24 maj, 2015

First hiking trip!

Sweden never stops amazing me with the beauty of its nature; I’ve already said it once and again and again. Add that to the very convenient Allemansrätten (a law that allows you to camp almost anywhere), sprinkle a long weekend in the middle of it, and there you go: the idea to go hiking for the first time was born!

Me being an absolute beginner made things interesting on a few counts: First of all, we had to decide on a path that was attractive but not too long. Pilgrimsleden came to be the chosen one, a 56 km trail that circles around a sizable portion of small lakes. The trail also happened to be close to Vänern, the largest lake in Sweden and third largest in Europe. Then came the matter of equipment: I already had some reliable shoes, but none of the things that would allow me to sleep in the wilderness. Since I knew that your loyal student ambassador Raghu had also camped for the first time in Sweden, I took his kindness and borrowed a sleeping bag and mat from him.

Ready for action!

The adventure was awfully fun, I was taught the details of how to make a fire, participated in the momentary panic that comes with losing sight of the track, gained a few scratches here and there, but only one fall – which makes me quite proud. What I found surprising is that even if everything looks similar on the map (lake, rock, forest, rock, forest, lake), once you were actually walking you could see how much the landscapes varied along the trail. We came across high points watching over hundreds of pines, forests that were very thick and therefore very dark, long lakes with pristine water, small muddy ones, villages, streams, and sadly, many areas where forestry had gotten rid of a big amount of trees.

The proud fire that I (kind of) helped to produce.

The pretty fire that I (kind of) helped produce.

A magical sight

My final observation is that, presumably due to hunger and fatigue, during this trip I had the most delicious apple of my life. I figured that it was all a perfect balance between hard work and small pleasures.

The trip was abruptly ended by the realization that the nights were too cold for the kind of equipment we had. Nonetheless I would repeat the experience, of course with a little bit more preparation. If you get the chance, definitely try to make your own hiking trip in Sweden!