Some really good hikes…
Index
| Date | Peak | Height | PF | Location | WCP/FP | MAP |
| 05.09.23 | Instehornet | 653m | 200m | Volda, Norway | WCP | MAP |
| 06.09.23 | Blåtind | 697m | 697m | Ulstein, Norway | WCP | MAP |
| 06.09.23 | Haddalshornet | 611m | 103m | Ulstein, Norway | WCP | MAP |
| 07.09.23 | Grøthornet | 748m | 35m | Ørsta, Norway | WCP | MAP |
| 07.09.23 | Sandhornet | 909m | 471m | Ørsta, Norway | WCP | MAP |
| 08.09.23 | Helgehornet | 626m | 545m | Volda, Norway | WCP | MAP |
| 09.09.23 | Seljebotn/ Uriskardbotnen | 952m | – | Fjord, Norway | – | MAP |
| 10.09.23 | Saudehornet | 1303m | 825m | Ørsta, Norway | WCP | MAP |
Instehornet (653m), Sep 5 2023
Tuesday: Due to nasty weather on Monday, my hiking week began on Tuesday. The weather forecast for the rest of the week was quite good, and so I decided that this would be a Ørsta/Volda week. In other words, limited hiking in my local region. My leg felt good for hiking, but there would not be any running for a while…
I decided to start in Volda, hiking Instehornet.
I normally pass Instehornet after coming from Rotsethornet. But today, I felt for starting at the golf course.
I have a sweet spot for the green-green forests…
And not so much for trails that are confused with creeks…
Then it got steep…
But eventually, we rose above the forest, and I started thinking about the descent route. I was torn between trying to descend via Rotsethornet or via Vontripshaugen. Rotsethornet was the natural choice, but there is one steep pitch which is a bit cumbersome.
And then we were on top of Instehornet!
After a minute or two, I had made my mind up. The descent would be via Vontripshaugen. This meant that we had to follow our ascent route for a little while, before continuing on the forest ridge.
I hoped we would avoid rain…
So far, it seemed we would be in the clear…
It’s been a few years since we went across Vontripshaugen, and I looked forward to the revisit.
All of a sudden, Karma stopped (as she is trained to do if there is anything ahead of us, on two or four legs). It turned out to be two hunters (with their rifles ready) and they hadn’t seen us. A slightly awkward situation. What is the protocol? Should I clear my throat? What about “Yo!”? Before I could make up my mind, they spotted us and we had a quick talk.
They preferred I didn’t go east, which was the only route down that I knew about. But there turned out to be a path along the north ridge. A new route for me – bonus!
Trip statistics: 10,5km, 875 vertical meters, 2h:38m
Blåtind (697m), Haddalshornet (611m), Sep 6 2023
Wednesday: The weather was back to beautiful and as I hadn’t been to Blåtind – the high point on Hareidlandet island since April, I decided to go there – and visit Haddalshornet while at it.
We headed out from Havåg along my favorite route.
No matter how much it rains, this path is never wet and muddy.
I felt a little bad for not bringing my Canon camera, but in case I wanted to jog a little on the mountain, it would be impractical. The Iphone isn’t too bad, at least in panorama mode…
From the Grøthornet – Blåtinden pass, we did the last part up to the top off-trail.
Then we took the more traditional route over to Haddalshornet.
After a while, we reached Haddalshornet.
Haddalshornet is almost a “bonus top” if you’re hiking Blåtind – and you come from the Eiksund, Havåg or Haddal sides.
It was good to be out on this beautiful afternoon.
In the forest above Havåg, we (like always) took a different route back down. I stumbled upon a lot of Chanterelle, which I picked. When I got home, I wasn’t in mood for peeling and cleaning mushrooms and gave them to a neighbour.
Trip statistics: 9,4km, 865 vertical meters, 2h:29m
Sandhornet (909m), Sep 7 2023
Thursday: Resuming my Ørsta/Volda “project” for the week and this afternoon, we would revisit Sandhornet. I chose to head out from Mosmarka. There are (at least) two routes (steep) to Brekkeheida and the plan was to do both of them today.
Karma didn’t particularly seem to enjoy our ascent route.
Things got easier from Brekkeheida. The plan was to hike across Grøthornet (the normal route), but descend off-trail to see if I could find the path between Brekkeheida and point 816m (north of Sandhornet). I could see this path on the map, but was it actually there?
This was yet another beautiful afternoon, and I looked forward to reaching the top and take in the dramatic views this mountain has to offer.
After passing Grøthornet, we had the final 200 vertical meters in plain view.
The views didn’t disappoint today, either…
One may argue that any peak in this alpine range offers dramatic views, but you must put the effort of getting there into the equation. Sandhornet is a fairly easy hike.
After returning to the Sandhornet – Grøthornet pass, we went off-trail – aiming for Brekkeheida. Would we find the path?
After a while, I found the path but it wasn’t really worth following. It didn’t offer any additional benefits and hiking off-trail wasn’t too bad.
This is the 2nd time I’ve hiked directly between Sandhornet and Brekkeheida. I’m not sure there will be a 3rd. Done that now, etc…
The views from Sandhornet are quite alright but the Ørsta view from Brekkeheidane isn’t too bad either!
We took the other path down the forest and ended up at Mosmarka, only 0,4km away from the car.
Trip statistics: 9,1km, 905 vertical meters, 2h:23m
Helgehornet (626m), Sep 8 2023
Friday: Our Saturday hike would be strenuous, and so I wanted a short and easy hike this Friday afternoon. My choice fell on Helgehornet (Volda), a round-trip hike starting at the shooting range. Permitted that no shooting was going on. Karma gets quite uneasy by the sound of rifles, firecrackers and rockets.
Fortunately, there was no activity at the shooting range. I am not a big fan of outdoor shooting ranges close to popular hiking trails. I’m not afraid to get shot, but the shooting kills the joy of hiking, in addition to making the dog tremble.
“Go somewhere else then” is maybe a valid comment. But this isn’t the only shooting range close to a populated area, and I have no desire having to memorize who’s shooting when and where. And with the autumn hunt going on for months, there’s just no escape from the noise.
I would be very happy if they built indoor shooting ranges instead…
But at the top, life is normally quite peaceful…
Today, a family with a bunch of kids was on top when we arrived there, and they were soon swarming around Karma. She doesn’t typically get very enthusiastic about kids, as the “quality of petting” isn’t top notch.
But she patiently lets them go on with their “thing”. It gets better for all parties when I bring up treats and let the kids give them to the dog. They particularly enjoy doing as I tell them – put the treat on the ground in front of the dog, let the dog wait for 10-15 seconds, then go “Værsågod”. I don’t really know how to translate this word. It would normally translate to “You’re welcome”, but that doesn’t work in this context. “Here you go” is perhaps closer to the meaning.
We followed the south ridge on our way down – doing the classic round-trip route. It was a nice hike and now I was really curious and excited about what tomorrow had in store for us!
Trip statistics: 4,9km, 445 vertical meters, 1h:27m
Uriskardbotnen – sheep gathering & roundup, Sep 9 2023
This trip is featured on a separate post…
Saudehornet (1303m), Sep 10 2023
Sunday: The weather was OK, but there was fog on the mountain tops. I was keen on a good hike, but I wasn’t able to tempt Anne – who wanted to settle for a local walk. When she offered to look after Karma, I decided to go to Saudehornet – where I hadn’t been since 2020.
I started out from Vikelegene, hoping that the fog would lift before I reached the top. I had my doubts, though.
On my way up, I decided that the day I don’t have the will and desire to hike this mountain, I’m officially *old*. Having such a well-defined benchmark is quite practical, I think…
This would be my 20th visit to the top. I wished that I could “celebrate” with some decent views, but then I realized I was happy enough just being on my way up…
The fog had clearly lifted, but not enough. The fog from 1200m and up seemed to stick.
No complaints, though. I had a lot of views. Just not ALL of them…
After 1,5 hours, I reached the top.
While up here, I decided to check out a pinnacle on the ridge to Kyrkjetinden.
After some scrambling, I felt a bit uneasy. The rock was slippery and while the knife-edge ridge ahead of me looked fun, I had the wrong shoes for this kind of terrain. They just didn’t sit well on the rock and I decided to come back another day – with no fog and dry rock.
I went back down and paid Vallahornet a visit.
It was good to be back, and I already look forward to the next hike up here…
Trip statistics: 8,9km, 1225 vertical meters, 2h:34m
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