Canoe journey in Sweden

[Pantalaimon]

Hi there!
A year ago I heard about bushcraft, and when I began to read about it, it was clear to me that it surely was something I wanted to know and do. Suddenly I was able to give my dreams of traveling and wandering freely through nature a name: bushcraft.
So I went watching Ray Mears and reading books and on internet. Now I'm going to do a course of a week in bushcraft.

Because I have some spare time in late summer I would like to visit Sweden. The North has always impressed me with her nature so the choice was made quick. Also there's the great freedom to roam.

I would like to make a journey in a canoe but I have some questions I hope someone is able to answer.

Because I really want to be 'out', I'm looking for a place with a lot of space and not on a main tourist route. A quiet place. And ofcourse where I can rent a canoe for 2 weeks. Does anyone knows where I best can go to?

And about campfires: are there dates when its prohibited?(because of drought in summer). On which dates is that usually?

I hope someone can answer my questions.

Greetings from the Netherlands,

Pantalaimon.

 

[Matt Weir]

Welcome to BCUK and best of luck with your trip

 

[squantrill]

Sounds like fun need a partner ??

 

[rancid badger]

Welcome to the site and I'm sure someone will be able to give you answers to your questions.
If not, you could do a lot worse than register with Song of the Paddle, the site for open canoeist's but don't forget to come back here too!
Best wishes
R.B.

 

[philaw]

Try this site. 'allemansratten' translates as "every mans right" I think, and this word includes all of the rules you need to look at. There's mention on the page of fire.

http://www.sverigeturism.se/smorgasbord/smorgasbord/natrecspo/nature/every.html

 

[ruger77]

Hi Philaw,
Went to Norway/sweden last summer. Dragged a landrover, canoe and camping gear around almost 8,000km of scandinavia. Been there with work a bit too, so I have seen a good bit of it.

I have just 2 things to tell you.

1. Arctic Sweden in Summer is unbelieveably ****. Flat. Boring. Mosquito ridden. Exception is JOKKMOKK. Where there is a decent pub. Kiruna is the Slough of the Arctic. You have been warned! Go in winter with the rest of the lunatics.

2. Highlight of my holiday last year was paddling the Klaralven River, Varmland. This is a lovely pristine safe and nature packed river that meanders quickly through the Swedish nature between the Norwegian/Swedish Frontier and Karlstad. This is your trip, the one you are dreaming about.

Best of all there is a campsite along the way at a lovely village called Eksharad, that just happens to be managed by a lovely scottish lady. Better still she hires canoes and can do airport transfers etc., the whole lot. Next time i'll save myself the long drive and go straight to the holiday. send her an e-mail at
info@bynscamping.eu
and you will be well sorted. Tell her the Irish sent you! She should remember us... We had a very pleasant afternoon drinking americanos in her coffee house (during a weaker moment) on our trip. She has a great set up and good boats.

Camping on the river you can bushcraft away to your hearts content, camp where you like within reason, and meet fellow river travellers. You will not be disappointed. Honest.

Items to bring are:
1) insect repellent. Not as bad as arctic but can have its moments.
2)Strong beer. Swedish beer is milk. Bring a couple of bottles of whiskey. The locals love it
3)A folding spade. You will know why when the time comes...
3) Fishing gear. This is bushcraft heaven. I dont know anything about fishing or swedish rules around fishing but that river is alive with fish.

Go in July for best weather and heat.Long long days. August for least insects.

I really enjoyed that river trip, still think about the smell of the river and the warm river sand on the many beaches along the way. I hope you get to experience it too. Dont forget to leave no trace...I will be going back, hope to find it as I left it.
Best regards

 

[philaw]

Is it really that bad in northern sweden in summer, Ruger77? I think that in Britain we are spoilt with beautiful scenery, but it's just not big enough to get lost in. What's the swedish coastline like? If I wanted to sail and camp up the coast, stopping to bushcraft, would that be daft?

 

[ruger77]

Philaw, Pantalaimon
I started off reading ray mears too. I heard of Sarek in one of his books so off i went...
The mossies up there just have to be seen to be believed. We had all sorts of nets and cream etc. Unless you are super tough, or simply enjoy pain, it warrants careful thought. We had lousy weather too, which didnt help. At least we had our land rover to take refuge in.

What was worse was after reading about Sarek national park for two years and dreaming of going to the most remote NP in europe, when we got there, the lake was almost empty and there is a new hydro dam. I really wasn't expecting that and it ruined it for me. Muddus was fogbound! Living in SW west Ireland, Only now do I understand how some of the tourists that come here feel when their picture postcard expectations come to nowt. There is good fast water canoing and lakes in and around Jokkmokk, right on the circle, but I dont know about hiring and stuff there. To be honest, unless you are a very experienced canoeist, I would think twice about heading off on your sweeney todd on some of those rivers.

Coastal trips would require a sea kayak. Again unless you are an experienced canoeist, I would consider booking a sea kayak/camping package. beauty about the klaralven is its safety. Have a look around the Lulea area for kayak packages on the web. For the ultimate arctic summer experience I would try Lofoten islands in Norway. It is superb, like scotland, only with 24hour daylight and oddly, it felt warmer!!! The only drawback is the price of beer.

Swedish rules on fire are very liberal. They dont ban fire outright, as in UK, Norway, but they do say if you do light a fire, be responsible, which is a reasonable attitude. I should also add that the liberal view on fire is countered by the draconian attitude to booze. Life is too short to drink 2.5% beer, but then the days in sweden are pretty long. ;-)

Incidentally pantalaimon, we met more dutch people in Norway than norwegians. I reckon there must be a real wilderness in Holland in July when all those dutch people go on holidays. Last one out turn off the lights!!!

I hope this is of some help. Again, if you are going to play with boats, get trained. I cannot over emphasise this. Bi Ullamh - Be Prepared.

Best regards

 

[passengerplanetearth]

thanks for the calming voice of experience, ruger77, much appreciated!

I've got my eye on Sweden, too, I hadn't thought about hiring a canoe, sounds a great idea.

Al.

 

[philaw]

Hmm, I'm having second thoughts now. It doesn't sound so great. Like everyone else, I can cope with a few mossies and midges, but to have them swarming around you would make it impossible to do anything fun. I once went on holiday to Soctland and camped out on Skye during the height of midge season with my family. It was so bad that people wore balaclavas and gloves, and in the pub you couldn't see through the bottom inch of any window pane because the midges were so thick. Has to be seen to be believed, but if Sweden in summer is similar I don't want to go.

 

[Pantalaimon]

Thanks for the replies! (especially ruger77!)
I will keep the Klaralven river in mind. I think I''l go to there, Värmland. Or maybe to Östergotland. In the Sweden episode of Ray Mears bushcraft he mentioned it, so that must be nice also.

About mosquito's. With so many lakes I expected there would be many. If it gets a bit more cooler, I hoped there would be lesser mosquitos. So September will be a good choice I think.

But why a spade? So I can paddle with it when little gnomes steal my paddles at night?
On http://www.kanotguiden.se I saw that by many canoe-rentals spades/axes are included.
Search for rentals in different parts: http://www.kanotguiden.se/xekuthyr/index.htm a usefull site I think!

 

[philaw]

for digging your toilet?