Safe Return Doubtful

Two splendid outings today after an early start. I had taken the ferry between Brensholmen and Bottnham (Senja) in 2016 during my bikepacking trip, but in a southerly direction. It was raining and cold, and there were few people around. Right now, we are in a fine spell of weather, another day without any cloud, and the ferry was busy. It is a smaller ship than most also, and crosses only times a day. A lot of motorhomes and vans drive around I think, a longer journey, unless you have to wait for the ferry, which the traffic heading onto Senja certainly had to do today. I took the 9 am crossing, and was inline from 7:30. Once in Brensholmen the queue was longer than a kilometre. It would take all day to clear them.

My first destination was the island of Sommarøy, just a few kilometres after Brensholmen, an island popular for its beaches. From Sommarøy I headed over a second bridge to a smaller island off its coast, Hillesøya, where there was a hike I was keen on. There is just one mountain on the small island with a NATO golf ball on its summit, at 240 metres. There are a few ascents possible, but the one I favoured was the steepest, following a permanent rope all the way up, almost like a Visa Ferrata. I had a concern about Roja, but he had no problem, and was up in no time. He is quite experienced at this sort of climbing, on rock faces, by now. From the summit we wound our way down the far side, with incredible view over Senja with a heat inversion and a misty shoreline, and the beautifully clear colours of the Norwegian Sea and the archipelago of skerries and islets dotted around the coast.

Sommarøy was busy, but Hillesøya much less so. I met an English couple of a Norwegian rented campervan on holiday from Oslo where they worked, and they almost persuaded me to stay at the picturesque little campsite they were on. The cost put me off in the end, 30 euros for very little other than the view.

After lunch I moved on around Tromso, which at some stage it will be necessary to go through. For the next week or so though, I will explore the islands to the northwest of the city, but started tonight on a mountain pass at 240 metres above sea level. There is a tunnel below, but the old road offers parking, and easier access to hikes in the surrounding mountains.

It was so tempting that in the evening, after an afternoon of work, we took a couple of hours out to a lake on the mountain at about 340 metres, which, on a warm afternoon, Roja greatly enjoyed.