A gorgeous day and a drive to Strynefjell
Index
| Date | Peak/Place | Height | PF | Location |
| 14.08.2022 | Rundegga | 1615m | 225m | Stranda, Norway |
Sunday: It had not been a great weather week so when the forecast for this Sunday was good, I was determined to go on a longer drive to get a new top. I had tops I wanted to hike both in Isfjorden (near Åndalsnes) and on the Skåla peninsula (near Molde), but I was looking at somewhere between 3 and 4 hours of driving, plus ferry or ferries. I lost motivation for heading north and decided to go to Strynefjell instead.
The Kvivsvegen tunnel has turned the geography upside and down. Stryn (Sogn og Fjordane County) is 64km SE from my house. Ålesund (downtown) is 28km NE from my house and I get to Stryn in less time than Ålesund…
In any case – it was a gorgeous morning and I left home 8:15am. I had an OK drive to Stryn and a beautiful drive along lake Oppstrynsvatnet. The drive up Strynefjellet was also OK, as the “rush hour” (tourists) hadn’t begun yet.
The morning fog was clinging to the lower part of the country, and it was quite pretty to watch…
We reached the parking (~1030m) at lake Djupvatnet 10:15am, 2 hours after leaving home. 10 minutes later, we were on our way.
We had rocky terrain ahead and this would be a test of Karma’s shoulder. I had been saving this top for a round-trip hike across Rundegga and Storbarden, but I would not go via Storbarden today. If Karma was not limping in the afternoon, then I knew that at least she could handle this. Before the summer and her injury, a round trip hike across both tops would be the most natural thing in the world.
Karma was overjoyed from being on snow again. She didn’t pass one single snow field without doing her rolls…
There is no path up Rundegga but hiking off-trail is quite easy. It gets gradually steeper though, and in some may places you will have to look for the best route.
The steepest part was when we reached snow at 1460m. I had brought an ice-axe just in case we had to deal with steep snow, but I didn’t have to use it today. The snow was just soft enough.
Once above the snow, the rest of the hike to the top was easy and, in the distance, I could see a cairn.
Karma’s extravaganza never seemed to end…
We reached the top 1h:10m after heading out. We took it very easy up the mountain. It was nice to have the Geirangerfjord view from top!
And Karma and I were bagging new tops again!
It was fun to look down on Dalsnibba (1476m) where you can drive to the top…
The mountain views from up here (or from any top around here for that matter) are crazy!
Storbarden would have to wait until some other day, and I’ll bring the bike. Maybe, just maybe it’s possible to bike along the south side of lake Kolbeinsvatnet.
We (more or less) took the same route down the ridge, but never got back on the road to Kolbeinsreset we followed on our way up.
Karma’s shoulder seemed OK, but I wouldn’t know for sure until she had rested for some hours.
When we left Strynefjell, it was rush hour for sure with a bit of “tunnel panic” amongst some drivers (there are 3 tunnels on the Stryn – Strynefjell route). No worries though, I had all the time in the world. In fact, I had decided to hike Gryta (1032m) above Stryn on my way home. But without Karma. More on that in the Week 32 report…
Unfortunately, Karma was limping pretty bad when we got back home. But not for long. Once she started moving again it got a bit better. But this will be a challenge.
If you’re interested in this region, you can also check out my report from 2018…
Trip statistics: 5,7km, 585 vertical meters, 2h:11m
Pictures (Canon EOS RP/Iphone 13 Pro Max) from the hike:
