From Coast to Coast on the Skåneleden trail - week one

Today is the end of my first week on the trail. I ended the day’s hiking almost exactly the same time I started hiking last Monday. So, I suppose this is really the end of day 8 on the trail. I reckon I’m about a third of the way through. 

One of the "campsites" along the trail

I’m in a cabin at a paid campsite tonight. When I say campsite in the rest of the post, I mean one along the Skåneleden which is basically a wind shelter, a bit of open space, a fire pit, and an outdoor privy. Tonight though, I’ve paid for a warm cabin with, most importantly, electricity outlets to charge my Garmin, phone and powerbank. Which is explains the otherwise wastefulness of using up precious battery to blog!

The trail

The trail in question is the Skåneleden’s Sub-Trail 1 or SL1. The Skåneleden trail is over 1000 km long and divided into six sub-trails. Some of the sub-trails intersect in places, but they do not connect to make one long trail. The SL1 is the oldest of the trails, or parts of it is at least, and goes from Sölvesborg on the east coast of Skåne to Ängelholm on the west coast. The trail has changed over the years, with sections added or changed due to land rights, changing use of land etc. I came across a map which showed the trail ending at Torekov, not going all the way to Ängelholm, as it does now. My plan is to reach Ängelholm. We’ll see how I get on. 

An old Skåneleden map - no longer accurate

Why am I doing this? Well, why not? The truth is, I don’t really know why. It’s one of those things I’ve talked about casually and thought about every once in a while. The pull to do a long hike has always been there on some level. I even got as far as trying to plan something once or twice but it never played out. The circumstances this year, what with the Covid-19 outbreak, and the uncertainty and challenges with travel abroad, meant that my summer plans had to be revised. So, this turned out to be the year for a domestic trip with no problems when it comes to social distancing. 

A week and 120km into the trail, I am really glad to be doing this. It’s been hard going at times, but I love being out in nature, living the outdoor life. 

My average day

I wake up when I wake up, and usually take my time to get ready. I pack up my tent before anything else, and more or less get my bag ready then make breakfast. The camping stove goes right on top of the bag anything so it’s one of the last things in. The only times this routine changed so far was when weather dictated. If it rained, then I had breakfast first then tried to pack when there was a gap in the rain. 

This is the part that is sometimes hard. I hate packing and having to do it everyday is not my idea of fun. But there is something quite therapeutic and zen about the routine and knowing where everything fits in the pack. 

I walk more often than not according to the Skåneleden stages, so that dictates the distance I cover in a day. I stop for water breaks about every half hour, and stop for a sit down about every hour. For some reason, the breaks get more infrequent the later it gets during the day. Maybe because it takes a while for me to get into my stride. Walking in the morning often feels tougher than the afternoon. I have some powdered soup for a late morning break, and a late lunch. Dinner is usually when I make camp for the night. I’ve been staying mostly at or around the Skåneleden campsites. One night, when my friend was with me, we walked farther than the campsite and ended up camping just outside a farm, with the owner’s permission. We managed to pique the curiosity of his cows, which came to check us out. Watching us kept them entertained for at least half an hour, maybe even up to an hour! 

Our audience one evening

After dinner, I write in my journal and read my book (On The Black Hill by Bruce Chatwin) and am usually asleep sometime between 11pm and midnight. 

The weight on my back

The stuff to go in the pack           

Before I actually headed out on the trail, this worried me the most. What will I need with me and how much of it? Will it all fit in my pack? How much will my pack weigh? How much would I actually be able to carry? How far will I be able to walk with the weight? This stressed me until the last minute before I left home. 

Packed!

There were two points where my pack would have been at its heaviest. It would have been heavy when I left home of course. Over the days, I ate through the food I had with me so some space freed up and the pack got slightly lighter. Yesterday, I got a resupply of food and other things so the weight was piled on again, and even more so. I set off with about five-six days’ worth of food knowing that I would be getting a resupply this weekend. I now have enough food to last me more than that, plus a second gas canister and other things. 

When I left home, my bag was 20.8kgs before I filled the water bottles. So I reckon, all filled I would have been carrying over 23kgs. Now, after the resupply, I’d say it’s over 24kgs. 

Thankfully though, the weight has so far been manageable. I feel the weight of course, mostly in my shoulders and knees but I have not felt like it is too much. Nor have I suffered any major issues with my legs or back, other than some stiffness at the end of the day. 

That might be about to change though. The unhappy coincidence of the heaviest load and the longest stages means that my legs are having to cope with more than usual these two days. My left knee hurts today, and so does my right ankle. I have no idea how they will cope tomorrow, so we’ll see. I’ll break the journey if I must. I could potentially stay here another day to rest if I don’t feel up for it tomorrow. We’ll see. 

Being alone, loneliness and solitude 

I am doing this hike on my own, most of it anyway. A friend joined me over the weekend, and brought along resupplies. After two days of company, I am alone again. I may also have company next weekend, depending on how things go. 

Before I left, I was asked if I was afraid of being on my own. Hmm... not really. I'm not entirely sure what I should be afraid of. The only thing I was concerned about was getting injured on the trail and not being able to walk or get help. Especially considering the old injuries and other skeletal issues I’ve had over the last few years, it’s not an unfounded concern. But more on that later. 

I was asked if I was afraid of feeling lonely while on the trail. The short answer is no. Much as I enjoy hiking with company, I also enjoy hiking alone and have deliberately gone out on a long hike on my own on more than one occasion. I also like traveling on my own every once in a while. I enjoy being on my own enough that it wasn’t a concern at all. In fact, hiking alone is in some ways preferable to company that it less than compatible. 

And, as anyone who has traveled alone would know, you are never really alone. You are far more likely to strike up conversations with people when you’re alone. Or I am at least. Or maybe people are more likely to strike up conversations with someone who is on their own. There’s less of a risk of being intrusive or interrupting something perhaps. Of the five nights when I didn’t have company, last night was the first night I was truly alone. One night, I ended up spending  the better part of the evening with a German couple who were camping at the same place. Another night, I was at the shelter with two Swedish women hiking a different trail that crossed the SL1 for a bit. We got to talking and walked part of the trail the next day together. There were also three men who arrived at the shelter much later, but they had walked too far with inappropriate footwear and were ill prepared for the night's stay, that they were not much in the mood for conversation. 

First night of solitude

In any case, I was not alone in the evenings. It was getting to a point where I started to think that solitude would elude me. In the end, I sought it out. Last night, I pitched camp close to but not at the campsite, on a rock outcrop with a fabulous view but only enough flat soft ground to pitch one tent. No one else would be camping near me! And that set the stage for a lovely evening, sitting outside till late on my own enjoying the view and my thoughts with nothing but the sound of nature around me. 

The view from my rock outcrop

Random thoughts go through my head on these hikes. Some welcomed, some less so. Work related thoughts make their expected appearance, of course, though thankfully, nothing that preoccupies me too much. Some demons which I thought I had put to rest rear their ugly heads again, and I have to go through the processes of slaying them all over again. But it has to be said, in this environment, slaying demons seems to happen in the background without taking over my emotions in any way. If there are demons to be slayed, this is not a bad way to do it. 

I’ve also been singing through the alphabet. I started with songs beginning with ‘A’ that I knew all or most of the words to. I usually do a few songs for each letter, sometimes I go back and do a previous letter again when I think of another song. Sometime, I go over and over the same song to try to remember the lyrics. I’m up to ‘L’, more or less skipping over ‘K’ because I struggled to think of songs. Now of course, more songs are coming to me, so I’ll probably go back over ‘K’ tomorrow. 

Self-reliance and liberation

One of the things I’m really enjoying about doing this on my own is the feeling of self-reliance. Obviously not in a self-sustaining, being able to survive alone kind of way. Just that I am able to manage with what I need on my own. I carry and cook what I need to eat and drink, and I make sure I have a place to sleep. It’s a good feeling. 

It’s also liberating to alone be responsible and to be affected by any decisions made along the way. If I chose to stop or keep walking, I’m not worried that it might stress someone else. I can take breaks if and when I want, and don’t have to worry about whether someone thinks I am too fast or too slow. Because like it or not, I do think about these things. 

Also liberating is the fact that there is hardly a soul on the trail. They appear at the shelters, but I suppose unless you start at the same time and walk at the same space, you’d hardly ever see anyone else. Even a few minutes difference would leave you the feeling of being alone. 

I took advantage of this once. I came to a crossroads in the middle of nowhere. I suspect it’s a crossroads for timber transport that could be busier at certain times but was deserted when I was there. It was a wide open space, with long, straight roads leading away in all directions. I could see about a mile each way, well, a few hundred metres at least, and they were all deserted. Taking a page from Up Close and Personal (with Robert Redford and Michelle Pfeiffer), picked a spot in the middle of the crossroads and belted out “the Impossible Dream” (one of my ‘I’ songs) as loudly and strongly as I could. I don’t think I have ever sung that loudly in my life. When would I have had the chance? It was liberating. Slightly mortifying to hear the cracks and missed pitches at high volume, but liberating not to have to care. It made my spine tingle. 

Man make fire!

The whole “man, make fire” thing doesn’t just apply to men. I made a fire once so far. Well, a fire was made several times at the campsites, but as there were other people there, I can’t claim to have made it, even if I helped. One evening, I was the first at the campsite and set about making the fire as soon as I got there. It was not easy because it had been raining intermittently throughout the whole day. And though the logs were kept dry, the smaller twigs and branches to get the fire going were all damp. 

I had to go around the forest looking for dry branches. Remembering Bear Grylls saying that sometimes it’s only the bark that’s damp and inside the branch is still dry, I also found myself sat peeling off bark with my handy knife, which I must say, also made me feel much more the adventurous explorer than may have been justified! It took a lot of effort and half a box of matches, but it was so satisfying when the fire finally got going. 

Injuries

While I have had problems with everything from my toes, ankles, knees, hips, back, and shoulders, none of the injuries were acute injuries and none that left me stranded somewhere. To be safe though, I have a variety of recovery aids and support (heat cream, freeze spray, knee braces, bandages...) and am taking care to treat any slight ache as soon as possible, as best I know how. So far, my body has coped well. Today is the first day, after the 22km hike which is the longest stretch so far with the heaviest bag yet, that I have felt enough pain to wonder if it’ll be all right tomorrow. But as I said, we’ll see and there are options. 

Sweat, swim, shower

I have sweat so much that the back of my backpack is now permanently damp. As I only have a few items of clothing with me, I am more or less wearing the same stuff every day. I think I chose well though, and the clothes air well and dry fast and thankfully, the smell of sweat doesn’t cling to them. (So she thinks...)

I didn’t have a chance to shower until the sixth day. It was such a pleasure to rediscover indoor plumbing! Before that, I’d had a wash or sorts almost every day. Many of the campsites were near lakes or streams and I’d taken to jumping in to cool off, and clean off a bit too. Though in one case, I stirred up so much sediment in the lake that I think I might have been worse off afterwards. Some of the streams have been too shallow, fast flowing, slippery and cold for a dip, but I got in as far as I could anyway and had a wash.

Jumping into water in nature has to be another one of the best things about this trip. It’s usually cold enough to give me quite a shock when getting in. In one lake, it took me a few minutes to psyche myself up enough to dive in. But every single time without fail,  oh so nice once you’re in it and so refreshing afterwards. 

Rain, shine and a bit of breeze

The one thing which I gave very little thought to when preparing for the trip is one that preoccupies much of my thoughts during the day: the weather. When I was preparing, I thought about it enough to decide what clothes to bring. Rain gear was a must. A warm layer, and thin layer and everything else was extra. 

Now, I find myself constantly looking at the sky trying to predict what the weather will do in the next few minutes. All day every day, I am trying to decide if I should put on or take off a layer, long sleeved or not, rain jacket or not. The weather seems to change every five minutes and I am constantly too warm, slightly chilly, getting damp from drizzle or getting damp from sweat. In the mornings, it’s a question of whether it’ll stay dry long enough for me to pack up my tent. And because the tent goes in the bottom of my pack, it also has to stay dry long enough for me to remove almost everything from the pack, put the tent in and pack up everything else. I’ve miscalculated once and hope to not have that experience again. Weather forecast for the coming week looks dry and way to warm but as I don’t usually check the weather to save battery, it’s likely to change without me knowing. 

And so, more adventure awaits! --> week two