Summertime in Tromsø means evening hiking with the late evening sun on the rare sunny and warm days. This evening, Julia joined us today on a hike to Middagsfjellet on Kvaløya. This hike starts from a small parking area on the road to Grøtfjord. The very first pitch of the hike is not very well established yet. The hill side is covered with thick moss that could slip right out from under our feet. The trail is already starting to get more worn in, but I wouldn’t recommend going the day after heavy rains, like we did. But the steep start meant we very quickly had great views of Kaldfjord below.
We reached a small hilltop then the trail dropped slightly before climbing again. There was one more big dip in the trail, but then we hiked along the ridge. The ridge slowly climbed towards the peak ahead. The ridge was like a playground, with lots of big rocks, small pools and ponds between them. The water was calm and very reflective. From a distance Middasfjellet looks quite steep and daunting, but as we approached we could see how the trail meandered between the rocks.
The last push to the top seemed so steep compared to the ridge. The trail was pretty well marked with cairns, but we found ourselves off of it now and then. But when we were on the trail, the route was not very difficult. The summit of Middagsfjellet is actually quite flat, a long ridge with one cairn at the midpoint. The summit had views of the mountains around and the ocean.
It was pretty windy at the top, so we tried to find a spot to get out of the wind to make dinner… our middag. After some warm food and chocolate, we made our way back down. Watch your step though, one of the loose rocks that I stepped on actually brought me to the ground. This was a great hike, but next time it will have to be on the weekend, so we can spend longer!
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