Swedish Canoe Trip :D

[BushEd]

Hi there. I'm a relatively new member, and a relative newcomer to the craft of Bush. However i've fallen head over heels with it. After watching the Mears Bushcraft where he goes Canoeing in Sweden around about this time of year...well i had to go.

So this will be my first proper wilderness trip. My plan is to try new skills from different books i've bought at the various camps i want to build every night. Really i can't wait.

Also, unbelievably, seems it will only cost about £90 for the week (flights, trains, buses everything). I've been kitting up like a drunken yuppy (basha, trangia, hammock, bivi), and i already had a bit from an expedition i took to Tanzania a few years back (i trace my interest in wilderness back to that trip).

Basically I'm just looking for advice. The bit of river i plan to start from is around Bengtsfors (if anyone knows Swedish geography well). What kit is essential? What activities are essential? What natural things in Sweden are good to eat? To light fires with? To make cords with? What good websites will help me prepare? What books?

ANYTHING

 

[bushwacker bob]

Most of Sweden is lake or rivers, I'd recommend a bit of fishing kit for Artic Char, salmon and trout and some good insect repellant and a mozzy headnet.

 

[heath]

I've just got back from a canoeing trip in Sweden and I really regreted not having fishing gear and also not being able to identify edible fungi, I couldn't believe the abundance of so many different varieties of fungi (but of course I wouldn't reccommend eating anything unless you were absolutely 100% sure of it). Insect repellant is definitely a good idea. A stupid mistake I made was not taking footwear that I could get into the water with, taking my boots off and putting them back on again at portages was a real pain. I would also make sure that you have everything in dry-bags, I never capsized but it did rain havy one day and my sleeping mat got drenched.
That's all I can think of at the moment.
Have a great time
Heath

 

[C_Claycomb]

I was on Stora Le, the lake over to the west of your starting point, in April. I have also been over in Vassfaret in Norway in September.

A little more info from you would be helpful in making suggestions. Are you talking about going this Autumn? How much canoe and bush experience do you have already? Who are you going with? You sound full of enthusiasm, but I am a little concerned that you may be diving in at the deep end a bit. You don't really make it clear how much expereince you have. If you are having to learn how to handle your canoe, choose and set up camps, build and maintain fires and handle unfamiliar tools (knives, saw) it might be a steep learing curve and you may find you don't have a lot of spare resources to learn other bush skills.

Anyway, assuming you have it all in hand...

The places that I have been in Sweden and Norway have been great of hammocks. Lots of trees and the ground is uneven and either rocky or boggy. Be sure that your tarp (you say basha) is long enough to cover the top and tail of your hammock. Most army bashas are a little short for hammocks. You want to have checked that you won't be getting wet feet or head. You must have insulation under you in the hammock. It will help if it is a little wider than the insulation you would use on the ground.

It gets cold over there. The days can be warm, but the night temperatures down near a lake, surrounded by mountains, can be really chilly. I used my Snugpak 10 Harrier bag and it was adequate, but on both trips it was cold enough at night to use a couple of fleeces under a windproof, and a warm hat.

Pack EVERYTHING in roll top try bags. Apart from a canoe being a very damp place on a rainy day, there is often water that will slosh about in the bottom and your kit will be sitting in that all day. There is also the small danger of your going for a swim and you want your dry kit to remain dry.

Steer clear of natural fibres for the canoe parts. Wool is great for long underwear around camp, but wool is heavy and bulky in the pack, and doesn't dry all that well if you get properly wet. The air down near a lake can be really dank. Poly cotton trousers should be fine. No 100% cotton anything.

Take or buy some really good hand cream and a nail brush (a cut down tooth brush will do). The combination of water and dirt can cause splitting around your nails and very dry hands. Even expereinced folk get this problem.

Figure out how to make a bucksaw. Try it at home, then take, or buy, a blade and make one up while there. A nice project, and a really handy tool.

Unless you have had prior training, or someone else on the trip is experienced, stay away from axes. They are the classic tool for the environment, but they are also excellent for making your toes longer, or shorter if you are unlucky.

There may be mushrooms around, dodgy if you can't already id them. We found huge boletus in Norway, but the rain had got to them and they were a bit soggy. Lingon and bilberrys may be around. Definitely take fishing kit, but don't count on catching anything. I used to fish and have some vague idea of what I am doing, but the water was way too cold this April, and there were hardly any fish to be had in the Vassfaret lakes when we were there. Don't count on finding anything to eat when you budget your food needs for the trip. Also, you may find that you eat more than you do at home. Cold air and paddling build an appetite.

There is much more that could be said, but I am sure someone else will jump in.

 

[C_Claycomb]

Was typing at the same time as Heath...

The shoe thing is a good point. I tend to wear my hiking boots for canoe expeditions. They are smooth leather outers and Gore-Tex. I was not impressed by what I saw of suede and nylon when they got wet while in Scotland. On the last couple of trips some people have worn hiking boots or para boots, but for jumping in and out, either wellies, or sandals are the way to go. Something like Tevas/Keens and long SealSkinz socks might be worth a look. Something with a toe is better.

 

[BushEd]

THanks both!!!!

To go further :

Planning to go around the end of September. Never canoed before but theres a school at the place i plan to hire from, i say school...like...an hour tuition I'm sort of...not total novice, was in scouts, go out into the peaks near me quite a bit. So i know my way around most tools on the most basic level.

I picked up a Machete in Africa off the Masaai, would that be suitable? I can't really afford an axe anyway so no worries about smaller feet...although machete is probably more dangerous lol!!! have used it for gardening without injury

Havent checked my basha and hammock, very good idea. Sleeping bag is 3 season, plus silk liner, goretex bivi and thermarest im thinking i should be able to stand a fairly cold night with a fire burning...

I'm thinking of buying a woolpower 400g/m2 sweater, guessing thats a bad idea? Also whats best for footwear then? I have goretex walking boots that i will probably take anyway, and some salomon breathable trainers.

Nailbrush and toothbrush are a check. thanks. DIY Bucksaw = brilliant. Foraging will be at this stage a bonus. Any good articles for how to make a fishing rod? I'm assuming its fairly simple - i have fishing wire and hooks in my BCB tin.

 

[BushEd]

Sorry again, but what sort of blade do i need to make the buck saw. All i can find on google is mitre and circular blades. Obviously the circ. are useless but do i want a mitre blade...?

 

[Mr Adoby]

I'd recommend a buck saw blade. Try googling for that.

Your local hardware store should have some as well. Hardly worth sending for.

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Build-an-Ultralight-Portable-Buck-Saw/

/Anders

 

[firecrest]

I just got back the other day. Unfortunately the boletus are past it now, most of the mushrooms seem to be, but there is still some good ones to be found. Ill be surprised if it only costs you £90, are you equating your food into that? it cost me well over a thousand and that was even with getting free accomodation for most of it. The food prices are double what you pay in London, however the quality is vastly superior. Plenty shops out there sell saws and they are relatively cheap I noticed.

Cord making? - use spruce roots. I was shown a spruce rope, it doesnt take on water so it does not get heavy in the water.
eating ? - Berries are everywhere. when the first frosts comes the lingons will be good to eat, they are still a bit tart right now. At the base of the huge waterfall I visited, I also found mountain sorrel, but I dont know what its conservation status is.

Birch bark and air lichen is everywhere for making fires with if you bring a spark stick.

but yes PREPARE FOR MOSTQUITOES!!!
Good lord I wasnt even bitten this bad in the tropics!!

 

[BushEd]

Flights £30, coaches from Goteborg to Gustavsfors £20 (return, Swedish public transport seems to be incredible) and sheffield to stansted £40 (most expensive lol!!). Need to work out food yes, but can take a lot of the dried stuff (flour, baking powder, noodles, rice etc.) with me surely??

I'm suprised that the mossies are that bad. would of thought it was getting too cold for them...but then...i know nothing about mosquitoes

 

[Allie]

Flights £30, coaches from Goteborg to Gustavsfors £20 (return, Swedish public transport seems to be incredible) and sheffield to stansted £40 (most expensive lol!!). Need to work out food yes, but can take a lot of the dried stuff (flour, baking powder, noodles, rice etc.) with me surely??

I'm suprised that the mossies are that bad. would of thought it was getting too cold for them...but then...i know nothing about mosquitoes

We seem to in the same boat Canoeing in Sweden next year hopefully! Could you tell me what flights those are? I haven't found anything under £100
And don't forget cost of canoe hire?

 

[bushcrafty1]

We seem to in the same boat Canoeing in Sweden next year hopefully! Could you tell me what flights those are? I haven't found anything under £100
And don't forget cost of canoe hire?

i have managed to find some return flights for £51 from skyscanner.
there are definatly cheap ones available

 

[BushEd]

I knew i had it wrong somewhere. the £90 includes canoe rental @ £50 per week for a 2 person, so £25 each. Got flights from RyanAir: London Stansted to Goteborg City. Then coaches in Sweden with www.gobybus.se and www.vasttraffik.se, or something like that. google them.

 

[C_Claycomb]

I have always flown on Ryan Air and I imagine that BushEd is doing the same. They can be very cheap, or where when I booked.

We did our supply shopping in Ed and the quality was pretty good, but expensive. Also, many of the things that you would consider a good standby if you were wandering around Sainsbury’s or Tescos, were lacking. I couldn’t find anything in the way of porridge or oat cereals and most of the breads, biscuits and cakes had more in common with American tastes than British – light weight and full of sugar. No nice sustaining fruit cakes for instance. If you are shopping in an unfamiliar store, dealing with an unfamiliar language and trying to anticipate what you will need for a week, when you haven’t been on a similar trip before, its easy to spend more than expected. Any staples that you haul from the UK will count against your weight allowance on the flight, which can be a PITA.

When we were in Vassfaret there were no mossies, none. It was mid September and I guess we were lucky to have missed the season for them. I think that I still had repellent and a broad brimmed hat / midge net in the gear.

I think that it might be well worth your getting hold of a copy of Song of the Paddle by Bill Mason. It might also be worth checking out the forum of the same name. If you have some idea of proper strokes, steering and trim before you receive your hour of tuition, it has to be useful.

Not sure about the machete. It’s not an ideal tool for the environment, and there are risks in its use, but something that can be used for limbing both fallen and standing wood, and with a batton for splitting 3” plus rounds would be useful. If you are camping in an area where others have camped before, you may find that firewood is a bit harder to find and the ability to saw up and split down bigger hunks can be useful. As can the ability to reach up the trunk of spruce trees and break out the lower dry branches that are too high to reach by hand. If it was all I had, I would take my parang or Martindale Jungle Knife, but I am not sure how useful they really would be.

For the bucksaw what you want is a 30 inch (or nearest size) bow saw blade. You can use 24” blades, but they can be a little small for some jobs. Available from garden centres, Home Base, B&Q and many hardware shops. It doesn’t matter much, but since you will be using it for fire wood, get the blade that is for seasoned wood rather than the one specified for green timber. You will also need a couple of M6 or so bolts about 50mm long, and either a couple of nylon lock nuts, or two pairs of normal nuts. 4m of not too stretchy cord is a min length, 6m would be better. Look around on the site here for some images, but the saw I am talking about is like the one Mors Kochanski shows and doesn’t require any fancy joints or even nails. I have some photos of one if needed.

Don’t bother trying to make a fishing rod. If you aren’t going to take a cheap telescopic one, find yourself a hobo fishing kit for use with a hand line. You will also want some lures. Small Mepps spinners are good for small trout, but may lack weight for throwing by hand. I bought mine from a company called Sportfish based near Hay-on-Wye. I wouldn’t put a lot of store by the BCB tin. BCB is the company that managed to put fire retardant permanganate crystals in their survival tins and perpetrate various other cons. I reckon their kit is much better at catching “survival” novices than helping you to catch supper.

I am unfamiliar with the Woolpower 400g. I have an Arktis Arctic Shirt (reviewed on the main site I think) and would be happy with that as a night time extra layer, or something to wear on dry days on shore. For paddling and primary use I have a Paramo Pull-on which will dry a LOT faster and will actively keep me dry in light drizzle. Don’t get me wrong, I love wool. I am just influenced by a very wet day on Loch Morar where at day’s end one of our group was borderline hypothermic and had managed to get every stitch he had soaked through. I was similarly wet, but in 65/35% polycotton trousers, coolmax t-shirt, P200 fleece topped with a pertex type windshirt, I was comfortably warm. The next day was sunny to start with and everything dried on me before the rain came back around lunch time. I don’t know if wool would have worked so well.

Drop me an email and I can send you the kit notes that Jed Yarnold circulates prior to every canoe trip that he leads. Some of it won’t apply to you, seeing as you are going solo, but you may still get some good from it.

 

[firecrest]

My boyfriend booked us flights with Scandinavian Air for £300 each. The t*t.

 

[C_Claycomb]

Stora Le...I would imagine similar terrain.
http://s289.photobucket.com/user/gps_deseng/slideshow/Stora_Le_Sweden_April_2009?sort=6

 

[superc0ntra]

Some advise from a native Swede:
I used to live in Karlstad which is some 40 miles NE of Bengtsfors.

As said befor the nights get quite cold, in the end of September it may go below freezing although this year it has so far been record warm.

Respect the Allemansrätt which allows you to stay on other peoples land and enjoy nature but will not allow you to take branches, bark etc off trees. You won't have any problems finding dry branches on the ground however and berries are free for picking. Birch bark is great for starting fires but matches are only one crown for a box so don't make it harder on yourself than necessary.

Most waters i Sweden require a fishing permit.

There is what is known as the crayfish plague, a disease which affects crayfish. When moving canoes between waters a lot of places require washing down the canoe with soap in order to minimize the spread.

Your kit seems good enough, end of september means no mosquitos which is nice. Mushroom and blueberry season will be over over but you may find lingonberries or my favorite cloudberries.

Rubber boots are recommended and bring some good rain clothes, it rains almost as much here as in England . And as said before, pack watertight.
I'll try to answer any questions if I can.

Welcome to Sweden by the way.

 

[The Cumbrian]

Where were those pics taken Chris?

Cheers, Michael.

 

[C_Claycomb]

Stora Le, Sweden,

Photo1
59.01906146616944, 11.868420839309692

Photo2
59.00942853025767, 11.883623600006103

Photo 3
59.165932341934315, 11.873130798339843

Photos 4 & 5
59.180062115746665, 11.863914728164672