Looking for a nice location in Sweden

[Lush]

Hi all,

Does anyone know a nice area in Sweden for bush craft. There are a lot of wishes I have regarding to the location that's "ideal" for me. I shall name some of my preferences.

- at least 25 km from the nearest houses/civilization
- mixed forest (not only pine)
- no nature reserve
- not entirely the the north of the country
- no frozen lakes at the time of being there YET I am allergic to mosquito bites so timing (springtime) must be right (any tips?)
- accessible by train and foot

I am going on a little solo trip for 7 days. I will probably fly to Sweden and take a train or bus. from there I want to walk 25 km (15 miles) to a place where I will most likely be alone [with all the other animals ]. I am hoping to catch trout and salmon although any fish is welcome, so being able to catch specifficly salmon isn't an leading demand at all. I don't know much about Sweden, so all information/tips are more than welcome

thanks!

 

[Martti]

I am sorry to say this, but such place that fulfills even most of your preferences does not exist in Sweden or Finland or Norway. First of all, the preference of distance of 25 kilometers from any building is quite high and perhaps can be only fulfilled when you go to the mountain range or a nature reservation. Naturally this means you have not access to the forest resources. Also any place where there's enough water and temperature for mixed forests, there's bound to be plenty of mosquitos. If you do not necessary need to be close to the forests, I would say some of the mountain ranges north of the country in August or September should fit your other preferences quite nicely.

 

[RonW]

25km away from any houses and accessible by train and foor?? Unless you are planning on a 2-daysmarch, these 2 are definitely not compatible!
Mixed forrests mean the south, since to more north you go, the more pine you will encounter.
No frozen lakes or mosquitos means autumn, preferably end of september, beginning of october, but there's no guarantee as far as the mosquitos go.

 

[Skaukraft]

I agree with Martti and Ron.
A place that meets most of your requirements does not exict.

 

[Martti]

No frozen lakes or mosquitos means autumn, preferably end of september, beginning of october, but there's no guarantee as far as the mosquitos go.

Mid-September would definitely be better than October in these latitudes, as there's quite large possibility of snow in the latter month. September is also the best time for experiencing the leaf changing their colours. Personally I have never seen any significant amount of mosquitos after August in Finnish Lapland.

 

[Lush]

Ok, I see, thanks guys. I am a little surprised since Sweden is so big; I didn't know that. I thought it would be easily doable to find a place that's 25 km away from civilization. I like to get as far from my last train station, so I have less chance of meeting people that are out in the woods for a day. 25 km might be a lot. Actually a days walking is sufficient to give me some sort of feeling of being alone. So I drop the 25 km. It also depends on the terrain.

Are there any mosquitos btw. in Sweden in mid winter during frost periods? Here in The Neterlands there aren't. In october/november they dissappear. In oktober they already become slower and less likely to bite. Of course all depending on the weather.

I think I will go in autumn then... If that's better for no mosquitos and frozen lakes... Those damned allergic reactions . Why not spring time? Just after the ice has melted? More mosquitos then? I thought less actually.
thanks

 

[RonW]

You can get 25km away from civilisation, but mixing that with accessible by train and foot and no limitations as to the use of the available land might be like looking for the needle in the haystack. You can travel as far as 5-10km from any major urbanarea and still be totally alone.
And Martti, there are many miles between south Sweden and Finnish Lapland, so there is a difference in the time winter arrives.... But I fully agree september with it's spectaculair autumn is a definite must-experience.
Springtime might be troublesome, because of the thawing of snow and, more importantly, the soil. That might mean a mixture of quit wet and still quit cold at times.

 

[Martti]

I thought it would be easily doable to find a place that's 25 km away from civilization.

It depends how one defines "civilization". There's several locations in Finland that are easily 25 km from the nearest group of buildings, stores and roads, but not from single buildings. These can be found from Eastern Lapland with mixed pine and birch forests.

I think I will go in autumn then... If that's better for no mosquitos and frozen lakes... Those damned allergic reactions . Why not spring time? Just after the ice has melted? More mosquitos then? I thought less actually.

The mosquito time depends of the latitude, but generally starts in late May or early June and ends in late August or early September. The snow has melted in Southern Finland in late March or early April and not until late June in the northernmost Lapland. As you can see there is only a time period of two, three weeks after the snow melts and the insects appear. The time period changes year after year and it is really difficult to predict it in advance.

And Martti, there are many miles between south Sweden and Finnish Lapland, so there is a difference in the time winter arrives....

Sure, but I thought were talking about areas that can be only found in Northern & Eastern Finland and Northern Sweden.

 

[Lush]

So in Northern & Eastern Finland I can find mixed forest despite of the lower temperatures? Sounds very nice and interesting. Just saw some pictures, wow...
Yeah I recon that september is nicer indeed, with the leaves still on the trees and berries to harvest.
Martti, you said you hardly see many mosquitos after august? What's the reason for that? It seems so early to me? Where do you go out in Finish Lapland? Eastern Lapland or?
This is a very informative thread to me. I am becoming more aware of the conditions/climate of the Northern part of Europe. All because of mosquitos...

 

[Bucephalas]

I'm off to Sweden for 10days canoeing and camping in April. I'll have a better opinion when I return, but I chose April because there are no mozzies, ice has melted but still very few people around.

A good compromise for my needs.

 

[Lush]

Nice . Where are you going?

 

[Martti]

So in Northern & Eastern Finland I can find mixed forest despite of the lower temperatures? Sounds very nice and interesting. Just saw some pictures, wow...

The monthly mean temperatures are higher in Eastern Finland but temperatures in the winter months are around the same despite the smaller latitude. This is probably due to the greater distance to any large body of water in Eastern Finland than in Lapland. I can recommend visiting e.g. municipalities of Kuhmo, Lieksa and Ilomantsi in Eastern Finland. Their average population density is two or three inhabitants per square kilometre with most people living in the town centre. They are also great locations for spotting large predators.

Martti, you said you hardly see many mosquitos after august? What's the reason for that? It seems so early to me? Where do you go out in Finish Lapland? Eastern Lapland or?

September is too cold, windy and moist for the mosquitos. We are talking here average temperatures of 5 to 10 degrees celsius during the month of September. When I visit Northern Finland, I mostly go to Northern Ostrobothnia or Southern Lapland. Finally here's a link to a photograph to illustrate what awaits you in Finland if you arrive here during the summer. The Finnish language has a word for large swarms of mosquitos, räkkä.

 

[Lush]

Wow, thanks Marti I will keep those locations in mind. I will probably go to Eastern Lapland...

 

[Bucephalas]

Nice . Where are you going?

Myself and Steve (redandshane on this forum) are swanning off to West Sweden (Dals-ED) for a weeks canoeing and wild camping/bushy stuff.
We're flying into Gothenburgh and having a night on the town there and then off to Ed.

April is a quiet time of the year for this part of the world with typical daytime temps around 8-9 deg C and dropping to just above freezing at night. I prefer the cold to mozzies and prefer to have the place to ourselves as much as possible.

It's just lakes, Rivers and forests for the entire 10 days and we can't wait!

 

[Lush]

Sounds very nice . Hope you guys have a nice trip!

 

[Martti]

Wow, thanks Marti I will keep those locations in mind. I will probably go to Eastern Lapland...

Why Eastern Lapland in particular? It happens to be the home of Oulanka National Park, the third most visited park in Finland. Sure, it is a nice place to visit, but not really for a person who wants to be in solitude.

 

[Lush]

I'm off to Sweden for 10days canoeing and camping in April. I'll have a better opinion when I return, but I chose April because there are no mozzies, ice has melted but still very few people around.

A good compromise for my needs.

I thought you said Eastern Lapland My bad... Will do some research on the area and towns you suggested in Eastern Finland. Good that you responded!

 

[dan_druff]

I thought id get in touch and give my 2 penn'th and suggest the Värmalnds area. I am from East Yorkshire myself but have just moved over to sweden to live with my girlfriend and this is where I am living (blomskog to be precise, right next to the border of norway)... If you made it to Årjäng (close to Karlstad) there are transport links to töckfors where there are many great places nearby to go out hiking, rock climbing, canoeing and fishing etc in the surrounding area. all forested too and easy to make shelters in. There are actually shelters already made in one or two places that you can sleep in.. but you can make shelters too.. its a good route to canoe down from töcksfors to bengtsfors via lennartsfors.. There are often a few norwegian and german tourists doing that route in the summer too but if you come in autumn there is not a soul...this area right now is very very desolate... when not at school and everyones at work if i go out i dont see anyone... sounds like heaven but after months of making fires, ice fishing and skating etc alone the novelty soon wears off.. oh, my girlfriend just told me you would have to make sure you have cash with you in lennartsfors as there is no cash machine nearby and you would need to pay at the loch too as you go through.. also there was a shop in lennartsfors that recently shut down so you'd have to stock up in Årjäng. If you search on a map for Östra silen, Värmlands county then you'll get a good idea.. or click here for some google pics:

(http://www.google.se/search?q=Ö...w=1024&bih=640)

You can go fishing for numerous different fish, last time i went in summer i caught many perch which i then just cooked over an open fire, also if youre fishing deeper you'll get pike and if you are lucky enough rainbow trout... i cooked the trout like ray mears where he takes the whole skeleton out and makes a brace to hold it over the fire... gorgeous! just recently some activists cut the nets of a rainbow trout fish farm nearby and released over 100 tons into the lake.. last time i went (before the ice came) i got 30kg! Some people in another thread said about open flame bans but ive not heard of that before... everyone here makes a fire wherever... no-one cares, to be honest, theres noone around to care... the water is also clean enough to drink form the lake and wash in etc (which im sure you already know as youre on this site) and fatwood and horses hoof fungus/fomes tinder are rediculously easy to find... the forestry here is mostly birch and scots pine... you also see heaps of deer and quite frequently moose... i nearly hit one on the way to Årjäng the other week infact as it was stood in the middle of the road... then a few days later whilst driving through the same area i saw a hunter had shot it and had loaded it into his truck... my friend today even told me that last week he saw a lynx...


anyway, hope that helps, and if you have any questions etc just give us a shout..

your best flying from stanstead to gothenburg then just get the train up to Karlstad and making your way from there... or you could fly from liverpool to olso and get the train to karlstad etc..

Good Luck!

Hej Då!

 

[dan_druff]

its not really mozzies here that are the problem... its gnats.. last summer they were relentless.. especially after the rain.. midsummer games and dancing around the pole was torture.. they bit so much... even in the corners of your eyes... so annoying..... you could come now as there isnt any but you would have to endure average night temps of -12c.... . the other week it was -19 here.. and further up it said -30 on the weather report... crazy.... your nostrils freeze... definitely long john season!

 

[RonW]

And all the bugtalk is quit local, too. Last summer we had a normal number of the large forrestmosquitos, appearantly the same for gnats, but a huge number of the smaller mosquitos, which are called, when translated, floodmosquitos.
Quit small, but very agressive and persistent!
as for the cold, try and get hold of some of those old woolen army uniforms. Looks a bit off, but so cosy warm!