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

 

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!

Besseggen -an overrated hike?

The hike across Besseggen is rated as one of the most beautiful hikes in Norway and is therefore also one of the most popular ones. The hike goes from Memurubu to Gjendesheim in Jotunheimen National park. To get to Memurubu most people take the ferry from Gjendesheim. It is possible to make the trip one day longer by taking the ferry a bit further and starting the hike at Gjendebu. Then you hike across Bukkelægret to get to Memurubu. A rather steep hike at times, but nice indeed:)

Besseggen is famous for its wonderful view with a green lake on one side and a blue one on the other. The view was beautiful, but the rest of the hike was disappointing. For me the hike got ruined by all the people everywhere, it was like walking down the main shopping street in a big city on a Saturday. Not what  I prefer when I am up in the mountains. So even though I understand why it has become so famous, I think the popularity is damaging the experience.

One of the most positive things about Besseggen, was that it gave a great view over to Knutshøe. This mountain seemed so fun to hike that the trip was extended by an extra day. And it was absolutely worth it! The hike was very nice, but maybe a bit more difficult than Besseggen. We only saw a handful of other people on the hike so it was hard to imagine that Besseggen was only minutes away.  

The cabins around Besseggen are very big and nice, but for me they were to similar to a hotel. They lacked some of the personality and charm the cabins in Trollheimen have.

All in all a nice trip, but Besseggen will never be one of my favourites. It is a hike that is fun to have walked, but that I will never do again. I can only recommend the hike to those who doesn't mind hiking in a huge crowd.

Besseggen

On my way to the top of Knutshøe=)

Satisfied with the hike 

Knutshøe

Kongelhjellan, one of the most popular hikes in Sunndal

A short drive up the valley, the start of a beautiful short hike to Kongelhjellan starts. The beginning of the hike is marked with a sign and shortly after there is a place to park the car. The hike follows a broad path that is nice to walk on, although it can be a bit slippery when it is wet. Along the path you can find different kinds of berries in the right season: blueberries, raspberries and wild strawberries=)

The hike takes less than an hour to the top, where you of course find a book to sign your name in. If you continue a bit further you come to a nice viewpoint. A lovely place to have lunch and maybe some dessert if you have picked some berries:)

A nice view down the valley

The path continues to the viewpoint

The start of the hike is easy to find:)

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...

Hiking in Sunndal: Stortuva

In Sunndalen you have two opportunities if you want to train: run on flat ground or hiking up one of the mountainsides that are too steep for running. After studying a map, I found a place where I thought it could be possible to go for a run without it being just flat. A 20 minute drive from home the track to Stortuva starts. It's a summit at 1036 meters, and since it starts at nearly sea-level it makes for a good exercise:) It was just to follow the path all the way to the top except from one place: At the first mountain pasture I missed that the path took a right turn, but if you take it slow and take a look around the path should be easy to find:) It took me approximately 1,5 hr to the top and 1 hr to get back down. If you want to make it a hike, it could take a bit longer depending on the pace. 

An old mountain pasture

Ahead: The only part that wasn't possible to run 

The view towards Sunndalen

Enjoying the view towards Nesøya:)

Hiking the triangle in Trollheimen

This hiking trip is one of the most popular ones nearby. Information about the trip can be found here. In spite of the long lasting winter in the mountains my friend Marte and I took the trip early in July. We started at Gjevilvasshytta and were told that up to 60% of the trail were covered in snow towards Trollheimshytta and a bit less on the other stages. We decided to start towards Trollheimshytta, we followed the signs from Gjevilvasshytta and thought we were on the right track. I thought it was a bit funny that we never turned left and after a while we met some people saying we were on the track to Jøldalshytta, not Trollheimshytta. Haha! Lessons learned: do not follow signs, read the map instead. Check if the sign is telling the winter or summer route.

So there was a change of plans, and we spent the first night at Jøldalshytta. What a luxury! It was like being at an all inclusive hotel. After taking a shower and hanging up the clothes in the drying room, we got a three course dinner followed by coffee and cake. It is funny how much better food tastes after a day of hiking=) By 9 pm we were ready to hit the sack! The area around the hut was very nice, but sadly there were too many mozzies around to be outdoors. Even though I was tired when we got close to the hut, the mozzies were so aggressive that I had to find the energy to run the last part.

All routes are marked with red signs. But a map is handy when the signs are covered in snow.

A lot of reindeer between Gjevilvasshytta and Jøldalshytta

Food has never been better:)

A mountain pasture near the hut

Jøldalshytta

Ready for stage number two

On the second stage we took the track across Geithøtta. The more demanding route across Trollhetta had not been taken by anyone else this year due to the amount of snow that still was lying in the mountains. The hiking was fine, but we had to be careful several places where the snow was covering streams. But this was nothing compared to the amount of snow we had to cross the following day. But this snow was thicker and not to many streams to cross, although there was one river that gave us some difficulties. This was the only day I had to wear hiking boots, I am not sure if you have to wear it all if the tracks were free of snow.

Road block. Why do sheep prefer the road and paths?

At the top of Geithøtta=)

Trollheimshytta. The hut you do not see until it's suddenly right in front of you

Ready for the last and final stage:)

The information was correct, plenty of snow!

Where is the snow thick enough for us to cross?

Gjevilvatnet:) almost there!

All in all a beautiful trip that I would recommend to everyone! Ut.no has sat the level of difficulty to demanding. This rating is mostly based on the length of the stages, so do not get scared off it.

Happy and tired back at Gjevilvasshytta=)