One step at a time

Note : post published September 8th 2022

It's time to say goodbye to Sweden and head towards Norway. A beautiful chapter that closes and a new one already beginning to be written !

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Sweden of firsts

In the midst of a conversation a friend reminded me of this question shortly before I left :

When was the last time you did something for the first time ? - L.A.

So to wrap up my Swedish chapter, here's a quick overview of all these first-time experiences I've lived through :

• Working hard to catch crayfish and having the loot stolen... After over a week of waking up at 6 AM to check the 16 traps and returning each evening to change the bait, we had caught 22 crayfishes. Nothing extraordinary but enough to satiate the whole family for starters. Then came the morning of August 19th 2022 when everything changed : the basin where our catches were waiting had been looted ! It hadn't been closed properly and the police think a cormorant, lured by the smell, simply devoured everything 😅 Disheartened we resumed our work for a week, only to catch 11 small crayfishes enjoyed during my last Swedish meal.

At least it's nicely presented

• Supporting the losing team in a hockey match. It was a top division SHL (Swedish Hockey League) match and let's say the 4-1 loss made me reconsider my view of this prodigious Oskarshamn team. Fans might say it's not a big deal, it was a friendly match before the season began, but I'll let you judge with the photo below.

No, it doesn't smell like victory

• Picking perch the De Funès way, that is by stomping your foot three times and getting an immediate catch 🤠 This feat was repeated no less than 6 times in a row ! Some might call it beginner's luck as not much else happened afterward... But why De Funès you might ask ? It's a reference to the movie "Ni vu ni connu" (1958) that a German recommended to me for my early days as a fisherman. For the curious ones with 5 minutes to spare : clip from the movie

• Playing the captain of a sailboat with the engine on due to the lack of wind is a lot less adventurous but I'm just being facetious. Heading out into the sea we were able to sail with all sails up for at least 2 hours 😎

Baltic sea in chill mode

• Sleeping high in the forest, no drug story here but rather the tale of a night in a tree in the heart of nature for my final night in Sweden.

Doesn't it make you want to go?

Thanks again to my hosts who made all of this possible in a month ! Happy to have experienced these moments but already looking forward to the next stage of the adventure 😀

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Trekking in Norway

The next part of the story involves a four-day trek in the Hardangervidda National Park, being self-sufficient with semolina, enduring constant winds and, above all, exploring stunning landscapes !

Prepared down to the last detail

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1 day of trekking divided into 5 missions

Mission 1 - Find water

• Level : Easy ⭐️

• Details : plenty of small rivers coming directly from the glacier. The key is to find one with enough current and easy access

• Note : be careful when unpacking/repacking the backpack to fit in the Camelbak. Nearly lost a few things that tried to escape while I had my back turned

Hardangerjøkulen, I'm thirsty !

Mission 2 - Find the path (without GPS)

• Level : from Easy ⭐️ to Medium ⭐️⭐️

• Details : being in a national park, it's advised to stay on the marked trails but first you need to find those markers amidst this chaos ! Sometimes a marker every 10 meters (they must have had leftover paint to use up) and other times one marker every kilometer at the crossroads of several trails, just to spice things up a bit

Easy one, but where's the next one?

• Note : thankfully in case of doubt there's the GPS option but it deducts 10 points from the mission

Mission 3 - Cook in the wind

• Level : from Medium ⭐️⭐️ to Hard ⭐️⭐️⭐️, most of the time Hard

• Details : the task becomes harder with a menu that mainly comprises semolina cooked on a stove, especially if the windbreak option didn’t seem useful at the time of purchase... Given that Hardangervidda is Europe's largest plateau above the tree line, winds reign supreme because nothing stops them except large rocks. The challenge, as you've guessed, is to keep the stove flame alive without it being blown out. For this there's nothing better than playing the mason using smaller rocks to block the wind

• Note : apart from the compacted semolina in the bag, the chef suggests an olive oil-based seasoning for an energy boost, no frills here

Mission 4 - Find a spot to sleep

• Level : from Hard ⭐️⭐️⭐️ to Norwegian Hardcore ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

• Details : apart from being protected from the wind, the game involves finding a spot that isn't marshy or, to a lesser extent, soaked in water. Blame it on the melting glaciers that create thousands of mini streams. Surprisingly, sheltered spots from the wind but too close to water sources are infested with mosquitoes (a species I'd call Mousticus Montagnus, remarkably resistant to wind and cold)

• Note : fulfilling the criterion "not too windy" is challenging so it's always a bit funny to fight with the tent before hammering the first stake

Pictures of a challenge fairly well achieved

Mission 5 - Assess the day and prepare the next one

• Level : from Easy ⭐️ to Medium ⭐️⭐️

• Details : once the tent is set up and the cold starts to settle in, this mission is done directly from the sleeping bag. The challenge lies in predicting the distance to cover the next day as the kilometers traveled can vary greatly from one day to the next (due to various reasons like sleeping in, long breaks to admire rocks, a restless night due to noisy neighbors, etc.)

• Note : it's quite common to finish this mission around 8:00 PM and transition directly into sleeping mode. Sorry Jacky, I still haven't started your book (as seen in the photo above).

Now that the scene is set, let's select a few thoughts and memorable images to illustrate each of these days 🥸

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Day 1 : mineral world

Arriving in Finse from the Oslo train has a calming yet striking aspect : contrast between the bustle of a European capital and this tiny platform at the foot of Norway's 6th largest glacier (the Hardangerjøkulen) surrounded by a hotel, a few typical houses, many rocks and large puddles of water.

The Glacier, its rocks and puddles of water

In a few words : a bright sun on the first day, plenty of energy despite little sleep (thanks to the 6 AM train and the previous night going out) and the arrival in an unknown territory, exactly what I had come for !

Day 2 : a hint of Mongolia

First morning thought : "It was chilly last night, wasn't it?"

Though not surprising it's cold in Norway. Spending the night at 1100 meters altitude near the glacier the mercury hovered around 3°C which I hadn't anticipated coming from Oslo in a t-shirt... Lesson learned for the next night.

But this second day is mostly about discovery : new and more open landscapes (thus windier), more vegetated areas (thus greener), new views of the glacier (which, well... didn’t change much), without forgetting the excess of oil in the semolina obviously.

Day 3 : always a plan B

After a colder night around 1 to 2°C and despite wearing multiple layers I have to admit I am not adequately equipped for sleeping at 1300 or 1400 meters as I have planned.

A change of plans then, I am heading towards Kinsarvik about 60 kilometers away.

Along the way I encounter a Scandinavian mouse, quaint remote houses and breathtaking mountain lakes (Norwegians are really good at that) proving that Plan Bs can have their merits !

It's worth mentioning a few oddities encountered like the prison for stones that haven't gathered enough moss, a field of badly arranged rocks (unusual for Scandinavians) or even a 2-meter cairn because why not ?

Day 4 : back to life

Finally, trees ! And people too.

But the reward is the sight of the fjord in the distance and monumental waterfalls cascading from the plateau down to sea level... The last kilometers toward civilization, a good shower and the promise of warmer nights.

In summary a beautiful solo journey in nature where everyday concerns are no longer the same.

A breath of fresh air before continuing the adventures into the fjords !

To infinity and beyond 🚀

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Bonus

Arriving at the top of the mountain with a view of the fjord below.

🎶 Everloving - Moby