As soon as you leave the station, you are on the hiking trail, which is really really nice. To get instantly on the trail rather than walking the road for a few kilometres. Moreover, the whole way to get to Abisko we had rains and clouds, but once were there, we got a blue sky and sun. Thank you weather gods!! We had a gentle climb to the first hut. On the way we stopped to help a woman because her sole from her boot came loose, so we use some duct tape to fix it, and we continued to the hut.
The trail with rocks to avoid is frequently swapped with boardwalks. The summer trail and the winter snowscooter trail intersect each other very often, but apart from that, navigating was easy and compare to the book we made really good time, but seeing that we started at 11 we got to the hut at five-ish which is a paid camp side, so we decided to continue until we left Abisco national park and we are now camping on a kind of designated side, which has a toilet and a fast flowing river which made for a really nice and really cold bath.
We left our parents they brought us to the station and then it was on. The train ride. went really smoothly. We got to Hamburg on time and we walked around the city for a little bit. Had some dinner at a lovely Indian please before you walked round, some more. Unfortunately it started to rain so we had to go for cover. and then we took the bus which was a whole different story.
So I thought I book the first row. Apparently I didn’t. It was the second row which also seemed fine on paper but in the bus we discovered that instead of a window, there was this beam which made my seat very narrow and took away my view. Also there was very little legroom so I didn’t really sleep we. In Copenhagen the first row became vacant, so we sat down. The bus nearly drove off but then this guy came whom booked the seats. So I crammed myself back in and suffered some more. We arrived in Stockholm early at like eight and then we walked around a had some coffee and I could order in Swedish, which was really nice. I did not understand the reply question (whether I would like regular milk or a special type of milk) And then we met up with a friend. Olivia showed us around in Stockholm and then it was already time to go so we finished our to do list of things we’ve got things we need to do like withdraw money, get some dinner for the train, etc.
The train ride it was really nice. We had a bed in 6 person carriage. The other people were: an Italien guy who recently graduated high school, a couple from South Korea who are also going to hike the kungsleden and one came in later, an American woman, and she was going to Abisco to stay there for three months meaning she had A LOT of luggage. Had sone nice chats, but everyone was tired so we went to bed early. I slept really well on the train and in no time we arrived in Abisko.
We slept in! Regardless of the rooster Our bodies wanted to sleep and so we slept. I mean 8 o’clock was 3h after sunrise. We packed the tent and our backpacks and went inside to steal some of the coffee the group made (hihi). After that, it was blister time. I took out my fully equipped ziplock first aid kit and started to patch all the blisters up. Took only 15 minutes 😉
After saying goodbye to the group, we started our hike. Today we would do another climb. But first a nice 4×4 track up to Black Sail hut. It was a quiet hike, apart from the mountain biker who broke his chain right in front of us.
Black Sail Hut was so beautiful, the location, the old building, the stream, the view, all of it! We already had done 10km so breaktime. After that it was a steep climb, but with mostly stairs made of rocks. Honestly, this made the climb a lot easier. With climbing up we decided to hike our own pace and I was slightly quicker. I also managed to pass another hiker with such a cute dog. At the top, I waited on Ylva and soon we were heading down towards the visitor center of the slate mines.
The descent was slightly uncomfortable, but the idea of food kept us going. I was surprised at the families whom were climbing up, as they often wore flip-flops and I wouldn’t recommend it. Especially doing this downhill on flip-flops. I’m sure they survived it, but still
At lunch, we saw the hiker with the dog sitting at a table. So we asked if we could join them and we could. Tony and his dog Sunny were also doing the Coast to Coast and just like Ylva, it was their first ever thru-hike. Together we discussed the beauty of the Black Sail hut and the views and together we complained about the downhill (especially because we still had a part of the descent left). After lunch we continued together and Ylva was thrilled to have the company of Sunny (she loves doggies). While talking the descent wasn’t too bad, but for both Tony and Ylva the day had been long enough.
Arriving at a really busy campsite, we were escorted by the owner to the hiker’s spot. Which was nice and quiet. Other tents were there, but no one was home. We paid for the campsite and switched to our sandals. The owner was still there and after seeing Ylva and her tiredness, he asked her to follow him. A bit odd, but no red flags. After a few minutes she came back and I asked her what happened. Apparently he showed her a nice private bathroom, not that the ones on the campsites were horrible, but sometimes your own space can be lovely. The only odd thing was, this bathroom was on a graveyard. So in the end we didn’t use it.
Another big question was how the feet of Ylva were looking. And yes she managed to get more blisters and still not complain. What an amazing woman. So we treated them and quickly decided that we would go out for dinner rather than cooking. So we ‘walked’ back to the YHA we passed on our way, where they served drinks and food even if you didn’t stay there.
Aaaah the cider tasted soooo good!! Love them ❤ And for dinner, what better than a burger? Joining us at the table was another hiker, Kirsten who stayed in the hostel. She quickly told us about her two dogs, which she repeated every time we saw her. Oh well, a hard thing not to talk about the thing you love. So we repeated that we loved black sail hut and loved the views, but hated the descent. Which she wholeheartedly agreed with.
After a second pint of Cider, it was time to go back to the tent. Our legs, but especially Ylva’s and Tony’s, felt heavy and the walk back to our tent revealed that tomorrow would be an interesting day as there was another hill to conquer. Plus more blisters for Ylva
Always ironic if you travel from the end point to the start point in a few hours by train, but it’s going to take days to get back. Technically we didn’t travel from the exact end point, but as the name Coast to Coast implies, we traveled from the North Sea to the Irish see, to walk back to the North Sea.
As Ylva and I arrived in St Bees late in the afternoon, we could only fit in a few kilometers. Nonetheless, we were served some amazing views. Whereby we both failed in the geography of the UK as we both wondered what land we saw across the water and what the water was actually called. Backpacks full with food and water, but luckily not many unnecessaries. The climbs up the cliffs was steep but brief and we both managed perfectly. After a few kilometers you dip down a few meters into a beautiful valley with amazing flowers. We did our best to take photos that did the place worthy, but sadly we failed.
The path along the coast wanders the cliff and at the short cut we agreed to continue on the official path. The marking was so far good and we felt energetic. After leaving the coast, we hit the first tarmeck/asphalt bit. Wich resulted in an increase in pace and the first town were we had a drink and refill our water.
After leaving the town we started to look for a wild camp option. Which interfered a little bit with our navigation skills. So more than once we took a wrong turn and had to walk a few hundred meters back. I also found the perfect wood to start a fire with, and thinking we were almost there, I took it. According to the Far-out app, there was a wild camp spot at km 13, which would only take 30min but somehow we managed to walk wrong twice and eventually it took about an hour. The camp spot wasn’t ideal, but there was nothing better. The ground was a well pressed dirt road, so the tent pegs would go in. Eventually we used rocks and accepted that it wasn’t a perfect pitch. Fortunately it stayed dry through the night.
After pitching the tent, we went for a dip in the little stream. I’ve missed this so much. Nothing better than forcing yourself to get in to the cold water and then not wanting to leave because it’s so refreshing. But dinner needed to be made and as I invited Ylva, I wanted to take the lead and make wild camping as comfortable for her as possible. We used a little woodstove and the wood that I carried turned out to be as good as I expected. So we fried the veggies and boiled the couscous and after dinner we rekindled the fire to make some tea. As we were sipping our tea, four guys appeared on the trail, yelling to eachother that they should find a camp spot soon. We already took the best spot, but if you really wanted, you could make other spots work. They inspected the spots, but decided to continue, and we never saw them again.
We woke up the next day with not the best night’s rest. Both getting used to the tent, plus (my) three midnight peeing adventures. We quickly packed our tent, which was surprisingly dry for once, and put everything back in our packs. I was surprised at how well I was still ‘trained’ at this and Ylva, the well-organized person she is, was done just minutes after me. We had some breakfast crackers and decided how far we wanted to hike that day.
The first part was a road walk where we noticed that the marking was falling a bit short. Luckily I we both downloaded the route, so we could always check the route if we weren’t sure. A nice elderly man was sitting in his front garden and after greeting him, I asked him if he could fill up our bottles as they were nearly empty after camping. We still had water in our camelbags, but with a climb coming up and the sunny weather, having enough water was important. I felt a little bit guilty for asking him because he struggled a bit to get up from the bench, but after just a moment he returned with our filled bottles and two spare ones he gave to us. It was so sweet and kind. A little bit of trail magic already on the second day.
We continued by guiding our way on the app, the markers were completely gone. The hardest challenge thus far was getting through the kissing gates with our large backpacks. Not all of them were a struggle, sometimes we could both fit in at the same time with no problem. But on that second day, the kissing gates were so small, we could fit a person with backpack in. We had to elevate ourselves, so the backpack was outside the gate and we could squeeze in a corner in order for the gate door to pass us. Very amusing and both didn’t manage it very gracefully, but Oh Well.
What I expected to be the hardest part, was the climb to Dent Hill, with a 300 m elevation gain. At the start, we had a small preparation break. Sunblock, snacks, blister prevention tape, and so on. During that break, a group of 4 Americans passed us. Had a small chat and they continued. We started not long after that and we could see them climbing up. As the hill became steeper, our pace remained high and in the last stretch, we passed them. Always a nice feeling as they only carried day packs. Although the fact that they did the C2C as a gift for their 70th birthday took some of the achievement away.
After the accent came a steep descent with more nice chats with Australian hikers who were going in the opposite direction. The descent ended in a gorgeous valley with a little stream and lush grasses. A pity we could camp here today, because it was still too early, but also could it make it this far yesterday. So we just enjoyed the walk.
Out of the valley, it looked like we had some road walking to do until a mountain biker stopped and pointed to a walking path just beside the road. Which was much better and much nicer. And so we walked into the town of Ennerdale Bridge where we had soup for lunch and enjoyed a well-deserved break. After lunch, it would only be 5 km along a lake and a total of 8 km to our camp spot. Nothing too crazy, or so we thought.
Walking passed the first lake in the lake district was stunning! Amazing view and at first we couldn’t see the end. The trail was fun with some rocks and roots you could step on and over. However, after a few kilometers, the end never came close and the uneven path became challenging. With a backpack full gear, your center of balance is different, and every step you need to adjust. Especially for Ylva this was challenging as she had never done anything similar. But we kept moral high, took an extra break and snacked on some of our nicest treats. With some sing-along music we continued. Soon we finished the lake and it we had to hike the last remaining kilometers.
Arriving happy but tired at our destination, we were surprised to hear that they had a private event and we couldn’t camp. The owner recommended us to wildcamp further ahead. A reasonable option, but we would need more water. However, when I asked if we could fill up our bottles he refused. My surprised ‘Really??’ didn’t change the matter. To both of us, this was so unbelievable. Why would you refuse anyone a quick refill of water, a life essential?!
Deciding not to let this get to us, we decided to hike a few hundred meters back, where we passed an outdoor activity center. According to Guthook, you can also camp there. Again there was a private event, but after a phone call to the organizer of the event, we were allowed to camp. Thank you!! We quickly put the tent up! And took off our shoes. Ylva had some really nasty blisters. Obviously the prevention before Dent Hill wasn’t enough. I still cannot believe she hiked for so long with those blisters without complaining!
That evening we had a lot of fun mingling with the group and after the tough afternoon, we ended the day on a high.
Zilla-in-the-wild 