborhood.
Next up was the most “exciting” part of the hike – to get down to the S1 path (which we left going up Solvornnipa) running through “Skardet” pass. I remembered back from 2017 that I ended up in steep terrain.
This time, we stayed further east, following the terrain (GPS) where it seemed most gentle. This time, we joined the path from Skardet at 660m without going through difficult terrain.
The rest of the hike would be along marked paths and I went back into “enjoy myself” mode. Not that I don’t enjoy steep off-trail routes, but now I didn’t have to focus on route-finding.
The path took us down to Setålen, where there were sheep everywhere. A sheep mom was approaching us with a determined face. I told her that I had an even grumpier dog and she backed off.
After Setålen, we got down onto the forest tractor road. Anne called and asked about my whereabouts. We agreed that she might as well start driving from Sogndal.
My plan was to get down to Mosaviki, but I didn’t catch the exit and we were now on our way to the Solvorn road – higher up than where I wanted to join it. Then I met a group of people and I asked if there was a shorter route to Solvorn. There was, I was told. I saved myself some distance, but I’m not sure if I saved myself any time.
Once I reached the Solvorn road, Anne came driving by. I waved and she noticed me in time. Then we drove down to the fjord and walked around a bit before returning to Sogndal.
Back at Sogndal, it was time for barbeque. Again!
It was a good week on the trails!
Trip statistics: 15,6km, 1150 vertical meters, 4,5 hours
Pictures (Canon EOS RP) from the hike:
