The start of a new adventure
After nearly a year since my last regular blog, I'm back! I had such a great time writing a blog while I was walking a thousand miles that I decided it would be a good idea to start it up again for my next adventure. So, what is my next adventure?
As you'll have probably gathered from my previous exploits (walking 1000 miles, walking 500 miles, hitch-hiking to Morocco, trekking through Costa Rican jungle for a few weeks), I'm a fan of adventure. Particularly if it involves some elements of physical discomfort and living out of a rucksack (my beloved rucksack is called Rucky and is bound to feature in this blog, I'm pretty attached). Therefore, it made a lot of sense to me to combine this passion with my love of my Swedish heritage. That is how I currently find myself in the village of Abisko, way up in the far reaches of Swedish Lapland and 250km inside the Arctic Circle, preparing to set off on the 440km Kungsleden (or King's Trail).
This trail heads south to Hemavan, passing through impressive national parks which together make up Europe's largest wilderness area. It is reasonably unusual to walk the route in its entirety, but that's not going to stop me (sorry Mum).
Along the majority of the route are basic huts where it's possible to spend the night and stock up on supplies. When I say "basic", I mean no running water or electricity, wood-burning stove. I'm not actually planning on staying in these huts though, luxurious as they do sound. I've decided to up the challenge rating by camping as often as possible.
So, in addition to the usual clothes, rain gear and endless supply of food and snacks (I'm a self-diagnosed Serial Snacker), I'm also going to be carting around a tent, sleeping bag, mat and pillow, and cooking equipment. And enough clothes to keep me warm - it will be a mild 10-15°C during the day, dropping to the slightly nippier ballpark temperature of freezing at night).
I've been warned that phone signal is a phenomenon yet to reach a large part of the Scandinavian wilderness, but there are a few larger mountain stations whose 'grounds' I will camp in with the underlying motive of exploiting the free WiFi.
Probably time to wrap this up before I fully lose your attention. Thanks for dropping by to read and I hope you return to have a gander at my updates while I'm away adventuring!
