The first time that I visited Stora Hornsjön ( Bighorn Lake ) was at the beginning of November. The forecast was a bit iffy, but I’d just done six 12 hour shifts and needed to get out. It’s only about half an hours drive to the lake, so I had a relaxed start to the day and picked up some supplies on the way. The Halland Trail goes down the western side of the lake, so I decided to base my walk on that with some side trips off it on paths marked on the map.
http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=57.34468,12.375584&spn=0.067802,0.15398&z=13
It’s a good job that the trail is marked by the orange blazes on the trees, otherwise you wouldn’t be able to see it at this time of year.
Again, I’m wearing a red hat because it’s hunting season, although the American windproof that I wear makes sure that I stand out well.
Further on, the trail markers came in useful again, or I wouldn’t have found the footbridge.
Five minutes on from the bridge I found the wind shelter. I stopped here for a snack, and a look at the view.
The fireplace was pretty good, although the area had been pretty well gleaned of all dead wood. This shelter did not have a woodshed, but it did have facilities nearby. This late in the year though, they were like a festival toilet on a Sunday night.
There were some canoes locked up here as well, and I later found out that you can hire them from a nearby farm.
Walking south from the shelter, I found a great hammocking spot after about 200 metres, close to the lakeshore and with lots of firewood.
I diverted from the Halland Trail in several places, taking side trails to get the views over the lake from rocky outcrops.
I thought that it was two people on the island, but looking through my monocular I realised that they were cairns. Even the side trails were marked, and took me along some lovely paths.
I carried on through the woods and past some crags,
where I found this inscribed stone and a sign explaining it.
I continued towards the southwest point of the lake, and then went for some lunch by the lakeshore. I was walking towards the water along another line of crags when two red deer hinds burst out from behind a little rise. As they raced away between the crags and the lake, I tried to get my camera out of my pocket but I realised that I had no chance. They were out of view in a few seconds, but the surprising thing was that they made almost no noise as they sped through the leaf litter.
I had my lunch and a brew not far from the water’s edge.
After I packed up I went off the path and went in the same direction that the deer had ran, north along the lakeshore, but I didn’t see them again. I found a stream that was marked on the map and followed it inland and back to the trail. I took another side track that was heading north and found this shelter next to it,
but I had to crack on as it was getting dark, and another half an hour saw me back at the car.
I took two things back with me from this walk. I found this little Mora near the wind shelter,
and this Deer Ked. It took some catching, as it seemed to instinctively go to that part of my back that I can’t reach.
My second visit was the weekend just gone. Big Swede and me went to camp on the peninsula at the south end of the lake. Because we couldn’t get there until after dark, it was the perfect place as it’s only a few hundred metres from the road. We had a quick recce of the place in daylight a week or two ago, and we found a great place for hammocking.
When we arrived we got the hammocks and tarps up straight away, and then collected enough firewood for the night. We found a big fatwood stump, and with some firesticks off that and some birchbark soon had the fire going.
We made some tapers from fatwood sticks, and Big Swede carved a sinister looking wooden idol, which he sacrificed to the flames in some ancient Swedish ritual.
We made some food after that, Big Swede’s offering was a very healthy pearl barley, green pepper and leek creation, and I balanced that with burgers, flatbread and blue cheese spread.
After our feast I broke the whiskey out, and the area was illuminated when we burned the rest of the fatwood stump.
It was snowing a little bit when we crashed,
and I was hoping to wake up to a good covering, but it had all melted by morning.
Breakfast was “Nyponsoppa” or rosehip soup.
I’d never had it before, but it was lovely. Apparently it’s made of dried, ground rosehips, sugar and a thickening agent. Big Swede mixed the powder up with water and heated it over the fire. We had that with more flatbread, and it certainly sets you up for the day. We sat around the fire for a bit and had a few cups of Rooibos Spice tea,
and then got packed up
and set off back, after a brief but very enjoyable night out.
http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=57.34468,12.375584&spn=0.067802,0.15398&z=13
It’s a good job that the trail is marked by the orange blazes on the trees, otherwise you wouldn’t be able to see it at this time of year.
Again, I’m wearing a red hat because it’s hunting season, although the American windproof that I wear makes sure that I stand out well.
Further on, the trail markers came in useful again, or I wouldn’t have found the footbridge.
Five minutes on from the bridge I found the wind shelter. I stopped here for a snack, and a look at the view.
The fireplace was pretty good, although the area had been pretty well gleaned of all dead wood. This shelter did not have a woodshed, but it did have facilities nearby. This late in the year though, they were like a festival toilet on a Sunday night.
There were some canoes locked up here as well, and I later found out that you can hire them from a nearby farm.
Walking south from the shelter, I found a great hammocking spot after about 200 metres, close to the lakeshore and with lots of firewood.
I diverted from the Halland Trail in several places, taking side trails to get the views over the lake from rocky outcrops.
I thought that it was two people on the island, but looking through my monocular I realised that they were cairns. Even the side trails were marked, and took me along some lovely paths.
I carried on through the woods and past some crags,
where I found this inscribed stone and a sign explaining it.
I continued towards the southwest point of the lake, and then went for some lunch by the lakeshore. I was walking towards the water along another line of crags when two red deer hinds burst out from behind a little rise. As they raced away between the crags and the lake, I tried to get my camera out of my pocket but I realised that I had no chance. They were out of view in a few seconds, but the surprising thing was that they made almost no noise as they sped through the leaf litter.
I had my lunch and a brew not far from the water’s edge.
After I packed up I went off the path and went in the same direction that the deer had ran, north along the lakeshore, but I didn’t see them again. I found a stream that was marked on the map and followed it inland and back to the trail. I took another side track that was heading north and found this shelter next to it,
but I had to crack on as it was getting dark, and another half an hour saw me back at the car.
I took two things back with me from this walk. I found this little Mora near the wind shelter,
and this Deer Ked. It took some catching, as it seemed to instinctively go to that part of my back that I can’t reach.
My second visit was the weekend just gone. Big Swede and me went to camp on the peninsula at the south end of the lake. Because we couldn’t get there until after dark, it was the perfect place as it’s only a few hundred metres from the road. We had a quick recce of the place in daylight a week or two ago, and we found a great place for hammocking.
When we arrived we got the hammocks and tarps up straight away, and then collected enough firewood for the night. We found a big fatwood stump, and with some firesticks off that and some birchbark soon had the fire going.
We made some tapers from fatwood sticks, and Big Swede carved a sinister looking wooden idol, which he sacrificed to the flames in some ancient Swedish ritual.
We made some food after that, Big Swede’s offering was a very healthy pearl barley, green pepper and leek creation, and I balanced that with burgers, flatbread and blue cheese spread.
After our feast I broke the whiskey out, and the area was illuminated when we burned the rest of the fatwood stump.
It was snowing a little bit when we crashed,
and I was hoping to wake up to a good covering, but it had all melted by morning.
Breakfast was “Nyponsoppa” or rosehip soup.
I’d never had it before, but it was lovely. Apparently it’s made of dried, ground rosehips, sugar and a thickening agent. Big Swede mixed the powder up with water and heated it over the fire. We had that with more flatbread, and it certainly sets you up for the day. We sat around the fire for a bit and had a few cups of Rooibos Spice tea,
and then got packed up
and set off back, after a brief but very enjoyable night out.
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