Skoften

Another Sunday, another hiking day! With only one more Stikk UT (Get OUT) post left to reach the minimum requirement of seven different posts to get this year's achievement mug, my hubby and I packed our backpacks with goodies and drinks, and drove 4 km north from Molde to Malmefjorden to hike up Skoften.

We parked the car at Ukkelberg, ready for the hike up through the forest to the top at 369 metres above sealevel. After opening the gate, the happy cows out on summer pasture readily came to greet upon us and follow us to the next gate right at the edge of the forest.

Following the trail upwards, it soon became pretty clear that this trail is used by the local elementary school for outdoor science classes, as different posts along the trail informed about the surrounding flora and fauna.
The many nest boxes - each with their own room number as part of Hotel Skoften - also gives the pupils the opportunity to do some bird spotting.

But why this trail was so popular for families with small children, first became clear halfway to the top. At a small clearing in the forest,  right after climbing up the trail's steepest part - made easy by the supporting ropes along the trail -, there is a jungle gym with zip lines, slacklines, spider web ropes and lots more to challenge and stimulate the kids' balance and coordination. The bivouac conveniently placed right next to it, gives shelter to the accompanying parents.

With no children of our own, nor any nieces or nephews coming along with us today, we moved onwards to the top. While writing our names into the achievement book, we were enjoying great views all around from the top of Skoften. The rumour of a whale splashing around in the fjord down below - Malmefjorden - kept us looking through the binoculars, but we only managed to spot some driftwood floating around.

With clouds moving in fast, we followed the trail back down to the car park again. Thank you for another great hike, hubby!