Skåneleden/ Österlenleden

When we where in Sweden we hiked a section of the Skåneleden/Österlenleden. The plan was to start in Ystad and park the car there and hike the entire Österlenleden. But when we arrived in Ystad the campsite where we had hoped to park the car was way too crowed and there wasn't a possibilty to park the car. The main reason to choice Ystad as a starting point was that we are a big fan of the Wallander books by Henning Mankell. So after one day in Ystad and after the beachside barbeque we left Ystad and drove to the town of Tomelilla.

In Tomelilla we found a nice and quiet camp side and a nice place to park the car. From Tomelilla we started our hike of the Österlenleden, we took the bus to the coastal town of Simrishamm. There we officially started our hike with section 5 to Kivik witch was a 18 km hike. Just as the booklet said "The fifth section offers walking with virtually everything-flat beaches, wild cliffs with woodland an elements of both the picturesque and exotic." It also offerd al long boring part with too much asplath witch strangely the booklet didn't mentioned. But it also offered my first experience with hiking on a beach.



For the first day a 18 km walk was quite a lot and we were glad when we were at the campsite in Kivik.

After a good night sleep we where ready for the second day en we had planned to walk te section between Kivik and Vantalangan. At Vantalängan there was a shelter with a well, a fireplace and an wc. It was a nice section with a lot of different sceneries. We started at beach and ended in the forest. After a couple of kilometres of beach there was a cabin of the STF and we had a cup of coffee and some Bullar. after the little break we continued our walk to Vantalangan. The route took us though pastures and rolling hills. The track was very well marked only sometimes in the fields the cattle had knocked the marked polls down. But if that was the occasion we turned to the map. During the walk to Vantalängan the weather was constantly changing, form sun to rain and very thing in between. When the sun disappeared I wore my wind shirt, I must say that I used my wind shirt a lot, even during the rain.

When we arrived in Vantalängan we put up the tent and made a fire.



The well at Vantalängan didn’t provide us with the best water.



The left bottle is how the water looked after we had boiled and treated it. The right bottle is clean water from a tap.

The third day we combined two sections (7&8) and we basically walked form Vantalängan to Heinge. The first section(7) was nice, we just followed the river but the lack of water that we trusted made it the we walked it a little to fast.



Near Verkasjön we found a house an where able to get clean water.

After a small break and a nice lunch at the Christinehofs Ekopark we contued our way to Heinge. This time we carried enough water because a the shelter near Heinge there wasn't a well. The wall to Heinge was easy and not every interesting. A lot of forest roads. But we did see a Roe Deer.


I know it isn't the best picture but I didn't bring my good camera.

At Heinge we put up the tent and made a fire.



When we wake up the next morning we both received sms message from friends saying the weather would turn and I would be better to head back to the car.

So we decided to hike to Lövestads and get a bus to Tomilla bur the only problem was that the bus didn't go on Sunday. So after check with the locals (we didn't have a map, we only had the map of the Skaneleden which offers only the sections and doesn't give an overview of the area) we started to walk to Tomilla it was about 18 km but we all ready walked 7km to get from Heinge to Lövestands. So this day would be around 25 km. But luckily after 21 km we did get a lift to Tomilla.
So the Skåneleden is impossible to compare with my previous hiking experience but i must admit I kind of like it and disliked it and the same time. There were a lot of place to buy food so the pack could be light. But the downside was it never get really exciting, last year in Norway sometimes I got the feeling I was completely alone. This year it was the complete opposite.


What did I learn?

Swim short are ideal for hiking in hot weather, fast drying, multifunction, easy to wash and no need for underwear.

polypro shirts and camp fire don't work, The burn on my back healed but there is still a hole in my shirt.

Folding saws are great for gathering wood.

Axes are cool and I want one.

Wind shirts are great when it is warm and raining a the same time.

And probably much more witch I all ready have forgotten!

In the Danish Mountains.

The first week of our holiday we spend near Mons Klint in Denmark. We stayed at the campsite near the Geocenter. From the campsite to the Geocenter was a nice walk of 3 kilometres.

To get to Mons Klint we needed to go through an old beech forest. In the forest there also was a nice MTB route which we did.


Mons Klint was very impressive. It is always nice to see nature that isn't in control by humans. Because the shore is made of lime it isn't very strong so the elements have a real big influence on the landscape.

Views form above

We followed a lovely route which starts at the Geocenter and follows the shore, halfway we took the stairs down and walked back to the Geocenter following the coastline.

The traces of erosion

The force of nature

I would like to come back in the autumn when the sky isn't blue and when the winds are strong.

Did you know what I did this summer?

mer, it feels like it is a million miles way. If I look through my window it feels more like autumn. I'm now back for 2 weeks and working and it feels like I didn't went.

But I did. The first week of my summer holiday I spend in the Danish mountains, near Mons Klint



The second week I spend in Sweden hiking a section of the Skaneleden which was nice but a bit boring, too much Asphalt and I didn't really get the back to nature feel like I experienced on my last trips in Norway and Sweden. It was too civilized, shelters with fireplaces and a woodsupply and even a loo!!



The last week of my holiday I went to Berlin and the Harz because the weather expectations in Sweden where poor. Berlin is very nice city and I really can recommend it. The only downside I could find a proper outdoor store. Only Jack Wolfskin stores which are too German. The Harz was very nice and I have made some really nice daytrips.



The coming weeks I will post a more comprehensive report about my trip.

Off for the summer

Sweden here I come!!

Last weekend part two.

Isn’t really last weekend any more, but with a heat wave going on In The Dutch Mountains there are better thing to do then sitting behind the computer in a room where the temperature reach 40°C.

So just some random pictures of last weekend some weekends ago.

Enjoy!

Last weekend part one: gear

Last weekend I went with some members of the Dutch Naturfreunde for a hike. The goal was the hike 25 km a day and to sleep in the open air.

When I got at the starting point I soon found out that I was the only one who used a daypack for this overnighter.

I used a Vaude Allalin 24 as pack, not the most suited pack but this is the one I got.

To sleep I used a Dutch army bivi bag, witch is great, its made of Gore-Tex so it breaths very well. But the major down side is it weight more than a kilo!! I have a Coleman 2 person tent that weighs less. I'm looking to replace the bivibag with a Alpkit Hunka or a homemade.
Inside the bivibag i used a Lafuma warm and light 600 down bag. The sleeping bag is excellent. I have used this bag at the Fjallraven Classic in 2008 and last year on the Hadangarvidda and count less weekend trips and never waked up because I was cold. Inside the sleeping bag I using a poly cotton sleeping bag liner. I will replace this liner very soon for a silk one. And I slept on my short Neo Air. Under neat my Neo Air I used a closed cell foam mat because I'm afraid to puncture my Neo air. I sound stupid I know. The closed cell foam mat is also nice luxury during breaks so I'm willing to carry it with me.

For footwear I used my Inov8 330 terrocs. Which were great. The only downside was that my feet goy really hot and I got a heat rash on my left feet. I blame the socks not the shoes. I will try different socks next time and I hope the rash was a one time event. The Inov8 are really comfy and this was the first time I walked great distance in them.
Clothing, I was wearing noting special cheap zip off trousers and a merino wool base layer. When I got windy or colder I used my soft-shell jacket.

Biesbosch Trip report

The last weekend of May some me and some friends went for a canoe trip to the Biesbosch.



"The Biesbosch is one of the largest national parks of the Netherlands and one of the last freshwater tide areas in Europe. The Biesbosch consists of a rather large network of rivers and smaller and larger creeks with islands. The vegetation is mostly willow forests, although wet grasslands and fields of reed are common as well. The Biesbosch is an important wetland area for waterfowl and has a rich flora and fauna. It is especially important for migrating geese". Thank you wikipedia!

But we didn't go for the geese migration but we went for the beavers. Hmm that sounds kind of wrong. We did spot some beavers but every time we went for the camera the beavers disappeared.


This is the best picture of a beaver we got.

But thankfully we say a lot of proof that they where realy there.


A great benefit of a canoe is that you can take a lot of gear and you don’t need to carry it on your back. So after a long day of paddling there where some nice cold beers and a nice bottle of wine to accompany the dinner. Later around the campfire there was a some Beerenburg.

The next day it was time to paddle home.

The Biesbosch is nice national park with al lot of small creeks and I definitely will go back someday.