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Sollia is the high point on Gurskøya island. The Sande/Herøy kommune border runs across the summit and divides Gurskøya in two (seemingly) equal parts. A hike to Sollia from Moldtudalen valley allows for a nice roundtrip across the tops Hestefjellet and Selsteinen, both belonging to Herøy kommune.
Sollia is popular in winter as well as summer. Many routes lead up to the summit, but only the summer route from Moldtudalen is described on this page. The terrain is overall gentle, looking aside from certain cliffs here and there. The grassy, windblown meadows resemble terrain found on nearby islands, such as Nerlandsøya, Runde and Sula. Fine terrain for skiing and easy terrain for walking.
Sollia (Norge 1:50,000: 660m, Økonomisk Kartverk: 661m, UTM 32 V 327503 6907191) has a primary factor of 661m being the island high point.
My GPS averaged to 661m (on the ground) over 10 minutes.
Hestefjellet (Norge 1:50,000: 621m, Økonomisk Kartverk: 621m, UTM 32 V 327041 6908066) has a primary factor of 73m towards the higher parent Sollia (660m). The saddle is found between the two tops. Ref. Ø.K., the saddle is within the range 545-550m, interpolated to 548m.
Selsteinen (Norge 1:50,000: 598m, Økonomisk Kartverk: 597,66m, UTM 32 V 326463 6908973) has a primary factor of 90m towards the higher parent Hestefjellet (621m). The saddle is found between the two tops. Ref. Ø.K., the saddle is within the range 505-510m, interpolated to 508m.
Notes: Class ratings are in reference to YDS. Click here for more information.
The trails described below are not necessarily the *easiest* trails to this mountain.
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Moldtudalen - Sollia roundtrip (summer/autumn)
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Access
The nearest larger city is Ålesund. From Ålesund, follow highway E39 towards Bergen, and then RV61 towards Hareid. Take the Sulesund - Hareid ferry and follow RV61 (roughly) 3Km towards Ulsteinvik. At the roundabout junction outside Ulsteinvik, turn left and follow RV61 southbound until you turn right when you see the "Måløy" sign. Follow RV654 towards Fosnavåg. At the Fosnavåg/Moldtustranda junction (before the Herøy bridges), turn left towards Moldtustranda. Drive 5,6Km and turn left just after a grocery store. Continue 2,4Km up to the Moldtudalen trailhead.
The route
From the Moldtudalen trailhead, proceed on gravel road to Lake Mørkevatnet. Continue on vague path on the east side of the lake and climb into Litledalen valley, where you get a clear wiew towards Sollia. At the trail fork at 480m elevation, turn right and climb Sollia's gentle west ridge to the summit, marked by a small cairn and a container for the summit logbook.
Continue towards Hestefjellet, either by going around Lake Kjerringvatnet on the east side, or head directly down to the west side of the lake and go off-trail up to Hestefjellet.
Continue towards Selsteinen by following a visible (and partly steep) path from Hestefjellet. From Selsteinen, descend on (and off) path into the valley between Storehanen and Selsteinen. A path will take you back to the gravel road.
The high point on Gurskøya was overdue, but on this *extremely* hot afternoon, it was finally to be. Even with all the car windows wide open, the dog had his mouth open on the drive from Ulsteinvik to Moldtudalen. There was no signs pointing to the valley, and I had to ask around at the local grocery store. I also bought a can of "mosquito killing-stuff", which came in very handy during the hike.
The dog ("Troll") and I left the Moldtudalen trailhead 16:15PM. The gravel wasn't easy to walk on, and Troll executed his "sit-down" routine and I put him in the backpack. A "storm" of flies quickly surrounded us. I put down the backpack, stepped away and loaded myself with the can I had bought. Breathe, gas, move away, breathe, gas, move away, etc.
I passed Lake Mørkevatnet and entered Litledalen where Troll was told to walk. Sollia seemed mighty close, but looks are deceiving. We reached the top 17:25PM, 1h:10m after leaving the trailhead. My camera lens was dirty from yesterday's hike, and I had tried to clean it with a drop or two of water. The lens became foggy and almost useless. The panoramas were taken by the 50mm and the 300m lenses, which explains the lack of the usual wide-angle panorama.
I was not in the typical hiking mood, and found the walk a bit boring. I decided to walk across Hestefjellet and Selsteinen, avoiding taking the same route back down. I didn't have the patience to follow the normal round on the east side of Kjerringvatnet, and descended directly down to the lake. I didn't care about the loss of vertical gain. The hike up to Hestefjellet was tiresome. Troll objected to taking a different route back down and I had to carry him from Sollia. Close to Hestefjellet, he resumed walking.
We passed the Hestefjellet cairn 18:05PM, and sadly enough, I started thinking about the ferry from Hareid. Initially, I expected I would reach the 20:30PM ferry (they only run once per hour after 20:00PM), but I saw an opportunity for the 19:30PM ferry. This meant I had to hurry a bit, and since Troll was slowly moving down from Hestefjellet, I had to rush him a bit.
We passed Selsteinen cairn 18:25PM, and I had 18:45PM as the "back-at-the-car time". Poor dog, as I rushed him down from Selsteinen in partly rugged terrain (seen from his point of view). Back at the gravel road, we started running while I cursed myself for thinking about the ferry. We were back at the car 18:38PM, and I had time to take the boots off and change clothes. We reached the 19:30PM ferry by a margin of 10 minutes, and were back in Ålesund 20:30PM.
To Sollia
50mm panoramas, 2 parts
Other summit pics
Descent via Hestefjellet and Selsteinen
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