Hiking in Orkland and Surnadal
Summer vacation, day 21
Index
| Date | Peak | Height | PF | Location | WCP/FP | MAP |
| 25.07.24 | Resfjellet | 1165m | 626m | Orkland, Norway | – | MAP |
| 25.07.24 | Bergulhammaren | 890m | 337m | Surnadal, Norway | – | MAP |
Resfjellet (1165m), July 25 2024
Thursday: We checked out of Clarion Hotel Brattøra after a nice stay in Trondheim, and sat course for Å (not the place in Lofoten…) The plan was to hike Resfjellet – the highest mountain between Rindal and Meldal and also the highest mountain in Orkland municipality. Our starting point would be Vålåskaret.
We felt we were lucky with only one place left to park, but we didn’t see that there was a huge parking place nearby.
After checking the local information, we were on our way.
We very much looked forward to this hike. This was the perfect mountain for us today. Not too high, not too high, not too far. And hopefully – good views!
The trail was easy to follow. We walked through a nice birch forest between Resfjellet and Mjuken.
Then the trail went in the direction of Resfjellet.
Due to steep cliffs, it was quite obvious where the route would go…
This was a big change from the Nordland terrain we had hiked in for the past two weeks.
Eventually, the top came into view.
One section could have been just too steep for Karma, but she got up (and down) without any help.
Then we could start to count down until our goal was reached.
Another top! My 18th new top with prominence > 100m during this summer vacation.
I had some problems with my knee when we were up north. The knee was better now, but I could feel something “lurking“.
Next up was lunch…
As we enjoyed our lunch, we also enjoyed the views. We weren’t that familiar with the horizon, but at least we knew we were seeing most of the Trollheimen mountains.
The other direction was a bit harder…
Shortly after, a woman and a dog arrived on top. She could help us with the nearby mountains.
We could also see Ilfjellet, which originally was our plan A today. Next time…
Then it was time to move on…
I thought long and hard on Mjuken. On Peakbook.org, this top was registered with 92m prominence. Only 8m from being on my “list of interest”. Could this be old data, not reflecting the most recent map updates? But after checking the map on my cell phone, I conclude that the prominence was only 90m and as such, I “let it go” …
When we got back to the car, it was time to figure out if we should drive straight home or find a place to stay for the night. We chose to drive to Rindal and check into the Saga Trollheimen Hotel.
Trip statistics: 11,9km, 840 vertical meters, 3h:28m
Pictures (Canon EOS RP/Iphone 13 Pro Max/Samsung Galaxy) from the hike:
Bergulhammaren (890m) and Trollheimen Hotel, July 25 2024
Thursday: After hiking Resfjellet, we sat course for Rindal and Saga Trollheimen Hotel. I sort of expected a modern-looking hotel and was quite surprised when we got there.
The place had charm. That’s for sure.
We checked into the hotel, and I was wondering if there was time for a quick hike before dinner. The time was approaching 17:00 and we had agreed dinner at 20:00 with the hotel manager (there weren’t many guests…)
I looked at the map and concluded that Bergulhammaren could be within reach. 1 hour for transport and shower, 1 hour up, 1 hour down. Yeah, that should work.
It didn’t take me long to drive to the Folldalsvegen road, which would take me up to lake Foldsjøen. My starting point would be at the dam and then I would just go straight up.
The toll road (NOK 100,- at the time) was a good road, but then there was a closed gate before the dam. I didn’t quite know how long I had to hike, so I pulled out the bike.
It was only 3-400 meters to the dam, but now that I had the bike, I could use it to cross the dam. It was a little bumpy in the beginning, but it got better towards the other side.
I continued biking on the Solliråvegen road until I reached the Sandsetra signpost.
I then biked up the tractor road for 250m until I decided to just continue off-trail on foot.
After a little while, I came across a fairly OK path that made hiking much easier.
As I got higher, small cairns led the way. I didn’t pay too much attention to them. I was walking quite fast and was more focused on keeping a straight line for the top.
Now, I had a good view towards Foldsjøen. The road continues to the next lake – Gråsjøen – which is the starting point for those who want to hike to Trollheimshytta – and onwards into Trollheimen (The home of the Trolls) …
I left the car 17:09 and I had a hope of reaching the top before 18:00. I reached the top precisely 18:00 and was happy about my progress.
I was a little confused by the name(s) of the mountain. The top I was on was called “Bergulhammaren” on the map. If I zoomed out, the map said “Sandfjellet”. When I checked the map on Peakbook.org, it said “Gråberga”.
There are two tops up there. The south top (which I was on) is 1m higher. So just to be on the safe side, I decided to visit the north top too.
I had a good view towards Resfjellet, which we hiked earlier in the day.
The view towards Trollheimen was OK, but not first class.
Now, my time up here was over. The time was 18:06, less than 2 hours before dinner. I was ahead of my own plan.
On my way down, I decided to follow the cairn route.
I returned to the car 18:44, which meant I would be back at the hotel around 19:00. Then I had a whole hour to shower and have a look around.
When I returned to the hotel, I found Anne walking around on stilts!
Karma was VERY happy to see daddy again…
We had some time to kill before dinner. Anne did it her way…
Then we entered the main building…
We had ordered salmon. It’s difficult for a Norwegian to have high expectations about a salmon dinner at a hotel, but we hoped it would taste nice.
And the verdict was – VERY nice!
Trip statistics: 5,9km, 500 vertical meters, 1h:35m
Pictures (Canon EOS RP/Iphone 13 Pro Max/Samsung Galaxy) from the hike and the hotel:
