“Storlia” means “big hill” and so the reason for doing this walk is for the views from the top. One drives part way up the hill and then walks the rest of the way on a trail that is quite steep at times. We were three walking together and everyone was walking at different speeds on the steepest bits. I stop quite often to make sure my heart beat gets back to normal before continuing.
From the parking place at Gammelplassen (“the old place”), there are three walks available. This blog is about Storlia. A later blog will come about Korpåsen.There is the usual map of the area. It can be a good idea to have a picture of the map on one’s smartphone so you can check where trails go. The app we use to check-in to posts also comes with a map that shows the trails.
Storlia, according to the map, is 380 meters above sea level, and we have parked at about 140 meters above sea level, giving us still a climb of about 240 meters.
This is a red trail, meaning that it is difficult. Uphill getting there and downhill back to the car.The trail, looking downhill. Pauses to take photos are a necessity for me. We made it to the top. There was even a Norwegian flag to welcome us. In the box is a book to write your name in. Not everyone uses an app on their smartphone to check-in with.On the picnic table at the top, there was a notice for those who use the app.The view looking south-west, with Ytterøy (an island) on the left, Norviksund straight ahead. All the water is considered Trondheim Fjord.Looking south-east towards where we live, though our house is not visible. In the background is Verdal and even father behind, the mountains with snow on them would be in Sweden. At the check-in point, we are at the edge of Skavdal Nature Reserve, which is to protect an old spruce forest and boreal rain forest. Skavdalen Nature Reserve, looking north-east towards Beitstad Fjord.
This is a walk I can do from home, but today I joined a friend and got a ride to the public parking place which makes the walk considerably shorter. The weather was warm already at 9 am, so it was nice to not have to do all of the climb to the starting point in the hot sunshine.
Skarnsund Bridge from the path to Ørdal Nature Reserve.
The first part of the walk goes around some farm fields and we could see Skarnsund Bridge. Note that we are considerably higher than the level of the bridge. Nice weather and a good view from here.
Ørdal is a farm perched on the edge of Skarnsund. Some of its residents were out in the fields as we passed by. When walking by, one has to be careful not to get between mother and babies, and one should also be careful about where one puts one’s feet. The mothers have bells on them so one can hear them at a distance They usually move away when people approach.
Mother with two lambs who would be at most two months old, perhaps younger.There is the usual sign that gives information about the area.
Ørdal Nature Reserve was established in 1992 and its purpose is to preserve a coniferous forest area which is only slightly affected by human activity. It also has a distinctive flora. The area is on a very steep hillside on Skarnsund. The area is shown on the map on the sign.
As one enters the nature reserve there is a sign to indicate that. The sheep are not in the nature reserve. One has to go through a gate and the reserve is fenced to prevent the sheep from entering.Rhododendron in bloom
Among one of the interesting plants that is found in this forest, is a very large rhododendron. The reason for doing the walk at this time of year is to see it in bloom. Some years it has an enormous amount of blooms on it. I felt that this year, it has, just like the one in my garden which is not by any means the same size, very few blooms, but lots of new growth.
Picture taken 26 June 2018. Two years ago there was a much richer blooming. This also shows the immense size of the bush.Even in the woods there can be many directions to go. Downhill, i.e. straight ahead, leads down to the fjord, which is where we went today. The path that goes off to the right in the picture goes along the hillside, to where there are several cabins and a road that would take you to civilization. The path that goes uphill to the left, leads to the remains of a human dwelling from a century or more ago. Also note the box on the tree in which there is a book to write one’s name in.We walked down to the fjord where we rested and drank water. We had done the easy part of the walk so far, mostly downhill. Now we just had to climb back up to the level of the sign for the nature reserve and the level of where the car was parked.Undergrowth under the tall trees.It seemed like nature was making a bit of a fence so that walkers did not fall down the steep slope.The path is easy to follow and there is lush vegetation in the shade of the trees. I often take pictures when climbing up the steep slopes. It’s a good excuse to stop for a minute or two and get my heart slowed down.Galium odoratum. The Norwegian name is myske and the English name is sweet-scented bedstraw or woodruff. It grows where there is very little light and covers the ground.The check-in point – 40 points for this more challenging walk.
The nature trail that starts in Vangshylla goes all the way to Straumen. What can be driven in a car in 12 km, will be 19 km if you decide to walk along the trail. I have never done the whole trail all at once, but I have done most of the trail, in easier portions.
Vangshylla used to have a ferry in order to cross to Mosvik. Now it is mostly a small boat harbor and there is a building where you can rent accomodation or a small fishing boat. There are about 30 cabins in the area and about 10 houses with full-time residents.In 1991, the ferry was replaced by a bridge that spans Skarnsund. The bridge is just over one kilometer long. We moved to Vangshylla in 1988, just as they were starting to build the bridge.
As usual, there is an information board, with a map and some information about things along the trail.
The information board at Vangshylla about the culture trail from Vangshylla to Straumen.
The term “culture trail” (kultursti) indicates that there will be information along the trail, either about the animals or plants that are there, or human buildings that are still there or used to be there. There can be information about how the place got its name. The idea is that you are supposed to learn something as you walk along the trail.
This sign is at the beginning of the trail and you can just see a cabin behind the sign. The main part of the trail is 13 km, but since this sign was made an additional 6 km have been added at the Straumen end of the trail.
When starting at Vangshylla, the trail first follows a road that goes both to full-time dwellings and cabins that are only occasionally lived in. The trail is considered to be of medium difficulty.
This picture was taken a while ago, after a rain shower, and before the trees had their leaves out.Much of the trail goes through the woods and is pleasantly shady on a warm June day. Notice that the trail is well-used and the tree roots make the surface very uneven.This shows a close-up of the map showing the section from Vangshylla to Forr. I usually walk to Bjønnbrøttet which this year is a check-in point for Inderøy walks. The red dotted line is the trail and the small black squares are the houses or cabins. There are quite a few cabins in this area, in the woods and overlooking the fjord.The trail can be quite steep at times. Here it goes quite steeply down into a ravine.
The goal for today’s walk was a shelter that has been there for many years. I have been taking this walk for most of the thirty years that we have lived here. Things have changed during this time, but I continue to enjoy the walk that is partially through these shady woods.
The shelter for post 25, the goal of today’s walk.This sign inside the little shelter explains how the place got it’s name. The story is in both Norwegian and English.The view from the shelter, looking across Trondheim Fjord, towards Ytterøy, which is in Levanger municipality.The sign indicates which post one can check-in to here, and the dark box has a book in which you can write your name. The book is out all year and some people like to count how many times they visit this location.
Today’s walk started from the main road to Straumen and was basically uphill the whole way. We started with some fantastic views over Trondheim Fjord toward Verdal and Levanger. We picked a nice evening for our walk, between about 16:30 and 18:00. The temperature was about 17 degrees C.
View from Volan, looking over Sundnesnesset towards Verdal and Levanger. There is now very little snow left on the mountains in the distance.
Though the first bit of the walk follows the road to a farm, we were soon in the trees, so that even though we were climbing uphill, it wasn’t too warm.
This part of the path was very pleasant to walk along and we could walk at least two abreast. You can also see some of the signposts on the trail, indicating that this is a blue trail, which means it is of medium difficulty.
Near the top of the trail there was a map which indicated all of the main trails in this part of the municipality. We chose to just head back the way we came as we wanted to get back to our car, but there are lots of possibilities of taking round trips through the woods, especially for those living in the area.
Map of the trails in this part of Inderøy. We walked up from the farm named Volan.
The goal of our walk was a “gapahuk”, which is a little shelter, often built with a view and usually made out of wood. There will be a roof of some sort. They can be very small or quite large. This one had a little iron stove in it and a place to have a fire. It was nice to sit down for a few minutes on the benches and rest after our climb up the hill.
Gapahuk at Volkammen or Oppemmsbråttet
The view was nice too as we had come over the top of a hill (“kammen”) and were looking in a different direction and seeing a different fjord. The word “bråttet”, in the name Oppemsbråttet, means that there is a cliff and very steep downhill.
View from the shelter, looking northwest towards Beitstad Fjord.The sign to say we had reached a post for the Inderøy walks.
There’s not much we can do about the weather, except adapt to it. But certain types of weather are more depressing than others. I’m glad I don’t live in an area with a lot of drought or a place that has large forest fires. However, rain day after day can be hard on the spirits.
For example, here’s a picture from 8:30 am on Friday, May 15th, 2020.
Friday, 15 May 2020, at 8:30 amThe snow kept on falling, on and off all day, though by evening most of it had melted. It’s hard to see in this picture, but the rowan tree is opening out its leaves, as it should at the beginning of May.
It is quite normal for it to snow where we live in April, but it usually melts quickly and disappears. April is the time for the early flowers to bloom, such as daffodils. May is when I have always thought that my garden looks at its best, with lots of daffodils and tulips blooming.
Primrose, photo taken 9 May 2020
White anemone, photo taken 9 May 2020
I went back to my pictures from May 2019 and found the following.
Daffodils, 26 April 2019Tulips and chives, 17 May 2019Rhododendron, 17 May 2019Wild orchid and pansies, 18 May 2019.
April and May are the months I usually spend a lot of time in the garden, cleaning up after the winter, enjoying slightly warmer days and sunshine, weeding methodically through all the flower beds. I got a good start in April this year, getting the weeding done in many of the beds, but suddenly during the last two weeks, it has been difficult to motivate myself to continue. Snow on the ground when I wake up, cold biting wind on the driveway, snow flurries or rain showers throughout the day, do not encourage me to go outside for several hours.
We usually get two weeks of nice, warm weather in May. I’m waiting!
On Wednesday, the 13th of May, my friend and I decided to take the walk up to the highest hill near where I live. I live at approximately 20 meters above sea level and the hilltop is 268 meters above sea level, so for me the walk includes an increase of over 240 meters in elevation. Some of the ascents are quite steep.
It was a cool morning and there had been a dusting of snow on the ground when I got up. However, the precipitation had been coming as relatively short snow flurries the last couple of days, so we decided to do the walk anyway. Wednesday is our regular day for walking together.
As an Inderøy Walk most people would park much farther up the hill than my friend did and therefore have less hill to climb. However she decided to park on a lay-by at the corner of the road down to Vangshylla.
I have been doing this walk for 30 years and it doesn’t really get any easier over the years. One memory is the year that my husband and I were going to take a planned hike in the Rocky Mountains in British Columbia, Canada to see the Burgess Shale, an all-day hike, and we took the hike up Tittinghalla as often as we could to give ourselves the practice of climbing a mountain.
The geological definition of a mountain is a landform that rises at least 300 meters from the surrounding terrain. Tittinghalla doesn’t reach up over 300 meters above sea level, but if you include the depth of Skarnsund, which can be over 100 meters deep, Tittinghalla would classify as a mountain. There is also a definite point where one cannot go higher, though it is covered in trees and therefore not so easy to get a good view of the surrounding landscape.
So, back to Wednesday, and our walk. I met my friend on the 755 road at the turnoff to Vangshylla and we climbed up Tittinghalla from there. We started at about 10 am. The picture below shows the trail after the first snow flurry has passed us. We took refuge under some trees during the worst of the snow flurry. It was good to have a rest from the relatively steep climb. It’s actually quite a bit steeper than it actually looks in the photo.
Climbing up Tittinghalla in Inderøy. Picture taken at 10:27 on 13 May 2020.
This part of the trail has been a tractor road for taking out lumber from the forest. There are deep ruts from the continued use of a tractor, and the climb can be quite steep in parts.
By the time we got to the summit of Tittinghalla, the sun was shining again.
Time: 10:42, so a little more than a half hour’s walk from the 755 road. Note that the sun is shining now.There isn’t very much view from the top as the trees grow quite tightly. It would have been nice if five or six trees had been taken out to give a bit of a view.I always make a circle tour around the top of Tittinghalla and it is much more open on the north side of the hill. Here looking toward the hills in Verran which still have snow on the tops.Going downhill at 11:00, the snow is quickly disappearing in the sunshine and we can see Skarnsund Bridge and Mosvik in the background.
We used about one and a half hours from my friend’s car until we were back to her car. I still had another 10 minutes walk home. We were away from car traffic for most of the walk and even though we were talking most of the time, there is only the sounds of the birds when out in nature on a walk like this. You need to be in relatively good shape to take this climb, but I always enjoy the walk through the woods. Take pauses as you need to on the steep bits.
Norway uses an international standard for grading trails. There are four levels of difficulty: green is easy, blue is medium, red is challenging and black is expert.
The level of difficulty will tell a walker or hiker at a glance what to expect of the trail that they are going to follow. The level indicates what type of path to expect, the length of the walk and degree of experience required.
This trail was marked as level green, easy, and the information about the trail indicated that it was suitable for wheelchairs and bicycles. In fact it was all on either a gravel or paved road.
Green level – Easy
A walk that is at a green level:
is suitable for beginners
requires no special skills
is relatively short, that is, less than 5 km
is at an elevation of less than 300 meters
is easy to walk on, such as asphalt, gravel or improved paths
has no streams to cross
is firm, even and obstruction-free
has only moderate ascents, and no steep or difficult sections.
Blue level – Medium
A walk that is at a blue level:
is also suitable for beginners but requires average fitness
requires basic hiking skills
can be at a higher elevation, up to 600 m
can be up to 10 km in length
can have more challenging sections than a walk at a green level
can be rocky, but has no demanding scree
has no streams to be crossed
has moderate ascents but can include some steep slopes
can have sections that are considered precipitous for some.
This path is graded at level blue and is a rocky path that can get muddy when it rains a lot. There is quite a slope at this point and I usually prefer to go down, rather than up, at this point. At worst, the path itself becomes a stream as the water drains downhill.
I regularly use trails marked with the blue level and find them about the level that I prefer. I rarely do trails that are more difficult, though I also enjoy doing walks at the green level.
Red level – Challenging
A walk that is at a red level:
is for more experienced walkers or hikers
requires good stamina and good equipment, including hiking boots
can be up to 20 km in length and up to 1000 meters in elevation
will have a path that can be in open terrain, on rocky ground, on scree or rugged mountains
will include crossing streams, traversing steep slopes and have long stretches of both loose rock and marshland
may have up to two streams to be crossed
will have several types of ascents and challenges
will have precipitous and exposed sections
can include technical challenges and parts that require some climbing
Black level – Expert
I have never done a walk at the black or expert level. It is well beyond my capabilities. A walk at a black level:
is for experienced hikers
requires good stamina, good equipment and the use of hiking boots
requires a knowledge of maps and the use of a compass
has no restrictions as to altitude or length
has longer or more technically difficult trails than the red level
can include a number of streams to be crossed
is often a long summit trip with steep ascents on an uneven path
can have precipitous and exposed sections where scrambling is necessary
Today we took the first of hopefully many Inderøy walks which are registered on Trimpoeng and accumulate points. This is a walk I had not done before and an area I had not walked in before. I enjoyed the walk. My walking companions were my husband and my son.
The walk started at Vestvik Church, a small church serving Framverran in Inderøy municipality. The church was built in 1905, is of wooden construction and seats about 275 people. Here there was place for many cars to park. There was one other car there when we arrived and none other than ours when we got back to the car.
Vestvik Church, Inderøy. In the background is Beitstad Fjord and Steinkjer municipality.
This particular walk was all on gravel or paved roads and therefore relatively easy walking. However we climbed a long way up the hill from the church, so it was good exercise. The length of the walk was about 5.5 km. It was a good walk to start the walking season with.
The walk was designed to give information about a local boy, Petter Northug Jr., who grew up on a farm in the area, became a very good skier and won two gold medals at the Winter Olympic Games in 2010.
Information and map of the walk. This walk was opened in 2019.There were many signposts along the walk and this is an example of one of them. The hiker with the green background indicates that this is an easy walk.Goal of the walk, post number 29 reached and we could check in. Then it was just to keep on going to get back to the car. We used about 1 hour and 20 minutes.
This walk is recommended. We could walk three abreast much of the way and very few cars on the side roads. There was more traffic on the main road through Framverran (FV 191). Most of the walk was in relatively open terrain, with a few houses or farms. On one farm we saw cattle out grazing. We were lucky with the weather. It was a bit grey but the rain held off until we were almost back at the car. Views were available at various points and we could see over Beitstadfjord towards Steinkjer.
One interesting site along the way was Rognlisveet. It used to be a crofter’s cabin but has been in disuse for almost a hundred years as the last resident died in 1926. It has now been fixed up and can be rented for events. There seems to be an outdoor eating area as well as a new building that will seat up to 40 people.
A new sign pointing to the fixed up area. The road we were walking along is not found on all the maps, so it too must have been new last year.The old crofter’s cabin. This would have been a very isolated place with probably a lot of snow in the winter. It may not have been easy to eke out a living here.New outdoor picnic area. Note the saw hanging up as you may need to cut some firewood.A new building which can be rented for parties or other events. There is some parking available and one can drive to this location now.
I have been walking in Inderøy for over 30 years now, but there are many new places to explore. We live in an area of hills, lakes, forest and shoreline, with houses and farms collected in parts of the municipality. In many parts of the municipality there are pathways which everyone is allowed to use. Many of these would be on private ground, but unless they cross cultivated fields, everyone is allowed access to them.
For several years, Inderøy municipality has organized a series of walks which encourage the residents to explore the wilder areas of the municipality and be more familiar with other areas than the one where one lives. In the past they have given out brochures listing the walks. There have been special arrangements so that people get a social time as well. There is always a competition for who does the most walks.
This year there are 38 posts, or places to visit, or walks to take. Because of the pandemic this year, no special arrangements are being held. Registering that one has done the walk is done on an app on a smart phone called Trimpoeng (http://trimpoeng.no/i/inderoytur20) and one registers for one particular competition. Every time one comes near a post one “checks in” and receives points for the walk.
The number of points given for a walk will depend on its difficulty and length. The easiest walks are only 10 points and are usually two to three kilometers in length (round trip from the assigned parking location). The most difficulty walks are up to 12 kilometers in length, often involve climbing up to a mountain top and give 50 points.
For this year’s walks there are 11 that give 10 points, 13 that give 20 points, 7 that give 30 points, 5 that give 40 points and 2 that give 50 points. One can visit posts many times, but you cannot check in until at least 22 hours after the last time you checked in to that particular post.
The list published in the local newspaper has divided the walks into the following areas in the municipality:
Røra – 4 posts
Sandvollan – 4 posts
Kjerknesvågen – 4 posts
Stokkan/Utøy – 3 posts
Straumen – 4 posts
Utøystien – 6 posts
Framverran – 4 posts
Mosvik – 9 posts
It is usually the sports club in each area that has responsibility for keeping the trails in good order and marking the trails. Parking places must be available, either on municipal property or by agreement with the local landowner.
The app, Trimpoeng, gives a brief description of how to find the start of the walk and where one can park a car. It also includes a map which will show the user’s location and the location of the post. The app will show how many times one has visited a particular location and has a log over all the times one has checked in.
I am hoping to do quite a few of these walks this year. Blogs may turn up about the most interesting walks.
I have done jig-saw puzzles since I was a child. My mom liked to do them, and she had a special tray that she did them on so that they didn’t take up a table and could easily be moved. When she had finished a puzzle, I liked to take out a small section of it, perhaps a corner, perhaps 50 pieces or so, and put the pieces back in place. Now that I think of it 60 years later, it was probably a good way at getting practice at doing jig-saw puzzles.
500-piece jig-saw puzzle by Ravensburger
I have collected jig-saw puzzle for many years. Some have been terrible to do, for example, when the same piece can go in several places. Those have been thrown away or given away quickly. Others have been enjoyable to do and I do them again and again.
What makes jig-saw puzzles a pleasure for me? First of all, the picture has to be something pleasing. I usually like landscapes, often with a building and mountains. When I buy a new puzzle, I only buy the ones that I enjoy looking at the picture. The picture itself should be relaxing, hence landscapes. There should also be enough variety of colors in the picture so that it is a pleasure to do, not annoying.
500-piece jig-saw puzzle by Clementoni
Most of the time I do puzzles with 500 pieces, as the easiest ones take only a few hours and I can get the table back quickly. I have quite a few with 1000 pieces, but then I need to be able to use the table for several days. Just sorting through the pieces takes twice as long with the larger puzzles. I have very rarely done anything larger than 1000 pieces as they just take up too much space.
Secondly, I enjoy the slow putting together of a picture, piece by piece. It is like knitting or weaving, though in a different medium, as it slowly becomes more done and the project becomes finished. When the last piece is put it, I can say to myself, “Done!” Even doing the same picture several times will give the same joy of having accomplished something.
500-piece puzzle de-luxe puzzle by Liveworks and British Heritage Ltd
Every now and then I like to have a greater challenge. The puzzle of London is quite difficult, even though I have done it several times. It is not one that I would have chosen myself, but my son gave it to me after a trip to England. There is writing on many of the pieces so one can tell which way the piece should go, but remembering where everything is in the picture is part of the challenge. It makes me think of the geography of London as well as where in the picture a particular place is. This one was on the table for three days.
Doing jig-saw puzzles is not for everyone, but it is something that I find relaxing and enjoy doing. The boxes require quite a bit of storage space, so I can’t afford to have too many in the house. The current tally is 69.
