The Swedish Dream Meets a Childhood Dream... Chasing Reindeer in Jämtland

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A visit to Sweden wouldn’t be complete without at least seeing (or perhaps eating) a reindeer, the subject of every child’s Christmas dream and the quintessential ‘Northern’ beast. There was no way I was going to take the easy way out, having come this far I refused to visit theme parks, petting zoos are worse still, introduce myself awkwardly to an air-tight plastic pack at the supermarket. I insisted that my first reindeer experience would be in the wild with no weapons, machines or fat Santas (although if he or she wished to air-freight me a new season snowboard in the near future I wouldn’t complain).



Sweden is big. I’m not talking Australian outback big or Russia big but on a European stage they certainly receive their fair share of jealous stares over the back fence. With only nine million people to share in the vast regions of wilderness it is quite easy to escape the city for an off the grid adventure. Exploring the wild in Sweden is made easier by the local inhabitants love and desire for outdoors and the sensible political decisions made by their forefathers to preserve the right for each man to do so. Sweden has a particularly unique law that allows each and every inhabitant and visitor to the country a huge amount of freedom to explore her lands without impediment. ‘Every man’s right’ as it’s best translated in English means that anyone has the right to walk through any part of the country, be it private or public, and set up camp there if he wishes to do so for absolutely no charge. In addition, people who own large tracts of land in areas popular for walking are obliged to provide infrastructure to aid access i.e. gates and ladders over any fencing.

I have travelled throughout Europe extensively and I know first hand just how expensive campsites can be, I was perplexed at the news that in Sweden I could camp for free anywhere in the whole country for no charge, even in someone’s backyard! Although the law stipulates that I could in fact camp in someone’s backyard, the Swede’s are brilliant with a particular attribute that many other Nationalities fail on, discretion. The rules regarding ‘Every Man’s Right’ ask the citizen to use ‘common sense’ and discretion when making use of the wilderness and the beautiful thing is that everyone seems to stick to it! If someone wanted to camp on your front lawn they would politely come and ask if you would mind, but given that there is so much space and no one particularly likes other people around when camping they’d never dream of doing so. The laws also extend into your rights for foraging for food, collecting firewood and so on but the emphasis is that in Sweden, the wilds are there for you, just don’t forget to pack the ‘discretion’.

I’ve taken advantage of this freedom a few times with some lovely camping/ hikes in the south of the country but decided to go bigger and better for the search for the reindeer. Lisa and I planned a seven-day hike through a large chunk of wilderness on the Swedish/ Norwegian border in the region known as Jämtland. No mountains in the elaborate sense but with peaks of up to 1700m and plenty of glaciers and lakes, it was hoped the terrain would throw up some adventure and stunning scenery.

It was a ten-hour train ride to the launching point of our trek through typical Swedish landscape, iconic red/ orange wooden homes and barns pocked against conifer lined lakes, green farms, pine forests and did I mention lakes? The amount water in Sweden is phenomenal! The predominantly flat landscape looks from above like it’s perspiring, as if its very core was liquefied and is simply diffusing to the surface to balance the concentration.

From the moment the region’s gentle curves began appearing through the train window the rain had begun its incessant stroke on the metal snake. Despite being in the middle/ end of summer, the best time to visit the area, we were well aware of the likelihood of rain and the probability of it ruining the experience. The next most likely event to deter you from ever wanting to visit the area is the notoriety of the mosquitos, a fact I found puzzling. I always associated mosquitos with hot and tropical environments, not the north of Sweden, a stone’s throw from the Arctic Circle. It doesn’t take long for the logic to kick in though, summer’s mild temperatures and a landscape pot-holed with water, nature prevails!

Through some careful planning we’d limited our packs to around 17kg each, not bad given they contained EVERYTHING needed for six nights in a cold, wet and isolated place. Mind you we had to be ruthless, for-going the second pair of underpants type ruthless. With a damp hop and a jump we were off into the wild with an enthusiasm Alexander Supertramp would be proud of, bring on the Reindeer!

Unfortunately the first signature creatures we came across weren’t reindeer but gnats. Gnats and mosquitos soon filled the moist air amongst the trees, the mosquitos were huge, their gangly features throwing them into warped flight paths that surely aided our flesh in this primitive battle. The gnats on the other hand were the evolutionary successes, their bodies so minute that it was impossible to feel their contact on your skin, their bites so subtle that their presence was marked only by the delayed red bump, physiological graffiti. Camping by the stream that first night my mind was preoccupied with the thoughts that despite the pristine real estate and meatballs with mash supper, rain and small creatures could easily mar the trip.

It was a grey start to our second day but well rested and with the thought that surely today would be the day to meet Blitzer, we mummified ourselves in layers and set off. Knowing the landscape to be rugged and unpredictable, we came well prepared for the wilds with topographic map, compass and safety equipment. That didn’t help us getting lost. We made a fundamental map reading error when trying to navigate ourselves to an elevated lake recommended by Lisa’s father on one of his trips to the area. We knew to follow a particular tributary that snaked a vast valley and with amateurish excitement chose the wrong one. The error was realised after a steeper than anticipated climb up the scenic stream but forgotten on sight of my first furry friend prancing through the soppy prairie, foal in tow. My joy at the sight far outweighed the guilt of having sent us off course. Improvising a path to the lake meant a serious climb over an intimidating mesa, an action that had to be ditched when some serious clouds engulfed our feet, path, reindeer friends and all hope that this was to be a dry day. The clouds forced us off the peak and into the wet and mosquito infested lowlands and to seriously reconsider our plan for the day. We’d hoped to camp by the lake but with the rain falling hard, the land by the river saturated and swarming with mosquitos and both of us very wet and cold, we made the bold decision to denote the day as ‘utterly miserable’ and to trudge on in the direction of dryness. Our salvation was to be one of the ‘wind shelters’ erected at strategic locations in the wilds to aid walkers and skiers. The idea of a warm, dry cabin was unbelievably appealing, the 15km walk through slush, rain and mud wasn’t. Well aware that this was only our second night and with our packs and clothes already wet it seemed for me the only option to make it to the shelter, get dry and warm, and hope for clearer weather the next day.

I won’t lie, the walk to the shelter was f*#$ing miserable. The only solace I got was when on arrival, we met four Swedish guys who succeeded in providing a sprinkling of wry amusement to the situation. It was nothing to do with their sense of humour mind you, simply a bout of cruel, silent mockery on my part. You see, a by-product of the Swedish dream to embrace the outdoors is that it leads certain individuals who may not necessarily feel like embracing the outdoors to do so. I do apologise for my mockery but when these Stockholm boys pulled out tinned tomatoes, jars of olives, gourmet cheeses and wine (among much more) for dinner, I had to suppress my laughter. Or was that just pure jealousy as Lisa and I munched on meatballs and powdered mash for the second night running!

The morning brought with it patches of blue, dry (ish) clothing and well rested bodies. With a farewell to the boys, their 25kg packs and their eggs benedict (kidding) we marched off with a determined stride, keen to eat up the 18km between us and Sylarna, where we would set a base camp for 2-3 nights. The dry sky had us smiling broadly and with the increased elevation came a complete lack of trees and… no mosquitos. The day was perfect, regular hot chocolates, hot soup lunch, dozens of reindeer, clearing sky and an afternoon skinny dip in a freezing lake. Yep, perfect. Plodding into Sylarna I was thoroughly impressed, here the mountains met their dramatic climax. Sheer peaks jutted from the surrounding undulations, their corners pocked with snow pack and in some cases ageing glaciers. With the sun out and the reindeers prevalent I was filled with utter excitement at what the next few days had to offer.

Despite the reindeer in Jämtland living in an extreme and isolated landscape they are not, in fact, wild. In preparation for the trek, I learnt, much to my surprise, that Sweden and in fact most of Scandinavia, is the original home to an Indigenous people, the Sami. Reading this, I pictured Viking like oafs roaming the mountains and fjords in search for a moose to barbecue. The Sami are actually descendents from the East and look incredibly similar to ethnic Mongolians with distinctly ‘Asian’ features prevalent in many of the photographs I saw. Many Sami have died off or left the land in the last few hundred years but some remain, forging a life off land, which was once theirs to roam freely. In co-operation with the remaining Sami, the government allows them to farm the land and the reindeer, as their ancestors would have once.

Restrictions are placed upon numbers and methods and access into areas at such time when herding and ‘harvesting’ occurs. Once again, ‘discretion’ should be used if any such activities are happening, should you interrupt proceedings. Reindeers are farmed predominantly for meat but also for their hide and antlers. They are also hugely popular for hunting, something the Swedes are particularly open to.

Mother nature really turned it on for our time exploring Sylarna, clear skies, low wind and pristine twilight hours. We’d be woken early in the morning with the sound of reindeers scratching and thumping the earth by our heads, the satisfaction of peeking out to see a curious hairy nose puzzled by the sound of the zipper, justifying the sleep interruption. We climbed the peaks, swam in glacial lakes (naked of course), skied impromptu on glaciers, devoured every delicious morsel of food and marvelled at lemmings. I’m sure I knew lemmings existed but I had no idea that the creature made famous by the 80’s video game would appear so often in my 28 yr old peripheral vision on a Swedish hike. Yes they are cute and furry; no they don’t jump off cliffs to commit suicide. You can thank Walt for that myth.

Just to remind us that Mother Nature is in fact a mother and as such makes life a little miserable sometimes, rain fell steadily on our return to our launch point but it wasn’t enough to dampen my satisfaction at the hike. Sure, there’d been plenty of water in our path but perhaps that’s why they call them rain-deer. I set myself the goal of seeing a reindeer in the wild, not a freezer and witnessed a stunning landscape in the process. With a hot coffee and a plate of waffles in the chalet back at the launch point I almost forgot about the pitter-patter outside; the wet, smelly contents of my backpack and the fact that we had a 14 hour journey home. Never mind, if I let it get me down I could always close my eyes and see that furry, hairy nose twitching in the crisp mountain air; a metre from my own; its fuzzy antlers a maze of wonder and awe breaching the dawn sky; a childhood dream realised.

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Comments

[Liss]

thank you
Hej!, Thanks so much for you diary - I have loved reading your description of Sylarna and the characteristics of the Swedish Fjälls. You couldn't have done a better job at detailing the mozzie experience and the beauty that is Jämtland. I moved here a year ago and have loved the nature and the geography of Jämtland....not to mention the skiing and biking and swimmiing in lakes, the long daylight and the old lady bikes. We are heading to Sylarna this weekend to squeeze in the last of the skiing for season 08/09. We were in there for mid sommer 2 weekends ago, but we were hit with the torrential rains and winds - we did have enough reading, sill, potatos and aquavit to get us through the 48 hours of tent ridden bliss - we ended up leaving our skis at the station. After carrying them in and taking us all of 7 hours to get there - there was no question that we should leave them ......our packs were 28 kg each on the walk in - a nice 13kg on the way back.....it only took 4 hrs to get back to Storuvåln. So we are off this Friday night after work - the forecast is for sun and 17 deg both days. Can't wait to see how its changed over the last week.....we have had tropical weather in the high 20's and lots of thunderous rain! Thanks again, and wishing you guys happy wandering and camping as long as your legs will carry you! Liss and Pär Åre Sweden