The zzzzz-sound of the mosquitoes could be heard all night and one even got in the tent after my standard midnight pee. In the morning the mosquito had a red behind and the odds are not in my favor. However, there are so many that I don’t really notice. Even Donald is starting to lose track of the number of bites.
As we were still waiting for the ferry, which will depart at 10:40, we wandered back to the Picknick bench, eat a small breakfast, and played some cards. And I updated my website with one day.
About 30 minutes before departing a young lady from German came and started to ask many questions, while she was fasting her sleeping back to a day pack. Please know that the sleeping bag was in a biodegradable trash bag. Surprising choice, because I don’t think they hold up well during rain. It didn’t take long for her to admit that this would be her first ever multiple-day hike and that she was on a tight budget. Also funny was that she was planning on eating cornflakes for four days!! Damn.
Other people started to show up for the ferry and the contrast between Ine (German explorer) and other Kungsleden hikers was so significant. Where there are so so so many 85L backpacks filled to the brim and still the tent is still attached on the outside, while she had a daypack with a sleeping pad and sleeping bag attached to the outside. Sure she is underprepared. But I’m not going to crush her spirit. I think it’s brave to undertake something and yes a bigger budget or more preparation would be helpful and make the experience more enjoyable. She will succeed. Maybe not on what she brought with her but knowing that there are plenty of huts and even emergency shelters, plus the huts sell food, and there are plenty of people hiking both ways, I’m sure she will be fine. However, I do recommend preparing better!
The ferry came and it was a fast crossing. Finally on the other side. We did some small resupply at the very basic shop. There was more merchandise than food. Then it was time for an enjoyable fika, with free re-fill. Lucky us!!! And as the power bank was slowly charging we decided to have lunch as well.
That was a good decision. It was a delicious soup buffet and we both ate too much. Everything tasted so good and again we could eat as much as we wanted. Dutch as we are, that means multiple rounds. It even delayed our departure because we couldn’t bare the thought of strapping our backpacks over our full tummies.
Just after 2 o’clock we finally left to hike to the first hut. A steady 20km which we now call an easy short day. How quickly you become stronger and increase your stamina.
The hike itself was beautiful and uneventful. Until the last few kilometers when the mosquitoes came in large numbers. Finding a spot to pee without being bitten on newly exposed skin became a challenge. I did succeed on that part, but trying to catch up with Donald, I rolled my ankle. Bad enough to let myself fall to prevent worse. The landing was soft however my ankle did hurt. Nothing was broken and nothing was completely torn, I continued walking to keep it warm. Wasn’t too bad, but I could definitely feel my shoe getting tighter which meant a swelling.
We reached the hut 40 minutes after previous event. Set up the tent in mosquito land. We tried to make a fire because we like it and it helps against the mosquitoes, but the wood was wet. Wasn’t a very successful fire. We gave up and walked down to the hut for drinking water and a swim (in a not-so-extremely-cold lake). We ended the day with the routine cup of tea, which I’m currently regretting because once I finish this story I need to leave the safety of the tent and pee, again 😦
Zilla-in-the-wild 