Northbound!
Summer vacation, day 1 & 2
Index
| Date | Peak | Height | PF | Location | WCP/FP | MAP |
| 06.07.24 | Kverkillberget | 200m | 150m | Inderøy, Norway | – | MAP |
| 06.07.24 | Vattatuva | 412m | 260m | Grong, Norway | – | MAP |
| 06.07.24 | Mo i Rana | – | – | Rana, Norway | – | MAP |
Travel day, July 5 2024
Friday: Finally, summer vacation and the long drive to the north. This year, we chose to drive to Trondheim via Molde and Orkanger – 3 ferries in total. This wasn’t my favorite choice, given all the potential waiting for the ferry departures.
But we got onboard the Hareid ferry with only second’s margin. The ferry to Molde arrived just as we did and so did the ferry at Kanestraum. If it hadn’t been for the miserable weather (rain and heavy rain), things would have been quite OK.
We didn’t feel like hiking in the rain today. Instead, we drove to Stjørdal and checked into Aiden Best Western. An OK hotel, but they charge NOK 400, – extra for the dog. That’s absolutely outrageous and when the heck is modern online booking going to reflect the actual cost? After all, this is 2024 and the rise of AI. One should think it was possible to tick “dog – yes” and see the total charge before deciding
Anyway, they had Friday Taco at the hotel and life wasn’t bad. We were on our way north and had a place to stay for the night!
Kverkillberget (200m), July 6 2024
Saturday: We didn’t drive far from Stjørdal before we did a short stop to get a new top – Kverkillberget.
We left E6 at Røra and followed Flagvegen up to Kuruhaugen.
At Kuruhaugen, I rang a doorbell and was granted parking where there wasn’t any. Apparently, I was the first one ever to ask and it seemed that it was appreciated.
The hike up Kverkillberget was quick and easy. The forest path was nice.
And then, the first top was “in the bag”!
We descended on the other side, with a fair idea where this trail would take us. They even had a Gapahuk (lean-to shelter) up here.
I do enjoy this kind of landscape. It’s not all about mountains all of the time…
The hike was short, but we enjoyed every step…
Unfortunately, Karma suddenly didn’t feel too well and had to leave more than footprints in the grass…
Trip statistics: 1,7km, 110 vertical meters, 0h:25m
Vattatuva (412m), July 6 2024
Saturday: After hiking Kverkillberge, we continued to Harran where we decided to hike Vattatuva.
The trailhead was easy to find – the path was a little harder to find.
The path was barely visible and quite overgrown. But thanks to markers in the trees, we were able to stick to the path up the forest.
The forest path was soaking wet, and it didn’t take long before our socks and shoes were soaking wet too. Oh well. At least, Karme seemed super-enthusiastic about being here.
We were hoping that we would avoid rain showers on this hike, but alas, the rain came before we arrived on top.
The rain shower didn’t last long, and it was nowhere near the rain we had while driving from Stjørdal.
The views were limited, but the little we had was nice.
The true high point was 120m to the southwest…
It was time to get back down, change into dry clothes and keep on going.
Trip statistics: 4km, 360 vertical meters, 1h:13m
Pictures (Canon EOS RP/Iphone 13 Pro Max) from the hike:
Mo i Rana, July 6 2024
After Harran, we had no idea where we would end up. We had lots of options on the table, but the weather was the decisive factor for most of them. In the end, we decided to drive to Mo I Rana, check into a hotel and watch the European soccer championship on TV (quarterfinals).
Eventually, we got to Mo i Rana and checked into Fjordgaarden. We liked the place, both on the inside and on the outside.
Unfortunately, there was something wrong with the TV system, so we only got to see one of the two matches.
Pizza dinner at Milano…
It was good to be back in the town I was born in. They had made a good job with the sea front, and it was nice to take an evening walk down by the fjord.
But what about the next day? What would we do? The weather forecast wasn’t great, but there was an OK weather window from morning and until 4pm. After that – rain. Would that weather window be enough for hiking the majesty in northern Norway? Anne was a bit nervous just from thinking about, but Karma seemed good to go!
