Summer vacation, day 11
Index
| Date | Peak | Height | PF | Location | WCP/FP | MAP |
| 23.07.25 | Finnesfjellet | 506m | 539m | Gildeskål, Norway | – | MAP |
| 23.07.25 | Stihaugen | 539m | 135m | Gildeskål, Norway | – | MAP |
| 23.07.25 | Hellarfjellet | 542m | 105m | Gildeskål, Norway | – | MAP |
Continued from summer vacation, day 10…
Finnesfjellet (506m), Jul 23 2025
Wednesday: Another hot day, and Anne spent the night outside. I barely survived in the bedroom, but slept only half the night.
Today, we were determined to hike up to Finnesfjellet. Karma would have to wait in the house. This would be too steep and too hot for her. We also looked forward to seeing “Finnesjuran” – up close.
This is a popular hike, and parking is limited. Fortunately, the trailhead was just a few minutes’ walk from the house.
The forest route is steep, and in places there are fixed ropes – which are only handy if the ground is exceptionally slippery.
Finally, we arrived at “Finnesjuran”. One theory is that “juran” symbolize the utters of a cow. It could of course mean other things, but supporting the theory is that another name of Finnesfjellet is “Finneskua” – The Finnes Cow. I’m thinking, where there is a cow, there are utters…
It was possible to scramble a little between two of them, but when the scrambling turned into pure climbing, we turned around.
We had a good view towards Kunna – which we had to skip back in 2014. But this year, we would surely stand on top of this coastal top – together with Karma. That turned out to be very different from how we planned it…
We could see our rented house down at Finnes – or at least part of it…
We continued to be amazed by these mighty rocks…
I wonder if someone has climbed all of them…
We moved on. We had seen the utters. Now we wanted to see the cow…
The upper part of the mountain offered more gentle terrain.
Ah – Høgnakken. Hopefully – later on this week…
Now, we could finally see the “back side” of the house we rented. There is a path passing the house, leading to “Løkta” and Leikvollen.
But our focus now was the top of Finnesfjellet.
I could see rock “faces” everywhere…
And then we were up!
What a view! Quite breathtaking!
I paid attention to the ridge leading to Årfjellet. It didn’t seem it would be possible to get up from this side. Not that I had planned a traverse, I just enjoy studying opportunities.
A higher priority was the beautiful Fugløya island. We would have to go there sometime, in August, when the bird nesting season is legally over.
Sandhornet – check! Been there, enjoyed that!
Høgstjerna – check! Yesterday’s big fun…
The Coastal Express – check! Back in the days.
Storvika – awaiting when we get back down.
It was time to return to Karma and go swimming!
Just one last look at Høgnakken…
It was impossible to pass “Finnesjuran” without taking more pictures…
Next to “Finnesjuran” was a tiny utter, which I found that I was able to climb.
The next “challenge” was to descend the steep forest without using our hands. Anne was game…
Karma was VERY excited to see us, and equally happy when we got to Storvika (a 4km drive from the house) and she could see the plastic bone in my hand.
I never understood what the favorite part was – to be in the water or to retrieve the bone.
We didn’t really want to leave the beach, but it was time to get back the house and get some dinner…
It had been a wonderful day! A day I will remember!
Trip statistics: 5,1km, 550 vertical meters, 2h:43m
Stihaugen (539m), Jul 23 2025
Wednesday: In the afternoon, we decided to drive up to lake Sokumvatnet, from Sundsfjorden. We had noticed Stihaugen – a pf100m top with a road almost going across the top. That was just too good to let go of, and a hike Karma could do, for sure.
In the distance, we could see Høgnakken and Høgstjerna – visited the day before. I hoped there would be opportunity for attempting Høgnakken also.
The top of Stihaugen was a “whopping” 200 meters south of the road. This looked doable!
We stopped to admire Småtindan and Memaurtinden. We want to be on top of Memaurtinden one day, but it will be without Karma.
As short as this hike was, this didn’t seem like an easy hike for Karma. It concerned me, but I assumed it was because of the heat.
Most of my hikes requires a bit of effort. I’m not stupid enough NOT to appreciate a “bonus top” from time to time.
But now that we were up here, why not round the day off with one last top, like Hellarfjellet? It seemed like a short and easy hike.
Trip statistics: 0,7km, 35 vertical meters, 0h:17m
Hellarfjellet (542m), Jul 23 2025
Wednesday: Anne agreed to visit Hellarfjellet before returning to Finnes. Karma’s only say in the matter was whether she wanted to walk or not. She walked.
We reached slabs and easy terrain fairly quickly, and it was only a 1,5km hike to the top. This looked quite doable too.
This was also a “bonus top”, for sure. I didn’t feel bad about it.
We crossed a pitch of snow, and Karma ate snow like crazy. After a few minutes, she was vomiting. We assumed it had to with dirt on the snow surface.
It was overall an easy hike, but not very exciting…
A Golden Plover was making itself heard…
And then we were up! Anne and my 3rd new pf100 top for the day!
Småtindan looked fascinating. Maybe one day. Just maybe…
After the hike, we drove to a lake halfway between Hellarfjellet and Stihaugen, for Karma to cool down.
Anne enjoyed her swim too. To our surprise, Karma seemed like wanting to rescue her, without a bone involved. Very odd!
Afterwards, we drove to Inndyr to visit more friends from Sogn – Marte and Trygve – colleagues of Anne. What a nice place Marte’s parents have, and what a view towards Sandhornet!
Trip statistics: 0,7km, 35 vertical meters, 0h:17m
