The Walking Dom

Aug 5

Aug 5 Disco in Abisko

Mile 65 / KM 104 / Day 3

Abisko - Singi - Kebnekaise Fjällstation

Podcast of the day: '‘Zeit Verbrechen’ by Zeit Magazin

Song stuck in my head: 'Distant Star' by Spielbergs

I miss: Niente caliente

And there it was. That familiar pain shooting through my legs I had missed for so long. Curled up in my sleeping bag with tired legs I felt happier than I had felt in a long time. The night was cold and windy and I had to lie in one exact spot to not touch the walls of my tent.

Right next to my tent I heard Lauras tent flapping in the wind. She has decided to join me on my Nordic adventure on the Kungsleden and I was glad to have her with me. So far she has done really well. Not a lot of my girlfriends are carved out to do things like this, but I knew she would do just fine. She's a fast hiker and at times I'm having a hard time keeping up with her.

'What trail should I do next?' was a question I have asked myself for the past months. I knew that if I had all the time in the world I would just hop on the CDT and hike through the US the second time, but that would take more than two months and two months was all I had been able to get off work this year. Not wanting to fly too far due to Covid restrictions I decided to stay in Europe, and after a bit of research it quickly became clear the Kungsleden sounded like the adventure I was looking for. Not too long, not too short, wild and beautiful.

And here we are. Three days in, we've hiked over 100 km and we're currently camping at the 'Kebnekaise Fjällstation'. Today is a rest day and tomorrow we'll climb 'Kebnekaise' - Swedens highest mountain - if the weather stays (sort of) on our side. The morning is looking dry, but by noon it should start raining and we're expecting strong winds. It takes about 10 hours to go up and down, so to make it back in time before the rain, we'll leave camp at 3 a.m. In every othe place in the world that would mean bringing a headlamp, but here there is no need for that. 3 a.m. looks exactly like 10 a.m. The sun never sets and the most important piece of gear I'd say would probably be a sleeping mask.

So far the trail has been absolutely stunning. Wide open spaces and not a single soul in sight for most of the time. Instead, we've seen tons of reindeer and moose and we've been spared by the mosquitoes so far. Praying it'll stay that way. This trail is gorgeous! Can’t wait to see the rest of it.