The Walking Dom

Aug 22

Aug 22 How 10$ and a pack of frozen peas saved the day

Mile 277 / KM 447 (+ 47 km for the Kebnekaise detour)

Ammernäs - an emergency hut between Syter and Viterskals

Audiobook of the week: still listening to 'The Sun Also Rises' by Ernest Hemingway. It's never-ending.

Song stuck in my head: ‘You can do Magic' by America

I miss: this trail already

15km, 16km, 17km... still no sign of pain. The relief I felt is hard to describe. After a full-on week of suffering and poppin' four ibuprofen a day, the pain had vanished. Just like that. 35 hours of rest, a pack of frozen peas, and a pair of new/very worn insoles I had purchased from the supermarket owner's wife for 10$ had done the trick. I was back in business and no longer dreading every meter of the trail. Halleluja.

The day we left Ammernäs was by far the worst day we've had since starting the trail in terms of weather. At one point it was hailing and Laura and I couldn't stop laughing at the misery we had brought upon ourselves. Like WTF were we doing at the top of a hill in a hailstorm? The answer is: having the best time ever. Rainpants glued to our thighs we hiked to a tiny emergency hut we had spotted on the map as fast as we could.

Other hikers had found refuge in the tiny one-room building and they had started a fire. We made coffee and waited for the storm to pass. Once the worst was over we buckled up and continued our journey south. Despite the storm and the two blocks of ice, my feet had turned into I was having the best day ever. Nothing, not even ice-cold hail could darken my mood. My leg was back and that was all that mattered <3

Laura and I hiked all day passing beautiful large lakes, thousands of blueberry bushes, more mushrooms, and reindeer herds. The weather had finally cleared up a bit but right when we were about to cross seven bridges to cross over a lake, the wind started picking up like crazy. The bridges were swinging back and forth and we had a hard time staying on our feet. We reached Syter and considering the wind situation, it would have made total sense to stay there for the night. But when has something Laura and I decided ever made sense? After a quick look into our torn apart Kunglseden guide we found an emergency hut at the top of what looked like the windiest pass on earth. If the hut was empty, we'd have a safe and free place to stay. If it was crowded, we'd sleep like sardines on the floor, crammed into a tiny house, or even worse; we'd be forced to either keep going or camp in the wind channel. We decided it was worth the risk and headed up the mountain. The next hour was magic. We reached the saddle right when a big herd of reindeer ran across the trail. It was absolutely beautiful. We followed them for a little while and once back on trail the weather shifted. Far away in the distance we spotted the hut. No smoke. Looks promising. When we got there the door was shut which meant no one was inside. We had hit the jackpot. The hut was ours! We played ABBA, had some celebratory whiskey and made a fire and dinner. Outside the wind was houling, but we were safe, warm and about to catch a good night sleep before our last day on trail. Next stop; Hermavan.