Sat forth, packed up and walk the walk

All right, all right.. Corona is still on and you know it. As it probably affects your life, it affects me as well. Everything has been cancelled. I have nothing to do, no difference to make. My home feels like a cage sourrounded by weather that brings up all kinds of bad excuses not go out and enjoy. I lost my drive. Have begun opening the fridge a bit too often and actually scrolling through the facebook news feed more than once a day. All indicators are red. Caught up by the luxury of having everything I need, but no reason to exist. The difficulties of being the most important person, right? No kids to bring up, no den to protect, no festival-pack to be part of this summer, no reason to just go out and make money. But it's spring now.. And life should be lived to it's fullest. No regrets! So..

Norway is changing its colorscale into hopeful-green, trouts have started feeding and I could just walk out the door. Like the few adventourus hobbits did it in Lord of the Rings. You remember reading about these brave characters doing the unexpected? It's simple like that actually. To leave everything behind and walk out the door. No expensive premade dried tour-food and chocolate deposits on the way. No definitive plan, but goals. Yes, that's what I'll do. Find the essentials and walk the norwegian/sweedish border from south to north. From the foresty hilly delta lowlands to ridges of million of years of landfolding in the north where the caledonian mountain ranges dominates the scandinavian peninsula. That'll be my destiny. Good old-fashioned tramper with fishing rod in one hand and camera in the other. A new identity to dedicate to. A little scared. A little nerve. A little interesting. Something different. No clue if I can go through with it.

I explained this to my mother and she made me aware of a Norwegian figure of speach that goes like this: "hvorfor sitte inne når alt håp er ute", which translates into "why stay inside when all hope is outside?". This is so true. So cliché but applies so well in this case. It's time for a little outbreak. So, I have resigned from my appartment, applied for a new place in autumn and will "thruhike" Norway (kind of) this summer. Thanks to my mother for the encouragement. Thanks for not judging me for doing the iregular but following the little Frodo inside me. Thanks to everyone who supported this, said goodbye and whished me good luck. I will now open my eyes and live, leave behind frustration and anger over the smallest things. Only by leaving the cage am I able to fully see the beauty of it, smell the thrill of the hill, taste the lake, freeze from northern winds and feel anxiety of bear-vicinity and crazy moose and excitement of the big fish biting. Practice not to look back.

I took out: inflatable mat, light windjacket, tarp, 6 litre dromedary, extra case for solar panel. Switched the z-lite mat with the cheapest available from a local outlet. Also let the little solar lantern stay at home, but actually I miss it. It's difficult to choose between what's nice to have and need to have, when you pack for spring-summer-autumn/forrest lowland continental climate to exposed mountainous highlands coastal climate.

This travel is grounded in reflections on which dangers and hazards I potentially encounter along the way going through bear territory, difficult terrain, being for longer periods in areas with no phone reception, forest fires, moose with calf, snakes, hypothermia, broken equipment, the damn Norwegian climate, etc.. Knowing my capabilities, do's and don'ts and when to stop is key. A lot of this is reflected in what I'm bringing in my backpack. To you who aspire to do something similar; I give to you my packing list in another post. But please, do your own research to find solutions from anything from snakes bites to river crossings to crazyness and solitude. Too, we need to be aware of our own behaviour in the wilderness, rules of national parks and how to handle our own shit, litteraly. What I do is not based on the thought of moving fast and light. I do carry everything I need for all terrain, only food I'll have to resupply every 10th day or so.

Thanks to my friend, August Toven Gautun, for lending me his sattelite communicator and sharing many stories from the backcountry. He kind of provided me the best 'life insurance' i can possibly get.  Simen Nicolaisen deserves a thank you as well as he will be my main contact person directly connected to the sattelite cummicator.

I'm over and outside! Corona-times..