Norwegian Mountains, Møre og Romsdal
Tranhaugen and Eikaberget, May 4 2008
To the main Sekken page (maps, route descriptions, etc.)
Sekken - a long drive from Ålesund
(Click for larger image)
consider Sekken island to be an exotic place. But as I currently live in Ålesund, a visit to the Sekken high point seemed like a full day's project. And thus, a bit exotic, as the high point is only 304m above sea level. I was determined to visit Sekken before moving to a new home (further south on Sunnmøre), and on this fine weekend day in May, I decided to take the trip.
Of course, the ferry to Sekken left just minutes before I arrived in Molde. But with an optimistic mind-set, I let the long wait at the ferry harbor only build up on my expectations. What would be the highlight of the day?
There were two cars (travelling) onboard the ferry, mine being one of them. I asked the other driver (a woman) if she knew anything about Tranhaugen. She told me that it would be best if I asked her mother. "OK, thanks", I replied, assuming her mother would be waiting at the ferry harbor on Sekken. Then I resumed enjoying the nice trip across Romsdalsfjorden.
Arriving on Sekken island ...
the other car just drove away. I found that a bit odd. Where was I supposed to talk to her mother? In any case, I was going in the same direction, and followed after. At Vestad, I stopped and asked a couple of locals if they knew about Tranhaugen. "But - that's not a 4WD car!", was the first thing they said to me. "What an incredibly odd remark", I thought to myself. "No it ain't", I replied. "But what about Tranhaugen?". They realised I wasn't interested in a car discussion and pointed out a gravel road that I could follow.
Then I noticed that the other car turned onto this road too. I followed the other car up to a road fork. The woman got out and said I could park in the fork. Now I was really confused. Did she drive up her just to show me the way? No, she had picked up here mother when I chatted with the car-focused locals. And they were now heading to a cabin by Vestavatnet. Cool! I had got myself a guide.
My new group ..
counted 3 grown-ups (arguably including myself), 2 children and two dogs. Troll (my dog) had got himself company, which meant that he would actually be doing some real walking on his own. One of the kids took fancy in Troll and stayed by his side when he started to fall behind. The forest road was a steep endeavour for my 14,5 year old friend. And it was a really, really, hot day too. After a while, I put Troll in the backpack, causing a certain amusement in the group...
Suddenly, one of the kidds noticed an adder (Hoggorm), and I was mighty pleased getting a picture of this snake. The highlight of the day, surely. I'm easy to please.
Sekken wildlife
(Click for larger image)
Tranhaugen
I parted with the group on a meadow above Vestavatnet. And in not too long, I was standing on top of Tranhaugen. The time was now 12:27PM, and the walk had only taken 45 minutes (slow pace). After spending 10 minutes on the top, I decided to continue towards Eikaberget. But not on foot.
Eikaberget
I returned to the main road, and drove back to Sekkenes, where I turned onto a gravel road. My (rough) map was found in the "Ta turen til Sekken" pamphlet (issued by Sekken Tiltaksnemd, no less), which I obtained onboard the ferry. The gravel road took me up to 130m elevation, which was most excellent, given the time I had available until the departure of the ferry.
I considered leaving Troll in the car, but ended up bringing him along in the backpack. If he could speak, I'm sure he would say "don't you even consider cheating me from a mountain top, low as it may be". I didn't spend time looking for any paths, and headed across a meadow, aiming for Eikaberget. In a while, various forest roads and paths eased the walk, and 13:35PM - 30 minutes after leaving the car - I was on top of Eikaberget.
There was nothing much to be seen from Eikaberget, that I hadn't already seen from Tranhaugen. I turned around and followed the forest ridge to the forest top Funnin. The named amused me, and I wondered what it meant. I arrived on Funnin 14:03PM, and was back at the car 14:21PM. Troll hadn't been walking much, but seemed thrilled about having added two more tops to his CV.
We still had plenty of time until the ferry left Sekken. Then there was the 40-minute trip across Romsdalsfjorden, then waiting for the ferry to Vestnes, yet another 40-minute trip across Romsdalsfjorden, and then a one-hour drive back to Ålesund. A long, but interesting day.
