Finally got the time to go on a trip to a place 30 km north of Goteborg, Sweden. The weather forecast predicted rain, but nevertheless i opted go. I am not a stranger to wet conditions and my gear and clothes are more than adeqaute for such conditions.
The conditions this particular time were horrendous though. Driving rain combined with freezin temperatures tested my patience to the limit.
I left the DSLR cam at home to save some weight and bulk, so forgive me for the less than ideal pictures.
Rain is hard to capture on a picture, but this image shows what was the conditions were like.
I arrived at the area a couple of hours before nightfall. Temps were just above freezing and the drizzle was steady. There was a shelter on the map, which i could reach before it got dark. I had only brought my tarp, so i preferred a dry night in the shelter.
Gloomy wet weather:
The trail was real gnarly. The rocks and roots were extremely slippery. My poles saved me twice from falling into the lake!
When i reached the shelter i was severely disappointed. It was obviously not meant for sleeping. It was very small and in poor state. The roof was leaking too many places to count. The floor was sloping and it was littered with thrash. A previous hiker had left a plastic bag with some dry wood, a sparker and a saw.
The next shelter was 7 km away and impossible to reach before dark. There was no way i was hiking in the dark under these conditions, so prepared to stay the night.
The roof was in miserable condition. I had to rig my tarp on top of the roof or i might as well have slept under the rain.
My edged tools consisted of a Gransfors SFA, Fallkniven A1 and SAK. I immediately began scouring the area in search of standing dry wood. Everything i came upon was soaked, but i managed to gather some. The axe was king at chopping dead wood of the trees.
I was very aware that i didnt start to sweat and paced my self accordingly. Nevertheless, when i took my goretex jacket off, it was soaked on the inside. My jacket just couldnt let out the moisture fast enough. I was wearing synthetics that wicked the moisture away and a microfleece on top. I never felt myself sweating, on the contrary i was cold when standing still.
I succeded at starting a fire, but I failed miserably at sustaining it. The conditions were just too wet. It had gotten dark now, so i opted to make dinner and head to bed.
I found this UK business that sells ready meals made from 100% procent natural and organic ingredients. I had Lamb Hotpot for dinner, but to be honest it tasted a bit bland like many of their other products. It got a healthy dose of salt, pepper and cayenne to spice it up.
One meal wasnt enough though, as they are only about 280 grams so i ate another one, a Risotto dish.
I had one of the worst nights in the outdoors. The floor was sloping to one side and the sleeping bag had no friction whatsoever on the Z-pad, so i spent the night tossing and turning and sliding off the pad. There was barely enough room for me in the shelter.
I was thinking how crappy this shelter was, so i forgot to pack out the groundsheet. :17:
I couldnt be bothered getting out of my bag again, so i threw my hardshell by the feet, so the bag wouldnt get wet from the floor.
I woke up a couple of times during the night because i got cold. I suspect it was because my microfleece was abit moist from sweating. It could also have been because i was wearing the fleece, thus preventing my bodyheat from warming up the bag.
It rained all night, but my tarp on the roof did the job and kept me dry.
I woke up at 0600 next morning. I decided to give the fire another go and this time i managed to get it going.
I batoned the A1 like it was stolen and it was great! Managed to get into the dry stuff and get this fire started.
The rain had stopped thankfully.
I made myself some cereal for breakfast. The GSI Outdoor Halulite is good for solo hikers if all you need is boil water. It sucks for warming up ready meals though,as its too small and the food sticks to it. Ill stick with my teflon coated Litech Kettle next time.
It has this nifty neopren-sleeve that slides on to the kettle and keeps your meal warm. Great detail!
Warming some bread on the fire:
My extra clothing consists of a set of synthetic undergarments for sleeping/changing into. One pair of socks. A wool balaclava. A wool full zip sweater. They are all packed into a drybag.
Ive got a pair of hardshell pants in my pack too.
Some random trail shots:
My loadout for this trip. It weighs 11.7 kilograms inc. 1 litre of water.
Hope you enjoyed the pics. Thanks for reading!
The conditions this particular time were horrendous though. Driving rain combined with freezin temperatures tested my patience to the limit.
I left the DSLR cam at home to save some weight and bulk, so forgive me for the less than ideal pictures.
Rain is hard to capture on a picture, but this image shows what was the conditions were like.
I arrived at the area a couple of hours before nightfall. Temps were just above freezing and the drizzle was steady. There was a shelter on the map, which i could reach before it got dark. I had only brought my tarp, so i preferred a dry night in the shelter.
Gloomy wet weather:
The trail was real gnarly. The rocks and roots were extremely slippery. My poles saved me twice from falling into the lake!
When i reached the shelter i was severely disappointed. It was obviously not meant for sleeping. It was very small and in poor state. The roof was leaking too many places to count. The floor was sloping and it was littered with thrash. A previous hiker had left a plastic bag with some dry wood, a sparker and a saw.
The next shelter was 7 km away and impossible to reach before dark. There was no way i was hiking in the dark under these conditions, so prepared to stay the night.
The roof was in miserable condition. I had to rig my tarp on top of the roof or i might as well have slept under the rain.
My edged tools consisted of a Gransfors SFA, Fallkniven A1 and SAK. I immediately began scouring the area in search of standing dry wood. Everything i came upon was soaked, but i managed to gather some. The axe was king at chopping dead wood of the trees.
I was very aware that i didnt start to sweat and paced my self accordingly. Nevertheless, when i took my goretex jacket off, it was soaked on the inside. My jacket just couldnt let out the moisture fast enough. I was wearing synthetics that wicked the moisture away and a microfleece on top. I never felt myself sweating, on the contrary i was cold when standing still.
I succeded at starting a fire, but I failed miserably at sustaining it. The conditions were just too wet. It had gotten dark now, so i opted to make dinner and head to bed.
I found this UK business that sells ready meals made from 100% procent natural and organic ingredients. I had Lamb Hotpot for dinner, but to be honest it tasted a bit bland like many of their other products. It got a healthy dose of salt, pepper and cayenne to spice it up.
One meal wasnt enough though, as they are only about 280 grams so i ate another one, a Risotto dish.
I had one of the worst nights in the outdoors. The floor was sloping to one side and the sleeping bag had no friction whatsoever on the Z-pad, so i spent the night tossing and turning and sliding off the pad. There was barely enough room for me in the shelter.
I was thinking how crappy this shelter was, so i forgot to pack out the groundsheet. :17:
I couldnt be bothered getting out of my bag again, so i threw my hardshell by the feet, so the bag wouldnt get wet from the floor.
I woke up a couple of times during the night because i got cold. I suspect it was because my microfleece was abit moist from sweating. It could also have been because i was wearing the fleece, thus preventing my bodyheat from warming up the bag.
It rained all night, but my tarp on the roof did the job and kept me dry.
I woke up at 0600 next morning. I decided to give the fire another go and this time i managed to get it going.
I batoned the A1 like it was stolen and it was great! Managed to get into the dry stuff and get this fire started.
The rain had stopped thankfully.
I made myself some cereal for breakfast. The GSI Outdoor Halulite is good for solo hikers if all you need is boil water. It sucks for warming up ready meals though,as its too small and the food sticks to it. Ill stick with my teflon coated Litech Kettle next time.
It has this nifty neopren-sleeve that slides on to the kettle and keeps your meal warm. Great detail!
Warming some bread on the fire:
My extra clothing consists of a set of synthetic undergarments for sleeping/changing into. One pair of socks. A wool balaclava. A wool full zip sweater. They are all packed into a drybag.
Ive got a pair of hardshell pants in my pack too.
Some random trail shots:
My loadout for this trip. It weighs 11.7 kilograms inc. 1 litre of water.
Hope you enjoyed the pics. Thanks for reading!
