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: 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!

Børsetkjerringa, just above 1000masl

From Ålvundeie, a small place 15 minutes away by car, there are plenty of hiking opportunities that are not too steep. One of them is Børsetkjerringa with several paths leading to the top. When I did the hike this September I took the steep option on the way up. It starts at Børsetlauvet where it is easy to follow the much used path to the two mailboxes you pass on the way up. So, if you like to get your name in as many books as possible, this is a hike for you=) It's not a very long hike, but as usual you get a nice view in all directions at the top. The view was amazing this time, as the summits had snow on them and the colours of autumn had started to come. To make the hike a bit longer it is possible to make a lap out of it by taking a different way down. This path leads you past two lakes where I have heard that at least one of them is good for fishing. Taking this path you end up in the alpine skiing area, but before you get there you have to cross some mires so wear good hiking boots if you don't want to get wet.

The view towards Oppdøl and Sunndalsfjorden

The most important book is the one at the top:)

A bit slippery on the way down

What a nice place to have a cabin!

Litj-kalkjin 1389 masl

Looming almost straight above Sunndalsøra and our house, Litj-Kalkjin is an excellent hike for those who want to get e great view of Sunndalsøra. The hike is not very steep compared to other hikes in the area and it does not take too long either. Of course the time spent on the hike depends on how fast one wants to walk and the conditions in the mountain. When I did this hike this summer it was still some snow on the way to the summit that we could not cross and therefore the trip got a bit longer. If you do not follow the marked path, as we could not do, you have to go through an area with rather large rocks. It wasn't dangerous or anything, but it takes longer and is more demanding.

The hike starts at the bottom of Haremdalen, a valley that one follows for the first hour or so. Walking up this valley is quit special because after a while you have to cross a river and then you have a river on both sides for the rest of the hike up the valley. As the valley is steep the rivers make a lot of noise and they are amazing and terrifying to watch. The water is so powerful!

Haremdalen, starting point

Before you leave Haremdalen, you get to a postbox where you can sign your name. At this place you leave the path to cross a rockslide before you get back on the path. Then you come to the most airy part of the trip. After that it is just up, up and up. You only have to be careful not to send a rock in your friends direction as there are some loose rocks on the path.

This year it was a bit foggy at the top, so we did not get the good view we usually do. But the hike is nice either way. You start almost at sea level and incline very quickly ending up at almost 1400 meters.

A narrow path through the most airy part of the hike

Finding a good way through the rocks

A lot of snow and low visibility

Due to the fog we only got a view up the valley

My dad and I at the summit. Usually Sunndalsøra is in the background

How the view how it is supposed to be. The photo is taken at an other occasion.

It was a good thing we had done the hike before.

The usual view from the summit. This year all we could see was white fog:/

Flaggnuten -a hike that challenges both body and mind

Flaggnuten is a viewpoint some 431 meters above sea level. There are two paths to the viewpoint that gives an excellent view of Sunndalsøra: the more humane one that is not very steep, but long and the scary one that is very steep, but fast. I have been to Flaggnuten several times, but all except one time I have taken the long route. The one time I managed to hike the steep route, I took the long one down... So it was about time I managed to take the steep route both up and down, and when my brother wanted to help me I could not say no. On the way up there are three places that are particularly difficult for me since I am scared of heights. At these places one has to use a chain to get up. Once I started to trust the chain the hike to the top was okay, but I started to worry for the hike back long before we reached the top. I really wanted to manage the hike down because it would be a personal victory, and with a lot of help from my brother who got his patience tested, I did it! But I was really scared a couple of times! What a feeling=)

Even though the hike is used as a daily exercise for many I would not recommend anyone taking the hike alone when they do it the first time, unless they are very familiar with airy hikes:) For those who are very fit the hike can be done in 20 minutes. What I especially like about this hike is that one has to use the whole body. The days after the hike my muscles were very sore and my arm and back muscles were aching the most.

We can see Flaggnuten from home

My mother getting past the first chain

Some are more relaxed than others

Sunndalsøra

On the safe side of the rock

Feeling on top of the world!

The long way back down...

Løykja -a short hike and lots of ixodidaes

After a week of no exercise, I wanted to get an easy start. I read about this hike, Løykja, that was fairly short, and decided to do it even though it involved some hills. It's all about getting a view in Sunndalen. The trip was okay, and it gave a nice view of Grøa and the valley for being so short. So far so good. But when I got home I found ixodidaes crawling all over me! They are such nasty creatures, and ruins the joy of being off the main path.(We went through some high grass, so I was not surprised when I got home). It is not just that you can get seriously ill of them; the whole thought of something living on you and sucking your blood to survive is unpleasant, to say the the least!

But I love nature too much to let these small insects scare me away from it. The main thing is to get them off before they find a place to bite. So from now on this is the first thing I do whenever I have been out in the woods. It is ironic that it is not a big animal like a bear or a wolf that everyone is scared of that that injures most people, but a small insect. Yes, many have started to fear the diseases, but still it seems that it is more difficult to acknowledge the danger it represents, than an obvious one(like a bear).

Tanya enjoying the view:)

Pretty happy to be exercising again!

Grøa