Local travel: Atlanterhavsveien

Last week I was talking with a friend of mine and we came into the subject of living in an environmental friendly way. And she asked me specifically what I do. Of course I responded telling about the Choices I make every single day trying to live more with nature, then destroying it.
After this conversation I have reflected about the subject and is it one thing I know I can do better, and a lot of other people with me, it is my travelling habits. Just look at my blog. I travel far and I travel by plane. Why do I do it? Often it is to visit a friend, but other times it is to experience and see something different then what I normally do. But do I really have to travel to a different continent to do so?


I have been so lucky that I have had several friends not from around here, come visit me. In those occasions I have had to think about what I can offer of tourist activities. Normally they are thrilled by the nature around here, so it pretty much sorts itselfe out. But sometimes we go a bit further away from home, and it hits me: WOW, this is much different than what I see everyday. Only 1,5 hours drive away from home. Not 2 days of travelling. One of these things was when I travelled Atlanterhavsvegen with a friend some years ago. Now it has actually become a part of Norway's national tourist roads.


So if you live in the area and are thinking that you need a new experience I can really recommend it. It was a lovely drive, beatiful scenery, history, possible small detours here and there and really easy to do without much planning, hassle nor pollution.


Here are some photes from our drive. We started in Molde and ended up in Kristiansund.

Molde

Bud

Ergan kystfort

Fiskerbondens hjem på Maleremmen / The Fishermans home at Maleremmen

Kvernes kirke

Kvernes stave church

 

Hiking in Sunndal: Flånebba, my favourite hike!!

Flånebba in Ålvundeie is definitely my favourite hike in Sunndal so far! The reasons are many. First of all it is not a very steep hike compared with many of the hikes in the area, both if you go straight to the summit from Rødset farm(where you normally park and signs point you in the right direction) or via Rødsetsætra( the Rødset pasture) the steep part is done in the beginning. And the last meters to the top is also a bit steep. 

Secondly the trip goes through a lovely landscape all the way, there are no parts through boring terrain=)

Thirdly there are many options on this hike, there are several paths to follow to the summit so that you can easily make it a round trip instead of walking the same way both up and down. If you are more people hiking together and have more than one car, the options increase. The most common hike though is from Rødset farm and straight to the summit and down the same path. This is an easy path to follow all the way. It is a bit steep in the beginning but when you are done with the first meters and turn around and look towards Ålvundeie you already have a beautiful view of the valley and you are done with the toughest part. Many stop at this point and hike down again after having lunch or coffee while enjoying the nature and the view. Then you just have to keep following the path and soon you will see the summit. The hike to the summit takes approximately 2-3 hours.

You soon get rewarded of the meters climbed, Ålvundeie

The view from the summit towards Sunndalen to the left and Øksendalen to the right

You can also choose to go via the Rødsetsætra. This is a beautiful pasture worth a visit in itself and of course there is a book there for you to sign your name in(although the writing instruments were in poor conditions last time I visited). From the pasture to the summit the path is sadly and surprisingly not much travelled so a map can come in handy if you're not familiar in the area.

Rødsetsætra

Marte enjoying the beautiful landscape in the lovely colours of autumn

Silje on her way to the summit

A bit windy at the summit

If you're not tired after hiking the summit of Flånebba the trip can easily be extended to an other summit near by: Smisetnebba. From Flånebba you can see the mountain ridge leading to the summit. There is a path that is mostly easy to follow, but you can never really loose your direction. From Smisetnebba you can walk the same way down or you can take the path that goes from the the summit down to Smiset farm. An other option is hiking down in to Sæssbøen, a hike that I have heard is nice, but have never had the chance to do myself. There are also other paths you can hike to get to Flånebba, but I haven't hiked them either.

Ingeborg infront of Smisetnebba

On top of Smisetnebba, food and mobile phones are obligatory:p

The path from Smisetnebba down to Smiset

The view towards Ålvundfjorden from Smisetnebba

Neslandet from Smisetnebba

A beautiful scenery the whole hike way:) 

A lovely hike I would recommend at the strongest for everyone who enjoys hiking in the mountain.

Hiking in Sunndal: Langrabbpiken

Langrabbpiken is with its high cliffs and a 1506 masl summit, popular for base jumpers all over the world. Instead of staring towards the summit from Litjdalen and scout for people flying down from the mountain, it was about time I visited the summit. And since I had a friend visiting from the eastern part of Norway, I thought she should see the beautiful and extreme nature Sunndal has to offer:)
Most of the hike I have walked earlier, but the last bit was unfamiliar to me. We started with Hareimdalen, a rather steep hike, but it follows a clear path and except from being hard work is a nice hike that gives a good view of Sunndalen. When the valley flattens you come to some ruins. Here there is a book to sign your name in:) This is also the place where we took off from Hareimdalen and headed for Litjhareimdalen. After crossing a scree there is a path that took us to and up Litjhareimdalen. This bit can be a bit scary at times, but it is just to focus on the path and keep on it:)

The ruins in Hareimdalen

At the top of Litjhareimdalen

Then we just followed the map and hiked towards Langrappiken. From Litjharemdalen there was not much except rocks to hike on, sometimes okay and other times annoyingly slow hiked. But we could see the goal of the trip the whole time and step by step we got closer. Once we had passed Hårstadnebba the extreme cliffs became evident. Bare in mind that it is a long fall just on the other side of the rocks you see...
And at the summit it is straight down to the left, straight ahead and to the right but there is plenty of space in between the cliffs so there is no danger of falling down. It is not a dangerous hike, but it is thrilling to be on the summit!:) And of course a beautiful view in all directions

Langrabbpiken next:)

Rocks in all shapes and sizes

Hårstadnebba and the fjord down to the left

The view towards Litjdalen

Happy=)

Once down from the summit, my friend was comfortably enough to take a photo:) Langrappbiken in the back

Litjhareimdalen

Eyes on the path!

If you want to do this hike, remember that you are only half way there when you are at the summit, it does take a while to hike down. Especially the areas with rocks.

Hiking in Sunndal: Innerdalen

Innerdalen is the perfect startingpoint for many hikes and a beautiful hike in itself. It is said that the valley is amongst the most beautiful ones in Norway. Innerdalen is parallell to Sunndalen and you get there by driving to Ålvundeidet and then driving towards Innerdalen as far as possible, at the end of the road there is a huge parking lot, but during summer it can sometimes be full. Then it is time to use your feet and hike along a broad path for about 4 kilometers. Then you are in Innerdalen with all kinds of options. You can hike over the mountain towards Fale in Sunndalen or the other way towards Todalen or one of the many beautiful summits in the area. Innerdalstårnet being the most popular one of them, but not a peak if you are scared of heigths. There are two places to stay in Innerdalen if you're not tenting: Innerdalshytta and Renndølsætra are both nice places to stay. The hike to Innerdalen is a nice hike in itself and there is always good traditional food to get at both places:) Here are some photoes from some of the hikes I have had to Innerdalen:)

Renndølsætra

Me and Vilde with Innerdalstårnet in the background

Renndølsætra

Innerdalshytta with "Tårnet" in the back

Hiking in Sunndal: Hoåslia

Hiking Hoåslia is the startingpoint for getting to several summits in Trollheimen. Hoåsnebba, Trolla and Furunebba amongst others. To get up Hoåslia you can either take the path from Hoås which is furthest east of the two alternatives. This path goes close to the cliff underneath Hoåsnebba and is therefore more exposed of rockfall. Even though rockfall is more common during spring and early summer there was a rockfall when I was there in July. I would therefore recommend the path from Løykja instead. Hiking here you should also be aware of vipers crawling about...
Done with the warnings! This hike gives a great view of Sunndalen long before you are at the top. It also gets your heart pumping as the hill is very steep. The path can be difficult to follow at times but once you have a good look around it is easy to figure out where the path must go. But remember to look back to where you came from from time to time so it will be easy to find your way down. When you see the mailbox you're at the top of Hoåslia. The hike's total ascent is approximately 800 meters and takes you to about 950 masl in almost no time:)


Hoåslia



Trolla seen from Hoåslia



I hiked a bit further and got an even better view of Sunndalen:)

Sunndalsfjella on the other side of the valley



The view up the valley

A viper in my way!