Our Scandinavian peregrination continues. Peregrination – “noun, a journey, especially a long or meandering one”. Seems to fit what we are doing perfectly. In the north of Sweden we found a few hills. We also found some snow and many reindeer. There are several long valleys that run westward towards Norway. These are picturesque, quiet and peaceful so we lingered a while.
Once we’d finished lingering, we got the bike out and rode right down to the far end of the valley. We could have taken Baloo but the bike was much better suited to the narrow, winding road. Also, we really enjoy having the occasional ride out. On the way back we spotted the sign for a feature. It looks like this ⌘ Apple people will recognise it as the command key but in fact it has been used to indicate places of interest across Scandinavia since the 1950s. This particular one was showing us the way to a waterfall. To Diane’s dismay, this involved walking along planks for most of the way. Balance was required but it kept us from the bog. The waterfall at the end was worth it.
This far north it is getting close to the limits of where trees can grow. We had a few walks and saw how you only need to climb a couple of hundred metres before the trees give way to small, stunted bushes of silver birch. Then, a little way higher, nothing but moss, heathers and grasses.
The mosquitoes thrive in the valleys and get quite voracious at times. Chemical repellent helps a little, so does the smoke from a fire, a strong wind and hiding inside Baloo with the windows shut. Camping nearly always involves a fire. There are campfires everywhere and no shortage of wood. In the summer your fire provides protection from mosquitoes and in the winter it stops you freezing to death. Possibly worse that mosquitoes, are their little cousins, the midges. These little blighters can get through the mesh covers we have on the windows. Occasionally, we have woken up in the morning covered in little tiny lumps where they have been biting us.
My previous visit to Kiruna was in 1981 with fellow venture scout Tim Mulroy. We arrived by train in March and set off to ski to Narvik on the Norwegian coast. I really cannot recall why we decided that this particular route was a good idea. Neither of us had skied before and we had never been in the arctic. It was a steep learning curve. We made our way through the mountains, skiing very badly while carrying large rucksacks. We camped most of the time, even on frozen lakes. There were a few cold nights and some terrible food but we prevailed and it was a terrific experience. We achieved the requirements of the scout Independent Explorer Belt. It is a kind of badge, except that you receive a nice belt with a compass on it. I still have it.
