free to be able to rate and comment on reports (as well as access 1:25000 mapping).
With rain forecast in the afternoon, a short objective seemed sensible for today! We picked Tromtinden, a superb little hill right on the end of the central "arm" of Kvaløya. It has a good path all the way up and is a fine reward for not much effort! The drive to Tromvik is pretty dramatic in itself, passing under massive cliffs around the head of Grøtfjorden. The walk starts a bit over a km up the road from Tromvik to Rekvik by a bridge, where there is ample parking.
The route starts along a track from the north side of the bridge and heads towards the lake of Rekvikvatnet. Here the path disappears into a boggy section around a small stream, but it is easy to pick up again as it starts climbing towards some birch trees. Soon we reached a small lake under Mellomtinden, a beautiful spot. The path continues to the col behind, and then starts climbing across the hillside on the right. Very suddenly it arrives at the ridge, with a dramatic 450m drop straight down into the sea. Turning uphill soon brought us to the lower top of Aksla. A gentle descent led to the col, and then a final climb through some rocks up to the main summit. What a place for such a small hill! The views out to the islands, and back to the higher peaks of Kvaløya are stunning: you really feel like being on the edge of the world. We took our time here over lunch, and then headed back down - thankfully despite the heavy overcast skies the rain stayed off until after we reached the car.
Online mapMellomtinden
Rekvikvatnet and the Rekvik road
Tromvik
Reflections...
... of Hollendaren and Storstolpan on the skyline
Mellomtinden and Sessøya
A myriad of islands and skerries
The main summit from Aksla
Vengsøya
Tromvik
Storvatnet with Hollendaren at its head
Sørtinden and Mellomtinden
A Kvaløya panorama