Shrooms

Mile 238 / KM 383.2 (+ 47 km for the Kebnekaise detour)

Jäkkvik - Ammernäs

Audiobook of the week: still listening to 'The Sun Also Rises' by Ernest Hemingway

Song stuck in my head: 'Trusted You' by Radioactivity

I miss: having dry feet

Section four of the Kungsleden was all about mushrooms. It's ridiculous how many there are. The trail is lined by them and if we only knew which ones would be edible, we'd be feasting on shrooms every night. Eager to know which ones wouldn't kill us, we asked Philipp - a Swedish guy who looks just like John Lennon - if he knew which ones were fine. He said "you can eat all of the mushrooms around here". I replied, "Really? Even the red ones with white polka dots I saw earlier today?". "No, do not eat those under any circumstance" Phillipp answered. "And what about this one?" I said while showing him a picture on my phone I had taken of a pretty orange mushroom. "Oh no, do not eat that one either". Laura and I started laughing and reconned, that we'd just stick to our tortellini.

I'm proud of her. In just two weeks she has developed what one could call a 'thru-hikers-eye'. Whenever we enter any type of facility these days, her eyes wander along the walls, looking for power outlets to charge devices. She has learned to scan a hostel kitchen for the 'free-food-section' before doing anything else. She has also developed a deep appreciation for trash bins where you can get rid of the disgusting trash you've been carrying around for days. Food ultimately is what drives her and it's her favourite time of day when she can fire up her pocket rocket to cook a weird combination of soup, mashed potatoes, and pasta. She has in many ways become a thru-hiker.

We're heading into Ammernäs tomorrow. The second 'big town' on the Kungsleden. The weather for the coming days looks horrendous so there's a good chance we'll going to wait it out. The timing couldn't be more perfect. My leg is hurting big time and I need to stop hiking. So for once, I'm pretty stoked about rain. Bring it on.