96

Day 18  gröna bandet   266.58 km  🌤

Pos  N 63 27 105  E 13 21 501

Loc  Krokholmen  396 m

Acc  Soulo

Dis   16.21 km

Sta   08.50

End  15.05

Tim   06.15 hrs

Genial gescheitert
Es gibt bei Krok - auf der Karte - einen Pfad, der eine Verbindung nach Norden in Richtung Djupsjö und weiter nach Olden herstellt. Auch mein GPS zeigt diesen Weg an. Ich fand den Zugang an der Straße und nach etwas Suchen auch den Einstieg in den Pfad. Hier und da eine kleine Markierung - alles bestens. Die Markierungen hörten auf, aber der Pfad führte mich bis an den Fahrweg ( den ich auch hätte nehmen können) südlich Västest Kvarntjärn. 
Direkt gegenüber sollte der Pfad weiterlaufen... vielleicht ein bisschen rechts? Oder links? Ich probierte rechts ... weit kam ich nicht. Okay. Rucksack bleibt am Weg, ... gps kommt mit.  Das Gelände ist extrem unübersichtlich! Ich suche... kein Pfad, verlaufe mich, finde aber auf den Weg zurück.  Was tun? 
Weiter unten am Weg stehen ein paar Hütten, ich könnte die Leute fragen. Niemand dort, Sommerhäuser. Ich fülle mein Flasche am See und gehe wieder zurück, der Pfad muss doch zu finden sein. Also nochmal rein in die Wildnis, dem gps Pfad folgen... hier muss er doch sein!
Es gibt keinen Pfad! Bittere Erkenntnis! Ich mache mich auf den Rückweg - doch wohin? Beim Suchen bin ich rechts und links und kreuz und quer gegangen. Wo geht’s zum Weg zurück? Um mich herum Wildnis, umgefallenene Bäume, Sträucher, Felsen, tiefe Löcher im Gelände!  Ein mühsames Unterfangen, aber die Sonne und mein GPS führen mich auf den Weg zurück! 

Ich bitte Svante um Rat. Er beschreibt eine andere Route von Sölvsved aus. Ich schöpfe wieder Mut, stelle mein Zelt an der wunderschönen Badestelle auf Kroksholmen auf und genieße den Nachmittag. Allerdings ohne Kaffee, denn es herrscht absolutes Feuerverbot! Auch das Abendessen bleibt kalt! Kaltes Wasser - das kommt in die Tüte! 

95

Day 17  gröna bandet   250.37 km  🌤

Pos  N 63 26 004  E 13 22 207

Loc  Kallsjön, Bonäset - Krok   388 m

Acc  Soulo

Dis   32.05 km

Sta   08.50

End  18.25

Tim   09.35 hrs

94

Day 16  ☀️
Zero day 

Loc  STF Åre Torg  467 m

Acc  Room

My feet need to rest. ;)
My clothes to be washed,
The supply parcel to be picked up ... got it! 👍

93

Day 15  gröna bandet    218,32 km  🌤

Pos  N 63 24 049  E 13 04 669

Loc  STF Åre Torg  467 m

Acc  Room

Dis   42,13 km

Sta   08.30

End  19.45

Tim  11.15 hrs 

Iditarod

42 kilometres - I did not know, I could do that. The one and only marathon I ran was in 2002 - without a backpack. ;) When I started in the morning, I thought it was worth a try. I left with some skepticism though, the backpack weighed 20 kg. But there was not much else, the cap, shorts and a shirt, boots, socks, poles. A sunny and warm day with a little rain in the afternoon. And I wanted to save a day or two. Wasn’t I already five days behind my schedule due to blisters!

I followed the road, tried to keep up up an average speed of 4.5 km including breaks. And by three o’clock I was down at the bridge crossing Indalensälven after 27 km. Only another 15 km to go. Rain forced me to break and I ate something. 

The path along the river became slippery. Of course I lost balance and the heavy backpack knocked me down. Tired and weary I slowed down a bit. Later I followed the road again and finally crept into the station. 

Blisters? Yes, I think, but I’ll check tomorrow! The showers are hot and the sauna is heated ... aahhhh, relax now. 

92

Skogsbränderna i länet
Waldbrände in Schweden - aktuelle Info  🔥
https://www.lansstyrelsen.se/jamtland/privat.html#0

https://www.sosalarm.se/trender--analyser/lagesbild-brand/

https://www.krisinformation.se/english

91

Day 14  gröna bandet   176.19 km  🌥🌤
Pos  N 63 08 922 E 1258 068
Loc  Vålådalen Fjällstation    630 m
Acc  Room
Dis  19.47 km
Sta   08.00
End  14.15
Tim  06.15 hrs 

Day 13  gröna bandet   156.72 km  ☁️🌫

Pos  N 63 04 040  E 12 79 931

Loc  STF Vålåstugorna  874 m

Acc  Soulo

Dis  24.18 km

Sta   09.15

End  18.15

Tim  09.00 hrs 

90

Day 12  gröna bandet   132.54 km.  ⛅️⛈⛈
Pos  N 62 55 025  E 12 30 360
Loc  STF Helags Fjällstation   1026m
Acc  Stuga
Dis  12.91 km
Sta   08.30
End  13.50
Tim  05.20 hrs 

89

Day 11  gröna bandet   119,63 km  🌤

Pos  N 62 49 090  E 12 26 746

Loc  STF Fältjagerstugan  1023m

Acc  Soulo

Dis  22.58 km

Sta   08.00

End  17.42

Tim  09.42 hrs 

Morning has broken like the first morning
Blackbird has spoken like the first bird...

Cat Stevens

Ich begrüße den Tag, 

den Himmel und den Horizont, 

den Fluss und die Steine, 

die Wacholder und Weiden,

die kriechenden Birken und Beeren,

die Regenpfeifer.

Ich schultere ich den Rucksack,

gehe über die Brücke und hinauf aufs Fjäll.

Abends bei der Hütte nehme ich Brandgeruch wahr. Merkwürdig, kein Feuer in der Hütte. Sauna? Gibt’s nicht. Waldbrände - überall in Jämtland ist jetzt offenes Feuer verboten. Gilt auch für Camping Kocher. Später erfahre ich, zelten bei den Hütten ist jetzt kostenlos für STF Mitglieder. 

88

Day 10  gröna bandet   97.05 km

Pos  

Loc  Långbrottstugan

Acc  Soulo

Dis  9.93 km

Sta   17.00

End  20.40

Tim  03.40 hrs 

So at the end of the tenth day and after a last medical check I was eager and determined to go hiking. I had to ease my burning soul even if I risked burning soles.

It worked out quite all right and after four hours hiking I had calmed down and built up my tent at Långbrottstugan. 



Diese kleinen Burschen mitten auf dem Pfad hätte ich möglicherweise übersehen können, zu überhören war er nicht. 

87

Strandgården - hikers‘ paradise 

Due to blisters I was forced to stay. When I started complaining, and probably just to comfort me, Paul said: ‘Come on, this is the kind of holiday people at your age usually have: a comfortable bed, excellent  food, nice walks and - last but not least - wonderful hosts. So, just enjoy!‘ 

It was indeed much more than that: Camilla and Anders were not only wonderful hosts, but prooved to be real trail angels, kind, helpful and supportive in any respect. Hard to say ’Hejdå’! - Tack så mycket, Camilla och Anders!!! 

86

No photos  😡
As you can see I am not able to upload photos at the moment, whatever the reasons! Seems to be a problem connected to my mobile. Anybody any idea?  
Anyway,  meanwhile you can check my instagram account: gosimplegosologonow. I will share some photos there. Tack. 

85

Rentiere kommen bis ans Haus in Fjällnäs.

84

People on the trail - Paul

Sonnentau 

Paul interessierte sich für die ethno-biologischen Zusammenhänge, die Wechselwirkungen zwischen Flora und Fauna und Mensch und Kultur insbesondere in subpolaren bzw. arktischen Gebieten. 

Er kannte sich gut aus in der Fjällbotanik, wies mich immer wieder auf interessante Pflanzen und Blumen hin, übersah weder Knabenkraut noch den unscheinbaren Sonnentau. Er aß von dem einen Kraut die Beeren, von anderen die Samen, kaute auf Stengeln, probierte Wurzeln und Knollen. Begeisterung pur! Mein Gehtempo ließ ihm Zeit dafür. War ich doch deutlich langsamer als er. Nur Hjorton, die Multebeeren ließ er stehen, weil sie ihm nicht schmeckten. Gut für mich! Auch die ersten Blaubeeren waren schon reif und würden uns hoffentlich in den Norden begleiten. 

Er konnte mit einfachsten Mitteln Feuer machen. Von einem Stück Kiefernholz schabte er Holzmehl und entzündete dies mit Feuerstahl. ‘Besonders harzhaltiges Holz findet sich am unteren Ende abgestorbener Äste.‘ Er hatte es im letzten Jahr während seines Aufenthalts bei einer Sami Familie bekommen.
Voller Leidenschaft schlug er mit einem Eisen Funken aus einem Stück Quarz, bis ein Stückchen Chaga zu glühen begann. Vorsichtig platziert in einem trockenen Grasbüschel und mit Hingabe gepustet - schon schlugen Flammen empor!

83

Days 6  - 9
Zero days
Pos  N 62 35 406  E 12 10 559  769 m
Loc  Fjällnäs, Pensionat Strandgården
Acc  Room

Head over heel 
I will follow medical advice not to hike for five days. Huge blisters on both feet need time to heal. My head says ‘stay’, but my heart says ‘go’! I enjoyed hiking so much across the fjäll yesterday! A wonderful path after all that rocky Rogen area. I will follow my head though, don’t want to put the tour at risk. 
But in the evening of the fifth day... I will head up the fjäll towards Fältjagaren. 👍

82

Day 5  gröna bandet 87,12 km

Pos  N 62 35 406  E 12 10 559  769 m

Loc  Fjällnäs, Pensionat Strandgården

Acc  Room

Dis   29,99 km  

Sta   08:50

End  19:50

Tim   11.00 hrs

Fight or flight

Ich bin heute 30 Kilometer gelaufen, wollte unbedingt die Straße erreichen und damit eine medizinische Versorgung meiner Blasen ermöglichen. Meine Mittel - Compeed, Tape - reichten in keiner Weise mehr aus. Beide Blasen viel zu groß und entzündet! 

Sobald ich das Fjäll erreicht hatte, nach harten drei Stunden, ließ der Weg dies auch zu. Endlich konnte ich ausschreiten! ‘Rocky Rogen’ lag endlich hinter mir. Und der Gewitterschauer beim Abstieg legte sich nicht auf meine gute Stimmung! 

81

Day 4   gröna bandet  57,13 km

... more blisters 😟

Pos N 62 23 274  E 12 17 284  718m

Loc  STF Skedbrostugan

Acc  Soulo (tent)

Dis   19,54 km

Sta    08:00

End   17:30

Tim    09:30 hrs

Rocky Rogen

Im Gebiet um den See Rogen fällt das Gehen nicht leicht. Zu steinig ist das Gelände. Immer wieder sind größere Steinfelder zu durchqueren. Hier kommt man nur langsam voran. Nur einzelne Abschnitte - übers Fjäll oder durch Sümpfe - sind leichter zu gehen. Der letzte Teil des Wegs vor der Skedbrostugan spottet jeder Beschreibung. Entsprechend erledigt war ich, als ich ankam. 
Nun also auch der andere Fuß - ein Compeed Pflaster reicht so gerade eben. Frustrierend!

Paul wollte allerdings noch weiter und die 30 Kilometer Marke überschreiten. Wir liegen kräftemäßig zu weit auseinander. Er braucht auch die Zeit für seinen Plan den Sarek zu queren. God tur! 

80

Day 3

Zero day ... blisters 😏

Vi har fika

Åsa, stugvärden, lädt uns zu Fika ein - eine soziale Institution in Schweden. Man unterbricht seine Tätigkeit, trinkt einen Kaffee oder Tee zusammen, isst eine Kleinigkeit, oft etwas Süßes. 

Åsa bringt selbst gebackenes Fladenbrot, Butter, Käse und Honig aus ihrer Nachbarschaft bei Göteborg mit. Wir genießen den Kaffee, das frische Brot, ich besonders mit Honig! Wir reden über Gott und die Welt, bevor sich Åsa wieder ihrer Arbeit zuwendet. 

Heute stand die Verbrennung des Mülls an. Lange Zeit war es zu trocken und damit zu gefährlich dafür gewesen. Heute, nach dem Regen  in der Nacht und am Vormittag war es möglich. 

Paul half mit den Müll zu verbrennen, verbrachte den späteren Nachmittag mit einem Kajak auf dem See und den Abend in der Sauna. Ich hielt mich mit offener Blase ohne Blasenpflaster überwiegend drinnen auf in dem Versuch die Wunde zu trocknen! 

79

Day 2  gröna bandet  37,59 km
Pos  N 62 19 012  E 12 27 023
Loc STF Rogenstugan
Acc Stuga
Dis  16,98 km
Sta   08:50
End  17:20
Tim 08:30 hrs 

...auf dem Weg zur Rogenstugan.

78

Day 1  gröna bandet  20,61 km
Pos  N 62 13 035  E 12 29 446
Loc STF Storrödingtjärnstugan
Acc Stuga
Dis  20,61
Sta  09.45

End 19.15
Tim  09.30 hrs




Paul, Diana, Jonas und ich starten gröna bandet am selben Tag. Zusammen gehen wir ein Stück. Hinter der Höhe wird der Weg besser, Jonas und Diana verabschieden sich und laufen los.

77

Day 0
Pos 62 05 55.0 N  12 18 45.3 E
Loc STF Fjällstation Grövelsjön
Acc Room

76

... 75 posts so far - for a hike of 75 days. Well, in the end it was only half way and 42 days. But... I gained experience, I enjoyed it - most of the time - and ... I will do it again. Yes!

So I am ready for a second chance on gröna bandet, this time northbound starting at Grövelsjön. I go solo again, but Paul, who I met on last year's trip, is going to start the same day. We are 50 years apart, but we have been communicating a lot in the meantime. I had my influencers - Karin and Svante - who inspired me to go. So my talking about gröna bandet might have inspired him to take the challenge.

My backpack is lighter - though far from ultralight - this year, more about that later. I am more determined, I know better what to expect and I am eager to go! Can't wait, backpack half packed, things and stuff sorted, thinking of last items to take or to leave. ;)

The weather has been so amazing for the last 6 weeks, that I am worried about the summer to come. Will it stay - sunny and dry - like this? Hard to imagine! Will there be wind and rain? Who knows. 

You - the reader - are welcome to follow me online along the trail (see find me link), comment on my posts or get into contact (see email link) with me. And ... if you like, why not join for a couple of days.

75

... walk the walk and talk the talk ...

Further down along Kungsleden there were quite a few people around me, not all but most of the time. I enjoyed their company. When you travel alone you feel warm with someone around you. I have already mentioned some of them in my entries. 

People going the same direction you might meet again and again. There was Russel from New Zealand, Jeff and Christoph, two fabulous guys from Belgium. We had time to talk in the sauna - a great place for relaxed, deep and open talks. Two sisters, Bella from UK and Francis on her overdue odyssey from New Zealand, Paul from Berlin, Germany, Elias - have a look at his great homepage extremos.com - and Laura from Brazil on their kungsleden expedition. There were also Swedish hikers, of course, like Lennart - a man at my time of life, but taller, stronger, faster, and all the grönabandet hikers. Meeting more than once is great, you have a chance to get to know each other better and build up a closer relationship. These are relations for a certain time though -  since everyone is following their own plans you will lose them again and have to let go. 

Sitting opposite of me at the table at Sitojaure a woman was busy fileting smoked and frozen fish they had bought at the Sami settlement nearby. She worked as a tourguide for an STF group. She was Swiss, so we spoke German - but had lived in the Swedish mountains for years. There was a lot of fish (mainly arctic char) and so we had time to talk ... about a tour in Himalaya she had taken ... searching for something she felt she had missed in life, or some inspiration, for her peace of mind ... That is why she had planned to go solo, spend time on her own, camp in the wilderness. But then Nepalese women invited her to stay at their places. They were so insistent - and I understood in need - she just couldn't refuse. So she was still looking for ... "Maybe going grönabandet ..., maybe next year". She and her group were going the opposite direction. 

----------------------------------------------------------

How does it feel

How does it feel 

to be without a home

like a complete unknown

Like a rolling stone?

Bob Dylan

----------------------------------------------------------

There was another chance meeting that evening. Anna - one of the grönabandet hikers - had just crossed the lake and I met her at the Sami settlement. Though it was later in the evening she was about to continue her hike to camp in the fjäll. The very reason was the 'call of the waffles'. She wanted to reach Saltoluokta the next day in time for the boat and to have some waffles before. We had never met but had been connected via Instagram for a while. She had posted regularly about progress as well as problems on the trail. So we already knew about each other in a way. We spoke German - Anna has a good command of five or six foreign languages. A short but an intense meeting. Anyway, the Internet is a great option to stay connected with a lot of people you would never ever see or meet again. And even on the trail you feel less lonely with people taking the same challenge following you online and you following them.

Once she had left I met Paul again. Paul, 17, tall and strong, from Berlin. Standing on the terrace of the Sami settlement - a modern Swedish prefab house - he straightened out fishing nets.

"Ich arbeite hier, dies und das, helfe ein bisschen aus. Gehe mit zum Fischen..."

"Und wie wirst du bezahlt?"

"In Fisch. Ich bekomme Fisch. Lars sagt, ich esse mehr als zwei Schweden und das heißt mehr als drei Sami." He laughed.

Lars had also taught him how to light a fire under difficult circumstances using birch bark and pitch. Days later we met again at the Tsielekjåkka stugan looking for a dry spot on a rainy day. He managed to light a fire though the wood was really wet. 

When I met him for the last time he had just got rid of huge and beautiful reindeer antlers he had found and been carrying on his backpack for a couple of days. Too heavy!

Fazit (conclusion) 3: There will be lonely times. So what! You will meet a lot of great, interesting and amazing people. Enjoy company - whenever, wherever.

74

Good company ...

Feeling lonely was one of the fears I had when I started the tour. I did not know beforehand how I would cope with it. Remote wilderness and deserted trails, lonely nights in tents, no company in doubtful situations, and all this for a long time - so this was part of the experience of going solo.

In general it wasn't that bad. There are people on the trails. Less, rather few, in the north - and crowds on the northern part of Kungsleden. Further south you will meet fewer people, those hiking Kungsleden or sections of it. When you go to huts for an overnight stay you will always find someone to talk to. But since I did not go further south beyond Hemavan I did not experience the really lonely and deserted parts of the trail... a challenge still to take.

I do not mind being on my own while hiking. I feel fine spending the day out in nature and being on my own all day, walking at my pace. In the evenings I prefer to have some company, to share experience, photos, plans and ideas and maybe food while talking. So I spent many more nights in mountain huts than in my tent. I met great people. And some of them I remember well...

Anna, a young Norwegian woman I met at Vuomahytta, was on her way with her beautiful dog, a Samojede. She and 'Levis' had been hiking for quite a while already. Anna was interesting company. I listened to her ever changing plans: Hiking at night because it was cooler for the dog. Going to Narvik to a hotel for a while and relax. No, better going back home and starting some kind of occupational training or school. Picking up her next supply package from Setermoen - but how? taxi? or rather take a bus, or hitch hike? - and continuing the hike... I've never met someone changing plans and options so frequently - in moments between now and then. But somehow I felt sympathy with her. Wasn't I myself doubting options and questioning my plans all the time?

Last time we met was near Altevass - it looked like she had been waiting for me - discussing her options to pick up her supply package from Setermoen. I tried to put her mind at ease. My advice was to get into contact with the Huskyfarm at Altevass for an overnight stay and arrange a lift - to and fro - with them. I myself stayed at Altevasshytta. Björn Klauer's Huskyfarm is another 5 km to go and off the way to Lappjordhytta.

There were also two young Norwegians at the hut (Vuomahytta). Having just finished military service they had packed backpacks (more than 40 kg each) for a four-week outing in the wilderness. After two weeks this was their first night in a hut. They were fishing fanatics - one of them, Kjell, also worked as a fishing guide - and more than once I heard about the nearby lake being the country's best röding fishing location. They showed me videos of great catches on their mobiles - and losses - while measuring the length a huge fish just jumped back to freedom.

Talking about the absence of reindeer - I wondered I hadn't seen any so far - they told me the herds had been taken down to Sweden; there were less mosquitoes.  

During my stay at Altevasshytta a Sami - the typical knife hanging from his belt - suddenly stood in the door. "Hej, fjällvandrarar, have you seen any reindeer, and if, whereabouts?" When I told him, I hadn't seen any and they were all in Sweden due to the mosquitoe plague, he couldn't stop laughing. "No, no, they have many more mosquitoes down there in Sweden. The reindeer are very high up in the mountains in cooler areas to get away from the mosquitoes." This was by the way the last of fair weather days. The very next day - in wind and rain - I watched reindeer in huge numbers.

Kjell and his friend left with their fishing gear after lunch when I went to bed. I regret not taking any photos - there was a beautiful light out there when they walked down to the lake, their shadow like shapes standing out against the pastel-coloured sky.