A very nice island hike
Index
| Date | Peak | Height | PF | Location | WCP/FP | MAP |
| 25.02.24 | Rinden | 369m | 369m | Sande, Norway | WCP | MAP |
| 25.02.24 | Øyna | 359m | 51m | Sande, Norway | WCP | MAP |
| 25.02.24 | Dollsteinen | 227m | 109m | Sande, Norway | WCP | MAP |
| 25.02.24 | Hellandsfjella | 122m | 94m | Sande, Norway | WCP | MAP |
| 17.08.22 | Hornet (Grøntua) | 250m | 232m | Sande, Norway | WCP | MAP |
Sunday: A good dump of fresh snow had landed in the mountains at approx. 500m elevation. I wasn’t so keen on hiking in this snow and decided to stay below it.
This would be a good day to do the regular loop across the Sandsøya tops. I had done this round-trip 3 times before – in 2010, 2018 and 2021. The big question was – could I still do it in 3 hours, which gave me a chance to reach the 3:15pm ferry back?
I wasn’t particularly worried about having to wait until the 5pm ferry. I was more worried about the forecast, which promised rain for the rest of the day. This could very well be an unpleasant hike.
I laid out the following “reward” system: If we started out in rain, it would be deserved, going on a forecast like this. But, if we could get to Rinden without rain, it would be a bonus. If we could get to Dollsteinen without rain, it would be a double bonus. If we got to Hellandsfjella without rain, it would be “shut the f… up!” and if we got to Hornet without rain, I would go big on the lottery tickets on Monday morning…
It was only raining light when we headed out from Bringsvor but then it stopped raining completely.
The wind was strong, but not a problem. We had a good progress up the mountain.
Looking around, I expected the worst and hoped for the best.
I was quite happy as we approached the top of Rinden and it wasn’t raining yet. This would have been a really miserable round when raining.
It sure looked like conditions were worse on other tops…
The cairn looked the same…
…but the circular viewfinder was new, since I was last here in 2021.
The weather elsewhere inspired me to move on, and we quickly hiked across Øyna aka Signalen.
Our next stop was Dollsteinen. I had been up there 3-4 times before, but I for the life of me, I couldn’t remember the upper part of the ascent. The reason was that Gjøna on Gurskøya is very much a similar peak and ascent, and the only pictures I could visualize was from Gjøna.
Even when I got Dollsteinen in view, I didn’t remember the upper part. But the most important thing was that I knew it wouldn’t be difficult. Because, from a distance, it sure looks steep!
We had a fairly easy ascent and soon could enjoy the nice view from Dollsteinen.
We were now halfway through our round, and it still wasn’t raining. The reward system flashed “double bonus”.
Next stop was Hellandsfjella, but first we had to get down to Hellandsvågen.
The hike across Hellandsfjella was not worth writing much about, but then I came across 10-15 sheep. They panicked and ran. And so did the ~100 other sheep that I didn’t see. They all ran towards a narrow opening in the fence. It took a while until all the ~100 sheep had passed.
When it was our turn to pass through the fence, the sheep was scattered around and now, no one was panicking. Sheep!
Top #3 was now passed without rain. I had to shout out “shut the f…. up”, to be loyal to my own reward system.
Our 4th top (depending on how you count) was Hornet. The final uphill of the day. We passed a woman on our way up. The first person we saw since we started hiking. Due to the wind, a conversation was meaningless. We couldn’t hear each other anyway.
Before reaching Hornet, we passed across Grøntua, also known as as “top #6” for those who hike the annual “Sjutoppsturen” (7 peak hike). I don’t know where they begin, and so I don’t know what top #1 is. But for sure, I don’t consider Grøntua to be a separate top.
A little bit later, we stood on top of Hornet (map name) and looked a signpost saying we were on Grøntua. Total confusion, but I trust the map until proven otherwise.
It was now time for our descent. I knew three things; 1) We started hiking 12:12pm, 2) the last time I did this exact round, it took us 3h:28m and 3) the next ferry left at 3:15pm. I was three years older than in 2021, but would we stand a chance on the 3:15pm ferry?
I decided not to check the current time. Instead, we jogged easy down the mountain and along the road back to the car. We got there 3:21pm. We were already 6 minutes late for the ferry, with 5 minutes to drive. The next ferry left 5pm and I decided to chill in the car, rather than doing other tops out here. I’m eager, but not a maniac…
Before I went to bed, I made a mental note about buying lottery tickets the next day…
Trip statistics: 13,3km, 1000 vertical meters, 3h:08m
Pictures (Canon EOS RP/Iphone 13 Pro Max) from the hike:
