This is the way of the walk

finally hiking above tree line!

The evening I arrived at the ski resort, Trysilfjellet, was a moment I will never forget. That day... I hiked 25 km through swampy wet, wet forest from three consecutive days of heavy rain. Actually, i felt exhausted, but the fact that the mountain was just right there. In front of me. Almost looking down upon me. Convinced myself it was overkill to climb it, pitched my tent and cooked dinner. But seeing the sky clearing up after all that rain I just couldn't stop myself. Just had to give myself that little treat.The possibilty to have a look of the big taiga forest in the south and of course: the future mountains in the north! I was completely stoked and could not believe it once I got there. Perfect timed with the sun setting in the horizon. Couldnt imagine a better way to finish the forest chapter than getting that 360 degrees view. From the past to the future.. Unbelievable. I get goosebumps just from writing this. What a moment. From chapter one to chapter two, now with renewed energy and bright mind set. And what a mental boost it was. The last week I've hiked much bigger distances and the back pack have felt lighter. 

view over trysil river from the ski resort 

the lowlands I came from

the mountains I'm heading for

So yeah, chapter two was live. I felt like: This is the way of the walk; of my walk! I felt very comfortable and confident that I can do this the way I want to do it. By mixing two major purposes; long distance hiking and slow fishing adventure. It's a curse and it's a blessing. But it works for me since I now made it about 650 km, caught a hell of a lot of fish and spend absolutely minimum money on food. Most importantly and top prerequisite for this adventure: My bad foot is actually feeling much better than when I started out. Very much appreciated after soon to be two years of pain. 

bear pooh, beeeaaaar... they are around!

Oh man, so much has happened and I'm grateful for every second. I know everything can turn to shit in a split second, but the last many weeks has just been an incredible line up of dopamine and endorphine-releasing experiences.. for instance, juat recently I ran into a bunch of happy guys on their annual guys-out-of-bounce/no cell phone coverage-weekend.   Actually, after having spent more than one hour of desperately searching for my phone in the bush untill I remembered that I had secured it safely in my waterproof camera bag during a river crossing - then, bdcause of that one hour lost and stupid confusing, I "punished myself" by choosing to stay in the valley and shorten the day to rest. Suddenly, as I was searching for a good camp spot this guy appeared. Before I knew of it he offered me a beer and when I had emptied it the rest of his friends showed up. To offer me more beer! And invite me for dinner and to stay in their cabin. 

The next day we went fishing in this protected miracle fishing eldorado valley. This is where I caught my biggest trout! 1 kilo of delicious red meat. The boy band of friends guided me through the maze of ponds, rivers and lakes to a secret swedish hut to have a goodbye party. When they left me to stay the night in the hut I felt a vaccuum in time and space. Being with them, listening to all the laughter and stories from the past 30 years reminded me of my own high school buddies. Was a pleasure meeting you guys! Hope to see you again.

This surprising experience is a perrect example of how the ups and downs comes and goes very quickly when on adventure!

Next big challenge has already gradually shown it's presence; mosquitoes and other delightful insects. I prepare for the worst and have already started taking precautions.. the black swarms of stingy mother-flowers is said to fully take over from midsummer which is just few days from today. By the way, yesterday I really noticed what midsumner is like in this region. From a mountain peak I saw the sun go down at about 330 degrees north west and come up a few hours later a bit north east, maybe 25 or 30 degrees. Here is no midnight sun but it never gets dark and that calls for some night fishing and night hiking. Too, the night hiking is pretty comfy as it's been some warm days lately!

The day after tomorrow I'm taking about two weeks off. My cousin, Martin, will join me as I'm entering the next area by the name "Femundsmarka". An area famous for its wilderness and excellent fishing. Too, this area will be the first where reindeer hangs out. Perhaps we get a glimpse of some?
We will do much shorter hikes and instead focus on enjoying the outdoor life and exploring more of the national park than "thruhiking" it. Martin has no experience so I'm hoping to get him hooked after hopefully two weeks of intense wildlife injections. 

Camping up high to get away from mosquitoes.

Another photo of the lowlands and trysilfjellet (the mountain with snow on that officially was the end of chapter one..)

Freaking beavers.. This tree was taken down during the night. I heard it fall. 

 my arrival in the mountains couldn't have been better times with spring arriving in alpine terrain. Everything has just begun flourishing, the mountains are drying up and the last snow melting.