Hi all!
Just wanted to share my latest trip with you, mostly because I'm pretty chuffed that I managed to pull it off.
I have had ME for some years which makes me very easily exhausted and I have not been able to do much of anything but I really wanted to do another solo overnighter before my dogs get to old for it. I know that I take a risk in going out alone with bad health but I chose a well used area, with marked trails and emergency huts so it is a calculated risk.
I drove 700km to the southernmost mountains in the county of Dalarna and managed to pitch my tent in the tree line just before dark. I started to melt snow for me and the dogs when my Coleman feather stove started burning very low. Something had blocked the fuel line and as it is not an easy thing to take it apart in freezing cold to try to clear it I thought it would work sufficiently anyway. The stove however felt differently and decided to start leaking and soon there was burning petrol all over the aluminium pan I was using as a tray.
Leaking petrol stoves is not something I want in my life or my tent so I kicked it out and poured the litre of water I had managed to melt into a couple of small bottles which I put in my sleeping bag to prevent from freezing. Without dinner that night and with only biscuits and water for breakfast the next day I packed up, went back to the car and drove to a nearby resort and bought some meth for my backup trangia burner, drove back and started up the mountain a second time.
I didn't get very far that day but the weather was great and I spent a couple of hours just basking in the sun and taking in the view. Unfortunately the meth burners dont work well in cold and wind so I couldnt make a hot beverage any time I wanted but had to wait until I had the tent up for shelter. Well before dark I left the trail a few hundred meters and dug my tent in behind a small ridge and spent a good but slightly cold night.
The next day the wind had picked up but we had it in our backs and did another 10km across the open mountains. I dug in a ledge for a short rest but no chance of using the stove in that wind so we continued and descended to the tree line for lunch. The wind started picking up and the drifting snow got so bad that lunch had to be abandoned and we moved further down the slope to find a deep drift where I could really dig the tent in. No pictures of this because my camera froze up. All this skiing and digging got me completely bushed so we spent the afternoon and night resting in the tent listening to the hard gusty wind. During the night the wind died down but started to pick up again and I didnt want to get held up by wind on the leeward side of the mountain with limited fuel and food so I got going at first light.
It was a tough couple of hours up hill and into the wind and I was aware that if it picked up I would either have to go to an emergency shelter near by or turn back down again but the weather held until we got in behind some sheltering mountaintops and then we were ok.
We were tired but feeling fine and the weather was great with clear blue sky and great views so I decided to end the trip while I had that good feeling of accomplishment.
We skied down the trail back to the car and headed home.
Looking out across the valley toward Norway.
The winter (or year round) trails in the swedish mountains are marked with red cross markers, high enough to always be above the snow. Apart from finding your way these trails follow easily travelled routes and are always safe from avalanches. If you are unexperienced, just stick to the trails and you will be ok.
Just wanted to share my latest trip with you, mostly because I'm pretty chuffed that I managed to pull it off.
I have had ME for some years which makes me very easily exhausted and I have not been able to do much of anything but I really wanted to do another solo overnighter before my dogs get to old for it. I know that I take a risk in going out alone with bad health but I chose a well used area, with marked trails and emergency huts so it is a calculated risk.
I drove 700km to the southernmost mountains in the county of Dalarna and managed to pitch my tent in the tree line just before dark. I started to melt snow for me and the dogs when my Coleman feather stove started burning very low. Something had blocked the fuel line and as it is not an easy thing to take it apart in freezing cold to try to clear it I thought it would work sufficiently anyway. The stove however felt differently and decided to start leaking and soon there was burning petrol all over the aluminium pan I was using as a tray.
Leaking petrol stoves is not something I want in my life or my tent so I kicked it out and poured the litre of water I had managed to melt into a couple of small bottles which I put in my sleeping bag to prevent from freezing. Without dinner that night and with only biscuits and water for breakfast the next day I packed up, went back to the car and drove to a nearby resort and bought some meth for my backup trangia burner, drove back and started up the mountain a second time.
I didn't get very far that day but the weather was great and I spent a couple of hours just basking in the sun and taking in the view. Unfortunately the meth burners dont work well in cold and wind so I couldnt make a hot beverage any time I wanted but had to wait until I had the tent up for shelter. Well before dark I left the trail a few hundred meters and dug my tent in behind a small ridge and spent a good but slightly cold night.
The next day the wind had picked up but we had it in our backs and did another 10km across the open mountains. I dug in a ledge for a short rest but no chance of using the stove in that wind so we continued and descended to the tree line for lunch. The wind started picking up and the drifting snow got so bad that lunch had to be abandoned and we moved further down the slope to find a deep drift where I could really dig the tent in. No pictures of this because my camera froze up. All this skiing and digging got me completely bushed so we spent the afternoon and night resting in the tent listening to the hard gusty wind. During the night the wind died down but started to pick up again and I didnt want to get held up by wind on the leeward side of the mountain with limited fuel and food so I got going at first light.
It was a tough couple of hours up hill and into the wind and I was aware that if it picked up I would either have to go to an emergency shelter near by or turn back down again but the weather held until we got in behind some sheltering mountaintops and then we were ok.
We were tired but feeling fine and the weather was great with clear blue sky and great views so I decided to end the trip while I had that good feeling of accomplishment.
We skied down the trail back to the car and headed home.
Looking out across the valley toward Norway.
The winter (or year round) trails in the swedish mountains are marked with red cross markers, high enough to always be above the snow. Apart from finding your way these trails follow easily travelled routes and are always safe from avalanches. If you are unexperienced, just stick to the trails and you will be ok.
