Jämtlandsfjällen (en)

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On Thursday, 27 June 2019 I went for a 4 day hike starting from Vålådalen, a beautiful valley in Jämtland mountains. These are pretty much the closest mountains to Uppsala, but, because Sweden is big and flat, it takes around 6 hours by car to reach them. After the arrival I spent the night at a very nice mountain hostel: bathroom in the room was a very welcome surprise. It was already raining when I arrived there and it would not stop for the next 4 days. The weather was positively awful, clouds hanging very low with no visibility. I could only see in my imagination the views of mountains as high as 1700m.

During the next 4 days I made a small loop, spending 3 nights in mountain huts. Everything looked very much similar to Norway. Flat, bare mountains, wide U-shaped valleys, a lot of water, a little bit of snow. As far as the organization of trails and cabins is concerned, things are even better in Sweden. This is maybe because the Swedes have fewer mountainous areas, at least in the south, so they seem to care more. The trails are excellently marked and well-maintained, with a large number of wooden planks in more swampy places. This meant that I hiked as fast as 4km/h on average, which meant I spent more time reading my book in the huts than actually hiking. The cabins are also well-maintained, but also a little more expensive than in Norway. However, I think that some of the "innovations" in the cabins may have gone too far. The last of the 4 huts I've visited, Stensdalsstugorna, resembles a regular house, with an amazing kitchen worthy of Gordon Ramsay. Furthermore, the huts have the gas heating rather than wooden stoves. This may be more economical and ecological, but takes away some of the charm of the mountain huts.

After getting back to my car I drove to Åre, a famous Swedish ski resort. There, I visited one of the oldest stone churches in Sweden. The church is located on the pilgrimage trail from Sweden to Trondheim (or Nidaros, as it used to be called in Middle Ages), where St. Olaf's grave is located. After that I ate one of the weirdest pizzas ever: with reindeer meat, chanterelles, horseradish cream, and pickled red onion. Strange combination, but actually well-thought and very delicious.

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Photos

Vålådalen
A typical Swedish, beautiful forest, a little bit boggy. The red crosses indicate the winter trail, for cross country skiing.

A view of a valley
The valley visible is from where I hiked. Below the second lake visible, the trail crossed through the river. Due to the rain, the river became wide and deep. It was not a present crossing.

In Gåsen
This is what I could have seen through the window of the Gåsen hut.

Gåsen hut
The bigger hut in Gåsen, where I spent the night. At the back a smaller hut can be seen, where the warden lived.

A view of a valley
A typical U-shaped valley.

Tannforsen
At the end of my trip I went to see Tannforsen, the largest (by amount of water flowing) waterfall in Sweden. Indeed, quite impressive and loud.