A rainy week in my local mountains
| 08.06.26 | Garnestua | 654m | 417m | Ulstein, Norway | WCP | MAP |
| 09.06.26 | Røddalshorn | 563m | 103m | Sande, M&R, Norway | WCP | MAP |
| 10.06.26 | Helgehornet | 623m | 545m | Volda, Norway | WCP | MAP |
| 11.06.26 | Veten (Hidsegga) | 556m | 320m | Sande, M&R, Norway | WCP | MAP |
| 12.06.26 | Hasundhornet | 533m | 93m | Ulstein, Norway | WCP | MAP |
| 13.06.26 | Rundevarden | 333m | 333m | Herøy, M&R, Norway | WCP | MAP |
| 13.06.26 | Sandshornet | 245m | 57m | Herøy, M&R, Norway | WCP | MAP |
| 13.06.26 | Rundebranden | 294m | 141m | Herøy, M&R, Norway | WCP | MAP |
| 14.06.26 | Barmen | 278m | 245m | Herøy, M&R, Norway | WCP | MAP |
| 14.06.26 | Børa | 207m | 44m | Herøy, M&R, Norway | WCP | MAP |
| 14.06.26 | Okla | 147m | 24m | Herøy, M&R, Norway | WCP | MAP |
Garnestua (654m), Jun 8 2026
Monday: After work, my little lawn was in desperate need of attention. I spent a good two hours on it and then it had started to rain.
I had to dig deep to find inspiration to go hiking, but I ended up with Garnestua from Løset. That would only give me 430 vertical meters. Not the best way to start the week, as I want my daily 500 but so be it.
It wasn’t raining a lot, which helped quite a bit. I was listening to a good podcast and was happy that I made it to the trail.
That said, the 430 number was annoying. I would be starting the week with 70 vertical meters in minus. Then I noticed that I wasn’t tracking my hike. Crisis!
To maximise the vertical meters, I went across the Flåna ridge. That would give me a few additional meters.
Now it was raining more, but that never matters much when I am on the mountain. I just hate the rain before I get going…
I decided to descend via lake Mørkevatnet. That would give me some extra vertical meters.
Back at the car, it annoyed the hell out of me that I had an incomplete track. So, I went back up the nearest hill. Now I had a complete loop and moreover, I had earned myself 570 vertical meters. That’s a good way to start the week!
Trip statistics: 5,7km, 570 vertical meters, 1h:34m
Røddalshorn (563m), Jun 9 2026
Tuesday: Dog tired after day 2 of a global Teams conference. When I looked out of the window, it was raining. Inspiration for hiking was hard to find, but I found it and decided to go to Røddalshorn for a short hike.
The whole body screamed in protest, but life got a little better with Friday’s episode of National Rap Show. Tommy Tee is a true legend. Also nice was the fog layer, which was nice to look at.
This hike would only give me 400 vertical meters. As such – 100 meters too little. But I had 70 in plus from the day before, so I would probably extend the hike a little.
It wasn’t raining hard, but I had to use both a hat and a hood to protect my earphones.
From the top, I did a round trip on Båtefjellet, giving me some extra vertical meters.
Gyrinakken looked particularly cool with the veil of fog.
Then I returned home and took the brush cutter for a spin in my backyard.
Trip statistics: 5,3km, 480 vertical meters, 1h:32m
Helgehornet (623m), Jun 10 2026
Wednesday: Let me get this off my chest: I *hate* forecasts saying “cloudy the rest of the day” but still show precipitation every hour for the rest of the day.
But it is what it is, and after work, I decided to hike Helgehornet in Volda. To get my 500 vertical meters, I decided to bike from the Helgehornet tunnel and up to the shooting range. At this point, it wasn’t raining but the asphalt was wet. I expected rain.
The shooting range was packed with cars, and guns/rifles were constantly firing. Thanks to my headphones and good music, I didn’t hear anything and had a fairly enjoyable hike up the mountain.
Rain showers were lurking in the neighbourhood, and I expected them to come my way soon.
But I reached the top dry!
I even started planning a longer bike-trip when I got back down to the shooting range.
The village Folkestad got properly introduced for the Norwegian people by Olaug Bjørneset in the TV program “Norge rundt” 08.05.26 and it seemed that the village was still in the spotlight.
On my down, my plan for a longer bike-trip got cancelled. The rain showers were really close now and I believe in the saying “quit while ahead”.
It was a good round trip, and I returned to the car, surprisingly still dry!
Trip statistics: 4km on foot, 5,9km on bike, 570 vertical meters, 1h:48m
Veten on Hidsegga (556m), Jun 11 2026
Thursday: For some reason, and without checking the forecast, I was convinced that this would be a lovely afternoon. I decided to hike Hidsegga from Hidsneset and have my bike awaiting in Moltudalen.
On my way there, I noticed raindrops on my windshield. I was surprised but assumed they wouldn’t amount to much. And it wasn’t raining when I headed out from Hidsneset.
I was expecting a nice hike and nothing else…
The grass was quite slippery after recent rain and I used my hands actively in the steepest part, to prevent any unwanted slide…
Eventually, the route got less steep…
When I reached the ridge, I could take a look at the nearby weather. It looked alright.
And then I was up. A rainbow in the distance told me that I should not necessarily only expect sunshine…
But everything looked alright as I began my journey towards Moltudalen…
I took pictures and had a swell time…
But as I was approaching Grøthornet, things were changing quickly.
Something was coming my way, and it was coming fast. My bike was down by the farm, and I felt I was in a hurry.
I passed a flock of sheep. It looked like they were in paradise…
When I reached the bike, I noticed the “parking not allowed, vehicles will be towed away” signpost. Was my bike a vehicle in this context? I didn’t have time to reflect on it, because it started raining and I got on my bike, hoping to outrun the rain.
A few minutes later, I was wet to the legitimate bone, and I sought shelter in someone’s garage.
Once it seemed it let up a little, I continued down to Moltu. But now, it was raining even more. I ducked into a bus shelter, scaring the hell out of a woman and her dog, being there for the same reason as I was.
We chatted a bit and then it seemed to let up a little. The woman and her dog started running in case this wasn’t over yet. I got on my bike and headed for Hidsneset.
Then it started to properly pour down. I was SO wet, and there were no more shelters along Moltustranda. I just had to own it.
Without mudguards on the bike, my face got “hosed” and I couldn’t see much. So, I was looking down into the asphalt. A few minutes later, I was half a second away from crashing into a flock of sheep, not having the wisdom to move away from the incoming bicyclist.
Finally, I reached the car. I was so wet that it felt ridiculous. Jumping into the sea couldn’t have made me wetter.
Trip statistics: 4,2km on foot, 5,7km on bike, 630 vertical meters, 1h:51m
Hasundhornet (533m), Jun 12 2026
Friday: After work, I felt like biking and decided to take my regular trip from Haddal (20m) and up to the top of Hasundhornet. The one-way vertical gain is ~520m, but it’s spread out across 9,3km. I like this trip.
What was not so nice, was that it started raining (lightly) when I was halfway up Ringstaddalen. Not enough at first to worry about the headphones, but eventually, I had to cover them under a hat.
The last hill (200 vertical meters, 1,5km) is pure murder. With better tyres, I would have been able to bike all the way up, but my rear tyre is almost worn out and in the steepest hill, I was just spinning.
Then it stopped raining, and I had a most excellent trip back down. The only negative thing was that they’ve put rough gravel on the gravel road and that’s just no fun for bicyclists…
A little bit later, Anne came up from Sogndal, with her brand-new work car – An Id. Buzz. I haven’t made up my mind on whether I like it or not. But I definitely don’t like the name. Using periods (.) and z’s isn’t that hot anymore. I’m old school. I like names like Porsche Carrera, Audi Quattro, Lamborghini Countach.
She arrived later than she usually does. I called and asked where she was, and she was in Volda – charging her car. Right – the modern way of driving.
Trip statistics: 18,6km on bike, 530 vertical meters, 1h:31m
Varden (333m), Rundebranden (294m), Jun 13 2026
Saturday: The first part of the day was spent working (maintenance weekend at work), then we went to Ulsteinvik for shopping. After dinner, Anne wanted to go to Runde and make sure the tourists were staying behind the lines and not disturbing the puffins.
I might as well get my vertical meters on Runde and Anne dropped me off near Søre Handfangen.
I then sat course for the island high point – Varden.
I chose to follow a very vague path, where I probably got the dozen ticks that I had to get off my pants after the hike.
The island high point had fog, so there was no point in hanging around there.
So, I sat course for Lundeura and Anne.
I love hiking along the cliffs. It’s so majestic…
… and dramatic!
With light rain in the air and fog, I didn’t expect there to be many people in Lundeura.
I was wrong…
I went down to Anne and said hello and continued up to Rundebranden, where I chose to not disturb the sheep, who had occupied the path.
On top, two young Swedish girls came up from the lighthouse and wondered where the puffins where at. They said their phone GPS was acting up because of the fog. That sounded a bit weird, but as I was going back there, I said “follow me”.
We had a nice chat. They were working as nurses on Valderøya. IMHO, nursing is one of the most important professions, and I have great respect for people devoting their lives to taking care of others.
Further down, two tourists came drifting out of the fog, also wondering where the puffins were at. The nurses said, “just follow him” and pointed at me.
I didn’t picture myself being a puffin guide when I headed out on this hike.
Once below the fog, I pointed out the way to the viewpoint and then Anne came along.
Too bad I didn’t bring my camera today, but I have enough puffin pictures on my hard drive…
Trip statistics: 8,2km, 650 vertical meters, 2h:46m
Barmen (278m), Børa (207m), Okla (147m), Jun 14 2026
Saturday: The first part of the day was spent on preparing tonight’s dinner (with friends) – a spectacular fish soup and a lemon-based cake for dessert. I take absolutely no credit here. This was Anne’s project, but I had to keep the kitchen clean.
I then proposed to go to Muletua – along an exiting route, but on our way to Nerlandsøya, we found out that due to the bird nesting season, the route was off-limits.
So, I proposed we should hike across Barmen, Børa and Okla – a route we did back in 2019 – which Anne liked a lot. Hopefully, she would also enjoy it today.
For the first time this week, I didn’t expect it to start raining…
But it was windy. Without my hood, my hat would have been ripped straight off my head.
Anne is no big fan of strong wind, but she was nevertheless happy!
We just passed the top of Barmen without taking panorama pictures. This is not the best viewpoint. Then we sat course for Børa and Okla.
It’s a wonderful coastline here and I don’t know anything about it. I need to change that.
I’m confident that it’s not possible to hike from Golleneset to Mulen, but let me find out how far I can get…
We both love hiking along the coastline, with nothing between us and other continents…
The wind was so strong that we barely could talk, but it didn’t take much away from the hike.
It’s just good living …
After passing Børa, we sat course for Okla.
We had to make sure we were on the true high point…
It wasn’t far to Runde, where I hiked across the main tops, the previous evening.
I was very happy about the absence of rain…
On our way down to Golleneset, we tried not to disturb the sheep…
The route to Golleneset is a bit steep, but not really dangerous. But don’t stumble…
At Golleneset, I just had to scramble a little…
I had my bike awaiting down by the molo and while Anne walked along Hamnevegen, I biked back to the car.
5:30pm, our friends arrived, but before we could enjoy dinner, we would have to get wet (in Tovågen)…
Trip statistics: 4,8km on foot, 1,8km on bike, 400 vertical meters, 1h:46m
