Ok, so the term thru hike is probably more or less reserved for longer trails, but this was the first time C hiked the entire length of a trail, so I’m calling it a thru hike for her.
My oldest daughter got a gift card for a spa on her 16th birthday, and was going to Kosta Boda Art Hotel with her mother in late June. At the same time my son was staying a couple of days on “Kortis” (a sort of relief home for families with disabled children). This was a perfect time for me and C to go hiking.
We dropped off my wife and oldest daughter at the hotel, and drove north towards Visjön. We parked the car in the west side of the lake, just north of a shooting range. It had started to rain when we arrived, and the forecast showed rain for the next two days. But C was in a good mood. After a short hike along the borders of the shooting range we arrived at the lake. We turned north and hiked along the esker that borders most of the west side of the lake.
After a while we saw the ground sort of moving. With a closer look we saw that the ground was littered with small 1-2cm long frogs. They where everywhere for a long part of the trail. We tried to watch our steps so we wouldn’t step on them. Every now and then we stopped to pick blueberries.
We came to the north side of the lake, and turned down south on the east shore before making dinner. We had noodles with beef jerkey and cheese. So far we hadn’t seen a single suitable place to set up the tent. Eventually we came down to the parking and info sign marked on the map. On a small peninsula nearby we found a perfect spot for our tent, and room for many more too.
The rain had stopped earlier, but we set up the tent right away, and put up the hammock. This time I had brought the half inner, to be able to get in and out of the tent without having rain falling into the inner. On 2/3 of the vestibule I had a polycro groundsheet for the gear. This was actually a perfect setup for me and C. The half inner was large enough for us, without feeling cramped, and we had a large area for the gear.
I made dinner for us, and then we just hung out in the hammock and eat snacks. It didn’t take long before we both fell asleep.
When we woke up it started to rain slightly, so we took down the hammock and retreated to the tent. C watched Vaiana on my phone while I was reading a book writter by a reporter and a photographer who got kidnapped in Syria a few years ago.
After the movie it was time for C to go to sleep. The rain had started to pour down, and once again I had water seeping through, and dropping down on my face. I was pissed. I had carefully taped the insides where the midway corner guylines attatches and where the plastic struts for the vents are, but still water came through. But this time I saw the source. Water kept seeping through the seams on the top hat, and ran down on the inside of the tent before dropping down on my face. I sent a mail to HMG again, and this time I got the $58 i paid for the shipping back. Since then I’ve taped up those seams too, so I think it will be ok now. But then and there I regretted selling my heavier Hillebergs for this. Hilleberg fans can almost be a bit cultist from time to time, but in the end there’s a reason for it. I’ve had three Hillebergs (and a lot of other tents too) and their quality do stand out.
I was a bit annoyed that the super expensive tent didn’t hold up as expected, but I managed to let it go and go to sleep.
The next morning we had chocolate banana oatmeal for breakfast, before packing up. It was raining heavy this morning. C jumped in water pools as we hiked along.
On the southern section of the trail we came to a large open area that probably serves as a pasture from time to time. There weren’t any animals there at that time, so it could have been a nice place for a tent. The place had an abundance of wild strawberries. We ate a lot, and I could barely get C to continue hiking with me.
After that we had a section of road hiking before turning back north on the esker we started with. C was starting to get a bit tired, but it was only a short hike left to the car. When we got to the car we took of our wet rain gear. C was dry as a bone, but my cheapo rainpants had leaked through, and I might as well have skipped them all together.
This was C:s first hike of an entire trail. We’ve done a lot of paddling, camping and off trail hiking but this was the first time she hiked an entire trail. It went really good, even though her favourite part is hanging out in camp. (It’s actually my favourite part too, when I’m not solo hiking)
C has been going to Frilufsfrämjandet Skogsknytte for 1,5 years. Some of us have talked about going camping with the kids, and in the middle of May we got out on a camp with E and her father Christoffer.
We had scouted suitable areas, and I had found a nice looking oak meadow, just south of a nature reserve close to Växjö. Camping is prohibited within the reserve, but allowed outside through “Allemansrätten”. To be fair, the oak meadow was more beautiful than lots of the reserve. There are pastures around here, so one isn’t allowed to camp here if there are any animals there.
Under the old magnificent oak trees the ground was covered with Wood Anemone and Heath Peas.
C and I arrived first, and found a nice spot for two tents. After a while we heard E and Christoffer coming through the meadow. We set up our tents, and it started raining. We’d had sun and great weather all week, but once we got out we had rain. And it rained a lot. A litteral downpour all evening and all night. Having a Mid with a full inner provided some difficulties in a never endimg downpour, as it kept raining in everytime we entered or exited the tent.
We made dinner, and on the meny this time was tortilla pizza. I liked them, but they weren’t C:s favourite. Perhaps because she just wanted to play with E instead of eating.
The kids played with My Little Ponies in the Ultamid at first, but later in the evening they retreated to E and Christoffers tent, where they watched movies until late in the evening. Christoffer and I stayed outside, eating snacks and having a couple of cold beers. When it was time to put the kids to sleep we asked ourselfs why we had stayed out in the rain instead of just sitting in the tent.
C was super tired when we got back to our tent, and she fell asleep right away. I didn’t though, because I had found out that the tent was leaking. Water seeped through somewhere, and dropped down on the inner, and through the mesh onto the gear. I got pretty upset with it. The tent costs a fortune, and all the reviews holds it up to be some kind of super shelter, and I had water dropping down. I’ve had the Ultamid 2 before and didn’t have this issue. I mailed Hyperlite Mountain Gear right away, and later got a roll of DCF-tape sent, and a description on where the trouble spots usually are. (The story unfortunately will continue in my next post)
The next morning I had to wake C up. It felt like she could’ve slept forever. I made french toast for breakfast and we explored the area around the meadow before packing up.
It was fun to camp with E and Christoffer, and the first time to camp on that place. The rain was unfortunate though, but we’ll definitely come back here again. Christoffer and I talked about bringing canoes the next time.
It’s been a while since I wrote here. It has been a lot going on this spring and I just haven’t had the time or energy to write. But I do have a few trip reports to post, so I’ll start with No. 1 out of 4.
Trip report
On 30th of April C and I got out on an overnighter together. It was our first overnighter together since our hot tent overnighter in Januaury, and it would be the first time C got to use the new Ultamid 4. I had only used it once before, on my ski trip in February, but that time I used the half inner. For this trip I brought the full inner, to get a chance to test it.
We got away later than first planned, and since we had to get back early the next day drove to our “secret” spot, that is close to home. It’s also C:s favourite place to camp. I brought the canoe too. We didn’t plan to paddle to a campsite, but I wanted to do at least a short paddle.
When we arrived I set up camp right away. The spot where we usually put up the tent was in the danger zone though. A pine tree had cracked about 100cm up, but was still standing. It would have been stupid to put up the tent within falling distance from it, so we cleared out a new spot and set up the tent.
After that we made dinner, chicken paeng red curry with noodles. I loved it, but C prefered the noodles over the paeng.
We paddled for a while and C got to use her new fishing rod. We didn’t catch anything though. But after a while C wanted to get back. It’s neither the hiking nor the paddling that she prefers. It’s playing in the tent.
So we got back to the car, put the canoe back in the roof and went back to the tent.
There where a lot of Canada geese that honked all around us. Their nests are everywhere in these parts. But we also heard the lonely calls from Loons. The sound of their cries cut through everything, and I think it’s one of the most beautiful sounds in nature.
As the sun was setting we got out on a rock on the far edge of our peninsula and just sat there, looked over the lake and listened to the sounds of nature.
After a long time we got back to the tent. C slept like a log all night, but I woke up several times when my Massdrop Klymit mat had deflated (I later found a tiny little hole in it.)
The next morning I made french toast from a pancake powder mix I had made at home. It was a pretty nice breakfast.
We packed up after that, and when I started to take down the tent the rain started.
And that’s that. A simple short overnighter, but a nice time spent in nature and hanging out with my daughter.
I have wanted cross country skis for more than a decade, but it wasn’t until last year that I actually got around to buy a pair.
I wanted a pair that could suite all the potential adventures I could think of. My dream is to make ski camping trips in the mountains, and I bought a pair of Åsnes Amundsen with Alaska BC boots.
Last year I only got around to use them on a couple of occasions before the snow melted. But last weekend I could finally get out on a short ski camping trip.
I hadn’t really planned to go camping, but the weather was fantastic, and my new tent had arrived the same week so my wife thought I should take the chance to get out, since it would probably be the last week with snow.
Since I hadn’t planned anything I quickly had to search for a place nearby where it would be possible to ski and camp. I found Storasjöområdet, 30 min east of Växjö, checked the authority website that camping was allowed, quickly packed the back pack and skis and headed off.
I’d never been in that area before, but from the info I had it seemed to be a lot of mires and a couple of descent trails. I expected a smaller version of Stora Mosse, where I had been on a day trip a couple of weeks earlier.
Once there I read a sign that said camping was prohibited. It looked old though, and double checking on the website it said that camping in caravans and motor-homes was prohibited.
I started skiing the yellow trail. After some 500 meters a sign pointed to a side trail leading to a bird watching tower. I skid out to the tower, watched the view and then went back to the main trail. I was scouting for potential campsites from the beginning, since I didn’t know how the rest of the trail would look like, and it was already a bit late when I arrived.
I came to a sign that showed that the longer trail had been closed, and from the looks of it there where a lot of storm felled trees. I continued on the 2,1 km yellow trail instead.
The trail had been nice to ski on in the beginning, but soon turned for the worse. It hadn’t snowed enough to even out the ground, and the trail twisted and turned between rocks and tree stumps. My skis really took a beating, and in retrospect I should have just carried them and walked instead.
I had passed a couple of potential campsites in the beginning of the trail, and closing in on the end of the loop trail I started to realize that I wouldn’t find anything else. Blood sugar was getting low, and I just wanted to get to camp.
I came back to the car and started a new lap on the round trail. About a km in I stopped at the area that I had checked out in the first round. It was a large fairly flat area, and I stomped the snow with the skis to compress it and make it more even.
After that I started with dinner while the compressed snow got time to freeze more solid. The dinner was just a freeze dried Goulash. It wasn’t bad, but it certainly wasn’t a taste experience to write home about. I haven’t made any home dried meals in a while, so I’ll have to make due with the bought stuff.
As I’ve written before I’ve sold tents to buy another one that better suits my needs. When I transitioned to UL/LW most of my gear got pretty dialed down, but when it comes to tents I never seem to find one I’m pleased with. But I bought a HMG Ultamid 4 with a half- and full inner, to minimize the number of tents in the gear shed and have one tent for everything from solo trips to family trips. With my Tentipi Safir 5 for hot tent camping I thinks these are the only two tents I’ll need.
Since it was brand new the guy-lines weren’t attached, so I laid out the tent, dug holes in the snow to secure the tent pegs for the corners and cut and tied the guy-lines while the snow around the tent pegs froze solid. I used a midshipman’s hitch for the bottom ends of the guy-lines to have easily adjustable loops since there aren’t any linelocs for them.
When the pegs where solid and all the guy lines attached I set up my two connected ski poles as a center pole and set up the half inner. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky and no wind was forecasted so I didn’t really need a tent, and absolutely not an inner. But I was eager to try out the new gear.
When everything was up it was already dark. I was getting really cold and just wanted to get inside my sleeping bag. Temps where forecasted to drop to around -12⁰C, so I had brought both my Cumulus Panyam 600 and my Wind Hard Tiny quilt. I don’t know if I really needed the quilt, but I’ll rather be too warm than freezing during the night.
I laid in the sleeping bag, snacking on nougats and chocolate and reading. I always bring my ebook reader with me, but I had to warm it up inside the sleeping bag for it to wake up.
I was really tired so around 21.00 I decided that I wouldn’t fight it any more but just try to sleep instead. But despite being so tired I had a really restless night. I wasn’t cold, but I couldn’t relax, so I drifted in and out of sleep all night.
I woke up before dawn. I had brought both a down- and a synthetic puffy and put on both. The down puffy had served as my pillow in the HMG Stuff sack pillow, and the synthetic one had been stored in the foot end of my sleeping bag so it wouldn’t be cold in the morning. I stayed in the sleeping bag while I made breakfast. I boiled some water for coffee and for my porridge. One of the water bottles was frozen solid, but I had put hot water in a vacuum bottle the night before, and poured it in the pot and added snow to melt.
The sun started to come up, and it was a beautiful morning. I was tired from tossing and turning most of the night, but I still felt great. It was cold outside, but with hot food in my belly and two puffy jackets on it was actually okey to leave the warm sleeping bag.
I packed up the tent and all my gear, took a stroll around camp to make sure nothing was dropped or lost, put on my skis and started skiing back to the car.
This was my first ski camping trip, and I’d love to do it again. It was cold, and next time I want to do it in an area that’s more suitable for skiing, like Stora Mosse National park. I liked the Ultamid 4 too. It’s large and lightweight and after trying a few different options these last years it feel great to be back again with a lightweight tent. A 4p double walled tent for roughly 1,5kg is really nice to carry.
Gear used
(Disclaimer: Below list contains affiliate links, which means I get a small commission for purchases made through the links. The gear is bought with my own money for full price though)
For 7 years now I’ve had a tradition to go camping in the first week of the year. This year both C and my wife Maria joined me. Maria isn’t as enthusiastic about camping as C and I are, so both of us where really glad to have her with us. As usual, my older kids had no interest in going camping.
This wasn’t intended to be a hiking trip in any way, but a comfortable car camping trip with lots of goodies. There where a little bit of snow, and temps below freezing. Great weather for hot tent camping in other words.
We drove to Lerike, 20 min drive north of Växjö. There’s a shelter here, a couple of fireplaces and a privy. It’s a designated camp site for the canoe route “Värendsleden”. In the summer it’s a popular little beach, where people arrive both by car, boat and canoe. It way to crowded in summer for my liking though.
For this trip we used the Tentipi Safir 5. It’s a canvas tipi that’s easy to set up, very comfortable and of a very high quality. In my opinion the Safir Tentipis are probably among the best, if not THE best canvas tents out there. I’ve seen a lot of YouTube channels that use other types of canvas tents and most of them seem to be both heavier and more of a hassle to set up.
We also brought the GStove Heat view. It’s my trusty companion to the tipi, and something of a must-have when you’re tipi camping in colder weather. I’ve been hot tent camping for a few years now, and sitting in a t-shirt in a tent warmed by a hot fire in a stove when it’s freezing outside is a really great feeling.
When we arrived we carried our gear from the car to the campsite and begun setting everything up. My wife and C got to start setting up the tipi so that they would learn. After that they played, while I set up the stove and unpacked everything in the tent.
We decided to make a fire in the fire pit outside, and stay there until it got dark. After dark I started up a fire in the stove to have the tipi warmed up for when we decided to get inside.
We made dinner when we got inside the tent. Pepper steaks, Mediterranean rice and fried vegetables and mushrooms. It’s sort of my go-to food when hot tent camping. Easy to make and really tasty.
After dinner we laidd in the tent and played UNO and I made popcorn on the stove for the first time. I thought I’d burn the popcorn, but they where prefect. Since I only had the 750ml pot I had to make two batches to get enough.
Around 21.30 we really needed to put C to sleep, and it didn’t take many seconds for her to fall asleep after she had crawled into her sleeping bag.
Mia and I stayed up a little longer, but finally decided to call it a night. I filled up the stove with large pieces of wood and adjusted the air flow to get a slow burn.
Mia and I shared the Exped Duomat HL LW. She used my Cumulus Panyam 600 while I used my Quilt 450. We where both warm and snug throughout the night.
The next morning the others waited in their sleeping bags for me to get up and get the fire started. The tent was cold, and I quickly got out from the quilt to fire up the prepared kindling and then got back under the quilt to wait for the stove do drive out the cold.
When the tipi was warm and snug again we all got out of our sleeping bags and got ready for breakfast. We had brought the last Karelian Pies and egg butter from Christmas, and we heated them up next to the stove.
After breakfast we let the stove cool down and explored an “island” nearby. It’s not really an island, but since it’s only connected to mainland with a narrow streach of land it becomes an island when the water levels are higher in spring. On the end of the islands therse some sort of homemade shelter made of branches and a very worn and torn plastic tarp. It’s been here for years, and I don’t know if its some kind of Scout shelter or what it is.
When the stove had finally cooled down I got back to our campsite and packed up our camp, while C and Mia played on the island.
It was a short little trip, like most of my trips are nowadays. But it was nice to get away, and I really enjoyed having both C and Mia with me. Someday maybe our older kids will want to join too.
In late November C and I got out on our second camp this fall. I don’t know why really, but we just didn’t get out a lot on camps this fall.
I wanted to try another place this time and decided that we should explore Lundens nature reserve, some 20km from home.
General information
Lunden became a nature reserve as late as 2011, and consists of 492ha of pastures, forests, lakes, waterways and mire. There are old oak trees, lindens, elms, ashes and aspens and a rich bird life. There are bird watching towers near the waters. You are allowed to camp here, except in the fenced off area where the fire rings and benches are at the rest area.
Trip report
At first my plan was to go there on Saturday to Sunday, and spend most of the day there. But the forecast showed rain and frankly quite boring weather on Saturday and Sunday, while it would be clear skies and sub freezing temperatures on Friday.
I decided to reschedule and do the trip on Friday after work instead. It was a last minute decision, and as sun sets early this time of year I had to pack up quickly. I’d never been there before, so I didn’t knew what to expect.
I asked Siri to show me a route to Lundens nature reserve and got a route that would take me 75 min to drive. Something felt really off, considering how close it is, and it happens there’s another nature reserve with the same name in a bordering region.
I found my way though, and drove to the northern entrance that I had looked up on the map.
We parked the car by the northern entrance and started walking across an oak tree meadow that looked like it would be a pasture during the summer. There we found a perfect spot for our tent. But since sunset would be upon us soon we didn’t set up the camp right away but decided to got and explore.
We walked through a small forested area and came back to the trail that lead us down to the lake. Värendsleden, the canoe route that passes our “secret” spot, goes though here too.
We passed the enclosed resting area and came down to the lake. There the trails got narrower, and then split in two. C got to decide where to go, which meant following the right trail.
We got to a small bird watching “tower” that was only elevated ~50cm. Ice had formed on parts of the lake and it was beautiful in the late afternoon sun. We stayed there for a short time before heading back.
Back at the trail intersection we took the other route, that took us to a larger tower. We climbed it, and looked out over the lake as the sun was beginning to set. C wanted us to set up the tent on the platform, but I preferred to set up the tipi on the ground instead. C wanted to stay a bit longer, but other people where approaching the tower, and in these Corona times it’s best to keep distance and not share the platform.
We left the platform and headed back towards our planned campsite. On our way back we passed the resting area, which was now occupied with a group of people.
Back among the large old oak trees we set up the tipi and started to prepare for dinner. Since our getaway was a bit rushed I had only brought freeze dried meals for us. My plan was to try to use a twig stove, since fires aren’t allowed in the reserve. I have previously asked authorities for different areas with fire bans about the use of twig stoves, and got the info that they’re ok to use. I did use a ground cover made of aluminum foil to protect the ground even more.
We gathered twigs, but it had rained a lot lately, and the twigs from the dead trees where all soaked. Despite by best efforts (or half hearted attempts) the fire kept dying. Eventually I decided to cook on the alcohol stove instead. It wasn’t an efficient burn, since I didn’t bring a wind shield, but I managed to get the water to a boil.
We dug in on the snacks while we waited for the meal to re-hydrate, had dinner and then got back to the snacks.
C wanted to play pirate hunter so we did that in the dark, with our head lamps on. Hiding behind the ancient looking trees, sneaking around and fencing with the small twig swords C had picked out for us.
When it was time to sleep we crawled into our sleeping pads and I read the rest of “Det stora tältäventyret” for C. In the book the characters “fuldansar” (ugly dancing) to get warm before getting into their sleeping bags. C decided that we needed to leave our warm sleeping bags to “fuldansa” so we’d get even warmer. Reluctantly I agreed, dreading the freezing cold outside of the sleeping bags.
We jumped and danced around in the dark in the light of our headlamps, under the roof of billions of stars. It was cold, but it really was a beautiful evening.
C eventually fell asleep once we got back inside, but I laid under my quilt and watched Apocalypse Now Reduxe on my phone.
C had a restless night and woke up a lot. The sleeping bag bothered her, she rolled off her sleeping pad and lost her hat while twisting and turning in her sleeping bag. None of us woke up particularly well rested the next morning.
Both tired, but in good mood, a decision was made to skip breakfast. We only boiled water for coffee and hot coco to drink while we took down the camp, and decided stop by a store on our way home and buy breakfast.
We packed the car, said goodbye to Lunden and headed back home where we had a luxury breakfast.
Gear used
(Disclaimer: Below list contains affiliate links, which means I get a small commission for purchases made through the links. The gear is bought with my own money for full price though)
With the Corona restrictions the outdoors have gotten more attentions. This is especially obvious when I’ve been on day trips near the city, and it’s been difficult to find unoccupied fire places, and at times difficult to even find somewhere to park the car.
We’ve been on a lot of day trips this fall, but somehow I’ve never got away on any overnighters. But in late October C and I got away on a short overnight trip. My first plan was to paddle to an island we discovered on a day paddle in Asasjön, the lake bordering Tolgasjön where we usually paddle and camp. The weather forecast didn’t look too good though, and with headwinds and rain on our way home I decided to do a car camping trip instead. I want to keep it comfortable for C, so she doesn’t get put of from camping.
We drove to our usual spot at Tolgasjön where we set up our camp. We brought a small Tentipi and a firebox. I had bought the previously owned, but barley used tipi on a whim earlier this fall, and was eager to try it out. I do like gear too much, and have bought and sold quite a few tents this decade.
The sun sets early, and we got away a little later than expected, so I set up the camp as soon as we arrived. It was more of a bushcraft camp than a hiker camp, with the canvas tipi, the firebox and the cozy sheep pelts to rest on. We also brought the Feuerhand- and the UCO lanterns.
I got the fire going pretty quickly, and we fried a couple of burgers for lunch. By dinner time we weren’t really that hungry, but I still made some rice, fried veggies and and a steak.
The rest of the evening we just chilled by the fire. Eventually C went inside the tent and played there while I laid by the fire and just enjoyed the moment.
When it was time to sleep I read C:s new book; Det stora tältäventyret (The great tent adventure). By the third chapter she was asleep.
The tent door was open, and the fire burned outside in the firebox. I stayed in the sleeping bag and listened to C:s heavy sleeping next to me, and the sounds of the fire outside the tent. I felt fully at peace. Being in the outdoors like this really reduces all the stress and is the best way for me to recharge.
As usual C woke up earlier than me, and eventually woke me up. I got the fire going again, and started to prepare breakfast. I had made a bag of krabbelurmix with egg- and milkpowder, and added water an let the mix sit for a while. When it was ready I fried up krabbelurer to us, that we ate with honey on top. It was a great start of the day. We didn’t stay long though, and after breakfast we drove back home.
In the borderlands between the regions Blekinge and Skåne there’s a canoe route between the lakes Halen, Raslången, Immeln and a few smaller lakes. Me and C have both been hiking and paddling around Raslången, and in November 2018 I was hiking there with Brian from Brian Outdoors.
This time my wife Maria would join me and C. My son was away this weekend, and my oldest daughter wanted the house to herself. We decided to paddle in Immeln, as there where a lot of Geocaches there that my wife wanted to find. Immeln is the largest of the lakes, and in the lake system there are two canoe outfitters that rents out canoes. One in Olofström next to Halen, and one in the southern parts of Immeln. There are several designated campsites throughout the lakes, with lean to shelters, fireplaces and privys.
Day 1
We drove the ~1,5h down to Breanäs, where we would park and put in the canoe. There’s a beach and a small harbor there, and when we arrived in the afternoon there where quite a few people on the beach. We put the canoe in the water and loaded it with our backpacks before setting off. We found a Geocache just across the bay, and then continued south.
We stopped again at Prästön, and explored it for potential campsites. Since we arrived in the late afternoon we wanted to check out campsites right away. In the southernmost parts of the island we found a flat spot for a tent, but it had just been occupied by another family. When we headed back to the canoe three other canoes came to the island to look for a place to camp. We would discover that this lake was extremely crowded, with canoe campers on basically every island in the lake.
After getting back to the canoe we paddled south towards Kvinnoöarna, two islands close together with designated campsites on both of them. We had strong headwinds with large waves that crashed over the stern of the canoe. I’m used to solo paddling, so it was a joy to be two paddlers battling the waves and winds.
We came down to the northern part of Norra Kvinnoön, and found a place to get to shore. There, under the tall lush trees, we found a perfect campsite. We pulled the canoe up, set up the tent and the hammock and had the camp ready. After that we took a nice dip in the water to cool off. The shores where very steep and the water dark, so C had to wear her life jacket in the water. We also thought it would be good for her to try it in the water in a safe manner, in case she’d fall in someday.
After the camp was up we decided to explore the rest of the island. A short walk uphill took us to a fireplace with quite a lot of room for tents, and a privy. Further down there where another fireplace and room for yet another tent. On the southern side of the island was a pier, and one canoe was tied to it. On the western side was a cliff, where another couple had set up their camp. We stopped to chat with them, as we passed back to our campsite. The island is relatively small, but the campsites where scattered across it, so it was still possible to get some kind of privacy and feeling of being secluded.
Back in camp we made dinner, and Mia and I took a glass (foldable kuksa) of wine, as the food was simmering. All three of us spent the rest of the evening tucked together in the hammock, watching the sun go down. A family with a lot of kids had set up camp uphill, and across the lake someone was blasting techno for the whole lake to hear. Despite this we had a relaxing time. We also spotted a couple of hazel dormice running across the campsite. We thought that the sides of the canoe would be to slippery for them to climb on, so we flipped the canoe up and put the food inside.
When it was almost midnight we decided to go to sleep for real, and headed to the tent. We used the Hilleberg Staika, which is a 2 person tent. It was ok to use with a 4-year old between us, since we had the Exped Duo HL LW, which is 130cm wide and covered most of the floor. But it was a bit cramped though. With the warm weather and the good forecast we slept with the door open, falling asleep to the views of the lake and the forest, and the sound of waves and distant techno.
Day 2
C was the only one sleeping good that night. I have insomnia that always gets worse during the summer, and I tossed and turned more than usual that night. I got up around 4 o’clock and walked over to another side of the island to watch the sun come up. It was nice to watch the sun come up across the lake, but that early in the morning it was a bit chilly. I went back to camp, took out my quilt and laid in the hammock for a while, before getting back into the tent. For summer use I have an Aegismax Wind Hard Tiny quilt, that I bought from AliExpress. It’s light and compact, relatively cheap and perfect for summer use.
By 6 o’clock both Mia and I got up, and while I was boiling water for coffee C woke up too. We had hoped that she would sleep longer, since she stayed up quite late the other evening.
I fried Krabbelurer for breakfast, that we rinsed down with orange juice, a few mini salamis and some cheese. We packed up our camp and loaded up the canoe. We discovered that the mice indeed could climb up the sides of the canoe, since there was a hole in the trashbag and they had eaten some of the trash. Fortunately though they had left our foodbags alone.
My wife had come up with a route to paddle to get the most Geocaches in the most effective manner. First we paddled north, to a small skerry where there would be one cache. We didn’t find it though, but saw a perfect, and occupied, campsite on a neighboring island. I added it to my list of campsites on google maps. I would come to add a lot of places this trip, since the lake had numerous good campsites.
After the failed attempt to bag a cache at the skerry we went back south. We got ashore on the southern end of Södra Kvinnoön to get the next one. This too was a failed attempt, and after a long and hard search we gave up. But I did take the time to explore the island and mark all the potential campsites it had.
We continued south, to almost the southernmost end of the lake, where there where two caches. One was in a bay that habited the endangered Red Waterlily (Nymphaea alba f. rosea). A family had stopped nearby to swim, so we logged the cache fast and then went on our way. We stopped at another beach nearby to cool off in the water. The sand was a mixture of what I think was quartz, and with the humus colored water it almost looked like gold. When we walked in the water and stirred up the sand the water glittered like someone had sprinkled it with gold dust.
After a short cooling bath we continued back north. Once again we stopped by an island without finding the cache. We continued north and got to shore on a cape with nice places for tents. Here we made a dinner of spaghetti and meat sauce with lots of Parmesan. It was really tasty, and a dried meal I’ll be making again. Mia and C picked a lot of blueberries while I made dinner. After dinner we took a quick dip, and then sat on a cliff and ate the blueberries as dessert. We dropped a couple of them, and the rolled down the cliff into the water. We watched them float away when a couple of fishes suddenly came out of the water and took them.
We continued our trip, stopping once in a while to check out potential campsites, or looking for caches. We found one cache on a skerry that wasn’t more than a few rocks sticking up through the water. The cache was inside a box encased in a concrete cast. It looked like it would survive anything, and with its exposed location it would have too. After that cache was logged we headed towards Abborröarna where we would be looking for a place to spend the night. On Norra Abborrön we found a nice place. It had been regularly used, as we found a lot of flat grounds for tents, and at least three fire rings in a relatively small area. There was also a small, but very nice, sandy beach. On the neighboring Södra Abborrön we saw that other paddlers had set up camp.
When the camp was up Mia and C took a bath while I paddled to Norra Björkö to grab the last Geocache of the day. That was an adventure in itself, as the wind blew quite hard on that side of the island, and the cache was hanging up in a fallen tree that hung out in the water. But I managed to paddle close, secure the canoe with a rope to the tree and then climb up the tree and log it.
I paddled around the island and found yet another campsite. Smaller than the one we’d chosen, but on the wrong side of the island, which made it both windy and in shade. I paddled back to our camp, took a quick dip and then got started with dinner. Falafel, couscous and Ajvar was on the menu for our last camp dinner. On this island too, there where hazel dormice. A LOT of them, and they weren’t shy at all. They came for our trash bag as we where sitting there. We tried to chase them away but they just kept coming. I guess a lot of camper who leave trash behind, and no natural predators makes the population explode. Eventually we just threw a line over a branch an hung up everything eatable in a tree away from our tent.
We had our dinner and then went down to the water to chill on a rock in the sunset. We where all more tired than last evening, and decided to get to bed early. Sometime during the night I heard mice running past the tent but none of them came very close, and I slept better than the night before.
Day 3
We woke up feeling quite tender, after a couple of days with hard paddling in the blazing sun. I had burned my back, and with the life jacket on it looked like tan lines from a really wide sports bra. Sexy look on a man like me. Mia woke up before me, and did some morning yoga on a rock. I got started with breakfast and eventually C woke up too. A lot of paddlers seemed to be early birds, and paddled past the island. The paddlers in Södra Abborrön had already left the island.
After breakfast we packed up all our gear and loaded up the canoe. We paddled to the now empty Södra Abborrön to log the last geocache for the trip. It was quickly found, and we paddled north towards the beach where we had started our trip. We had tailwind for this last part of our trip, which was nice, since both of us where a bit sore.
We got up to the beach, and Mia took C for a quick dip while I packed the car.
I both liked and disliked paddling on Immeln. The lake itself was nice to paddle in, and unlike other lakes I’ve paddled it had an abundance of possible campsites. But the abundance of mice on the islands was quite a downer, and it was too crowded for my liking. The nature was great though, and I might come back here. But I think I’ll stay in Raslången, that’s at least a bit less crowded.
Vacation is here, and on a regular year we would be traveling to Athens to visit my wife’s relatives. But with the Corona situation and travel bans this year, we’re “stuck” in Sweden. Växjö is known for its lack of sun, and constant rain. From October last year to February this year the sun only came out a handful of times. Despite this the weather has been great so far this spring and summer, so staying in Sweden isn’t a problem.
Last Wednesday my wife and I decided to bring C to do a Geocaching day trip on the lake Rottnen, some 20km east of Växjö.
We started at the beach called Sandstaden, that’s a relatively popular beach, despite being out in the middle of nowhere. When we arrived there where already several families on the beach.
I unloaded the canoe from the roof of my car, while C and Mia carried our gear down to the water. We paddled straight out from the beach to a set of islands 600 meters out. There we found our first geocache, and after that we paddled around the rest of the islands to check them out for possible campsites for future trips. The islands where too rocky for a tent though, but we took a short snack break on one of the islands, that was scarred from what seemed to be a recent fire.
After the break we kept paddling north for a few kilometers, before we decided to get to shore on an island to have lunch. Mia and C cooled off in the lake while I fried Krabbelurer on the Trangia. I ended up making more than we could eat, and after dinner Mia rolled out the sleeping mat and fell asleep for a short while. Me and C hung out in the hammock, and I hoped she would fall asleep too. In vain though, as aha was too pumped up to sleep, and just wanted to play.
After lunch we kept paddling north, and found our second geocache in the ruins of an old hut.
We paddled a short distance to the next cache, but couldn’t find it. But we had stopped in a shallow sandy cove, and despite being more than 30 meters out, the water was only up to our knees.
We spent a while cooling off there, and C played hide and seek behind the canoe.
The last cache for the day was a bit further to the north, on a stretch of stepping stones, laid out in the water in the old days, to make it possible for travelers to cross between to capes. The last bit was very shallow, and covered in reed, and eventually I had to stand up in the canoe and stake our way forward.
We found the cache, and paddled back towards Sandstaden. It was starting to get late, and C wanted to play at Sandstaden before we headed back home. When we came near Sandstaden we hit a rock, and I felt the canoe bulge as we passed over it. Fortunately the canoe is durable. When we came back to Sandstaden we put our gear in the car, and took a quick dip before heading home.
Rottnen was a great lake for paddling, but scarcer when in came to possible camp sites for tents. I want to go back though, and explore more.
In May spring was in full force in Sweden. Warm temperatures and gazing sun made up perfect conditions for a canoe camping trip. While me and C use to go to Tolgasjön, north of Växjö, I decided to try a new lake this time. Lake Salen, 20 km west of Växjö. We drove to a small power station on Helige Å, to put in the canoe. There where a short portage for a couple of hundred meters from the parking lot to the put in spot. This is part of Värendsleden, the canoe route that passes both Tolgasjön and Växjö.
There’s supposed to be trout in this lake, so I brought fishing gear and bought a one day fishing permit.
The initial paddling through Helige Å was beautiful. I’ll like to paddle more in rivers, but find it too much of a project to find people to pick up us and the canoe down stream. And paddling solo upstream can be too strenuous.
After a very short paddle in Helige Å we came out in Salen. The small town Alvesta borders the lake, which means a lot of people on the lake. With weather like this, and travel bans outside of your medical region a lot of people went to the lake. A lot of motor boats and jet skis drove across the lake as we paddled.
Through a local outdoor forum on Facebook I’d learned of a campsite on one of the islands. We paddled there right away so we wouldn’t have to search for a campsite later in the day when we’d be more tired.
We found one site that was quite nice, but a guy with a kid where there with their boat, so we kept paddling. On the west side of the island we found an even better campsite. There where room for the tent right next to the rocks where we had the canoe, or a short walk up to a rock on higher grounds, with better views.
C got to decide where to put up our camp, and she chose the high grounds. We put up our camp and made a lunch of Krabbelurer (a sort of fluffy sugary pancake). After lunch we paddled around the lake, fishing a bit and looking at the neighboring islands to look for potential campsites for future trips.
I have a list on google maps where I store all the good campsites I come across, even though I’m not camping there that time. As of now I have 60+ campsites on my list. Most of them close to home and many of them are only accessible with the canoe.
We didn’t get any fish, which isn’t surprising. I’m not much of a fisher man, and the middle of the day is the worst time to be fishing. But I mostly brought the fishing gear for fun, as C likes to reel in the lure.
We went back to our camp only to discover that black ants had infested it. In the very small gap between the zippers they had been able to enter the inner tent, and the sleeping pad and sleeping mats where covered in ants.
I shook out all the gear, and decided to move the camp down to the canoe instead. Down there we put up the hammock and made reindeer stew with mashed potatoes for dinner.
After dinner it was time for some quality chillaxing in the hammock. It didn’t last too long though, as 4 guys in their 20:th came up with their motor boats and jet skis, and decided to get to shore 10 meter from us. When they finally had managed to get to shore they went up the hill to drink some beer. It was evening, and I feared that they would be loud and long lasting. Not the kind of relaxing evening with my 4 year old that I had looked forward to.
Fortunately they where calm, and after an hour or so they left. They played around with the jet ski outside the island for a while, and then left.
With weather this nice we slept with the tent door open. During the night it started to rain though, so I got up and closed the door.
When morning came the weather was fine again, and we had breakfast before packing down our camp. We didn’t do any more exploring that morning, but just paddled straight back to the car after breakfast.
It was nice to try a new lake, but the proximity to a town made it too crowded for my liking. Asasjön and Tolgasjön where we usually paddle is a rural area with less people. We probably won’t camp here again, but I’d like to come back to do some trout fishing.
Småland Outdoor 