08 - Kungsleden

 "Hiking the Kungsleden is not merely a trek through Sweden’s breathtaking landscapes; it’s an immersive journey into the essence of nature’s grandeur. Each step along this ancient trail reveals the rugged beauty of the Scandinavian wilderness, where the tranquility of the wild offers both challenge and solace to the wandering soul." – Anonymous

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Kungsleden!! Konecne sa mi splni davny sen, poriadna dobrodruzna vyprava, no joke,.. v posledných rokoch som precital mnozstvo knih o polarnikoch, o expediciach na daleky sever, o objavovaní aljašky, dobíjanie juzneho polu,.. a dalsie a dalsie vypravy po kopcoch a neznamych krajoch,.. john muir, thor heyerdahl, amundsen a dalsi a dalsi,.. asi najviac mam v hlave "118 dní v zajatí ľadu" od pavla barabasa,.. to ti je vazna vec,.. 4 mesiace sa trepat čistým snehom z a do be, odkazany len sám na seba (a svojho partaka),.. také som vždy chcel zažiť na vlasnej koži,..

Hemavan - Ammarnäs

Prvá sekcia je easy, papierovo iba 80 km, vyrážame krátko po 13stej,.. v slabom daždi do mierneho kopca, najprv lesíkom, neskôr sa všetko otvára, stromy nadobro zmiznú, zostávajú len kriaky, bažina a kopce z každej strany,.. vyhľady sú to monumentálne,.. 

Zacina prsat,.. a dvíha sa vietor,.. uf,.. už je to tu,.. je mi zima, a moje nepremokave kombo začína premokat,.. teda boty su mokre uz od piateho kilometra,.. nahadzujem poncho,.. to je aka kokotina? Je kratke a vietor ho prehadzuje zo strany na stranu,.. prsi stale viac a viac,.. vietor silnie viac a viac,.. fudžiminawaja,.. vyhlady su stale monumentálne, tam niekde v dialke vidim siluetu emergency hut, tam sa musime dostat,.. nebude to lahke ale my sme predsa polarnici, plníme si sen,.. nevzdáme to,..

A sme tam,.. vietor tlaci na dvere tak že ich ledva vládzem otvorit,.. vo vnútri pri malom stoliku sedi 5 ludi, natlacenych tesne na seba,.. vsetci maju pred sebou variče a uz hotové dehydrovane outdoor jedlo,.. velice fancy,.. nejak sa k nim natisneme (iba jeden z nas si vie sadnúť) a na stojaka si varime nudle z dvoch cinskych polievok a do toho dávame fazuľu z krabice, sme drsni ako pikao,.. trasiem sa od zimy,.. 

Na tychto emergency chatách je zakazané prenocovat,.. cez den sa v nich da najest, zohriat, oddychnut trocha, ale v noci musia byt free na naozajstné emergency situacie,.. kua, ale ja mam emergency práve tu a práve teraz,.. nic sa neda robit, ideme von postavit stan,.. mission impossible,.. fuka taky veter ze by nam ho dotrhalo do 5 minut,.. vraciam sa na chatu a davam tam rozbaleny stan naspäť do obalu,.. velika zabava,.. neda sa nic robit, 19:05 zapinam stravu a ide sa dalej, musime najst nejake závetrie,.. sme mokri, unaveni, uzimeni, but spirit is high, we can make it,..

Asi po kilometri a pol nachadzame taku jamu medzi dvoma kopcekmi, je tam relativne závetrie, kusok dalej je voda a paradny vyhlad na skalu so snehom, ktorý sa asi zabudol roztopit,.. staviame stan, naťahujem na seba suche veci a šup ho do spacaka,..

Celú noc som takmer nespal, rozbitý som ako mačka,.. nedokážem si narovnat nohy, batohy sme mali vo vnutri, neda sa tam pohnut, neda sa tam sediet.. ten stan je maly aj pre jedneho,.. a do toho stres že nám odfukne cover,.. ou yeah,  celu noc fúkal veter ako piča,.. narážal do stien,.. mal som pocit, že nas uchyti a vyletime do vesmiru,..

Teším sa ale velice na raňajku, hladný som jak vlk,.. vytahujem plynovú bombu a kempingovy varič,, ale nejde z neho ziadny oheň, iba tak chrchle, a prská a nič,.. wtf!! prve rano a my nemame na čom kuchtiť,.. snazim sa ho opraviť, ale jedine co sa mi podari je demontovať cely vršok, plyn fičí tak na 10%, ako tak zohrejem trocha vody na kašu,.. celé zle,.

Šlapeme celý deň,.. kráčam, teda som,.. kazdym krokom bližšie k abisku,.. bez dazda, bez vetra,.. stretávame par ludi co idu oproti,.. zastavujeme na "fjällstuga", to su chaty po celej kungsleden, da sa v nich prespať za šialené peniaze, pripadne nakupit,.. a ak ste nedajbože členom (čo my sme), mozete sa tam zastavit a medzi 11stou a tretou si spravit vlastné jedlo napriklad,.. kecame s typkom z izraela,.. ako vacsina kraca zo severu na juh a uz je takmer na konci, tiez sa mu varic pokazil hned prvy den, iny hiker mu predal svoj kedze bol na konci tracku (isiel tak ako my juh-sever),.. jedno s druhým, mame varic aj bombu za 200 fufni,.. kungsleden nás rozmaznáva,..

Dnesnych 30 km ubehlo ako voda, miesto na stan sme našli rýchlo, krasne jazero kúsok vedľa, všetko na parádu,.. nový varič fachčí ako hodinky, takže testujeme prvé outdoor jedlo, real turmat, 100 fufni,.. kebab stew a vegan asian curry,.. dávam 10 z desiatich,..

Tentokrat som spal ako v bavlnke,.. trochu sme to vo vnútri lepšie zorganizovali, jeden batoh sme napratali do predsiene,..

Treti den sa v podstate nic nedialo,.. klasických 30 km, krasne vyhlady, ziaden dazd ani veter,.. zastávka na obed na preplnenej emergency hut,.. po ceste viac sobov ako ludi,.. kopce, doliny, rieky, mosty, jazera,.. všade kam pozrieš krása bohova,.. na jednej z emergency hut kecáme s týpkom,.. má so sebou 100 l batoh fjällraven kajka (len za nejakých smiešnych 450€ môže byť váš),.. naprataný je na prasknutie,.. ide iba túto sekciu a má na ňu vyhradených 6 dni, vyzerá, že melie z posledného, je zniceny na kašu,.. to je zúfalec,.. asi prvy krat na hiku,.. kuká na nás ako na profikov,..

Postaviť večer stan je formalita, život gombička,.. tri dni a my máme za sebou podľa stravy 80 km,.. tomu ja hovorim sľubný začiatok,..

Day 4 - mini pidi dedinka ammarnäs sa objaví po siedmich kilometroch,.. tu je šanca chytiť bus do ozajstnej civilizácie,.. prší, ale nám to nevadí, je tu obchod, a obchod to je zázrak,.. kupujeme koláče, tortilly, cokolady,.. život je zas nádherný,..

Pár desiatok metrov ďalej v malej reštike sú volne este tri stoly, dávame si kávu za 25 fufňov, dobíjame telefony, tešíme sa z dosiahnutého milniku,.. refill je zdarma,.. no nekup to??!!

Ammarnäs - Jäkkvik

Po kávičke a v dobrej naladicke začíname druhú, 90 km dlhú sekciu,..

Dalsia emergency hut, tesne pri jazere,.. po par dnoch vyslo konečne slnko,.. štyri dni som sa nesprchoval, ale teraz si dám rovno kúpeľ,.. ponáram sa nahý do studenej vody,.. je to absolútna pecka,.. o par km neskôr zapichneme stan a prvý krat aj naozaj kempujeme, dnes sme dali iba kúsok nad 20 km, lazy chickens,.. sušíme veci okolo stanu, večeru si varíme prvý krát vonku, užívame si slnka,.. ono, doteraz sme len vzdy postavili stan a okamzite zaliezli dnu,.. cez deň býva tak 10-14 stupni, v noci 6-10,..

Day 5 - predpoveď na dnes nie je celkom ideálna, vietor a dážď,.. v noci bude uplny masaker,.. vyrážame v dobrej nálade,.. obed dávame klasicky na emergency hute,.. týpek, domáci švéd, si vari meatballs, dehydrovane jedlo mu už ide krkom,.. na stole pred nim sedemdecka ketchupu,.. je to long distance hiker,.. kua a čo sme potom my? Plánuje 1400 km od trojbodu svedsko finsko norsko az dakam dolu do stockholmu,.. 460 km kungsleden dal pred dvoma rokmi,.. v jäkkviku šiel hladny nakupovat (velká chyba) a skončil s 3 kilami cukrikov, kilom syra, pol kila čokolády atd atd,.. velice cool typek,..

Žena na chate mení svoje premočené gate za rain pants, po 20 minutach sa jej roztrhli medzi nohami,.. postupne sa to trha až dolu ku clenkom, vyzera ako by ju psy napadli,.. ma to dve vrstvy, ta vnutorna este ako tak drzi,.. vyťahujem z toho take dva umele spagaty a fixujem s nimi ženine poncho,.. leje ako z krhly,.. fuka veter,.. voda postupne presakuje cez vetrovku a bundu az na telo,.. moje latexove rain pants drzia,.. lubia sa mi,.. rozmyslam ze si kupim o dve cisla mensie,.. neskôr, na doma,.. na dotyk velice prijemny material,.. a ako bonus dobre držia pot z vnutra,..

Kua, pred nami je velka rieka ktorú treba prebrodit,.. sú dva sposoby ako to urobit,.. ja idem, kracam, nepoznám brata,.. za moment som na druhej strane s čerstvo nabratou vodou až po členky,.. velice osviežujúce,.. žena sa vyzula a brodí na boso,.. po tých šutroch v silnom prúde to ide pomaly, z nohy na nohu,.. čakám na ňu a mrznem,.. už len meter a je na brehu,.. a kua, do vody jej spadla nepremokava ponožka, základ našej výbavy,.. nasleduje záchranná akcia,.. skáčem po kameňoch, balancujem, žena natahuje palice,.. mame ju! Obuvame a ide sa dalej,.. z toho stresu som sa aspoň zahrial trochu,..

Na dnešný kemping spot prichádzame komplet mokri, je nam strasidelna zima,.. dolu pod kopcom nachádzam miesto medzi brezami,.. pevne verim, ze nas do rána neodfúkne,.. expresne rychlo mame vsetko pripravene na spanie a varenie,.. chicken tikka masala a chilli stew with beans,.. nenormalne delikatesy!!

Bavlnené spoďáre, tepláky a zabalený v spacáku, predstavujem si partičku starých vikingov,.. ako sa na nás pozerajú zhora a smejú sa do popuku,.. náš stan, náš camping gas a predpripravene jedlo,.. suché veci vytiahnuté z dry bagu,.. a to trocha dazda čo na nás spadlo,.. ha ha, že vraj dobrodružstvo, bunch of pussies,..

Day 6 - ráno ako z rozprávky,.. z vložky do topánky rutinne vyžmýkam vodu, som to vcera nestihol, nasadím mokru nepremokavu ponožku, obujem mokru botu,.. nechavam si suche tricko ale naň dávam mokrú mikinu a na ňu mokru vetrovku,.. beautiful, very fucking beautiful,.. štartujeme,.. fuka veter,.. ale že veter,.. ako v tych instagram videách ked je clovek v 45 stupňovom náklone a stale nespadne na hubu,.. je to krasa,.. kungsleden nás rozmaznáva,.. je nemožné udržať sa na stope,.. a kazdy krok mimo nej znamená čiste ponorenie do vody,.. ale nam to nevadi, gear mame mokry uz od vcera,.. rútime sa neohrozene vpred,.. moja žena je terminátor, stále o dva kroky vpredu, diktuje tempo,.. s vyplazenym jazykom sa ju snažím dobehnúť,.. dnes skoro žiadni ludia, iba krásne soby, prenádherna to krajina navôkol,.. emergency hut a náš tradicny obed - tortilly, syr, salam, uhorka,.. dnes dáme cca 30 km, celodňová trápenka,.. prvy normálny  kemping na ceste je v bäverholmen a prekvapivo maju aj volné izby!! Jednu bez vahania berieme, 700 fufni je dosť ale zvládneme,.. 5 nocí v stane stačilo,.. izba je vyhriata na 24 stupni,.. dve dvojposchodové postele, hajzlik, velka kuchynka,.. sprcha je sice trochu mimo, v zadnej časti objektu, ale je obrovská a horúca voda tečie silnym prúdom,.. omg,.. 

6 dni a cca 160 km za nami,.. no čo viac moze človek chciet,.. sme asi v jednej tretine, uvidime ako to pôjde ďalej,..

Day 7 - Daniela sa ráno necíti dobre,.. zostávame teda ešte jednu noc na našej izbičke,.. cenu som zjednal za 600,.. vonku vytrvalo prší a my sa nehýbeme,.. píšem tento blog a počúvam svoj spotify list,.. nedopatrením so sebou celý čas vláčim moje koss porta pro sluchátka,.. to je pacient,..

A fotečky tunak,.. skoro som zabudol,..

https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjBEzVD

Sorry za chyby, diakritiku takisto nestíham, opravim neskor,..

English Version:

Finally, my long-time dream is coming true - a proper adventure expedition, no joke. In recent years, I've read countless books about polar explorers, expeditions to the far north, the discovery of Alaska, conquering the South Pole, and other mountain expeditions and journeys through unknown lands. John Muir, Thor Heyerdahl, Amundsen, and many others... Perhaps the one that stuck with me most was "118 Days Trapped in Ice" by Pavol Barabáš. That's serious stuff - spending 4 months trudging through pure snow from point A to point B, relying only on yourself (and your partner). That's the experience I've always wanted to feel firsthand.

Hemavan - Ammarnäs

The first section is easy, on paper just 80 km. We set off shortly after 1 PM in light rain, heading up a gentle slope. First through a small forest, then everything opens up - the trees disappear completely, leaving only shrubs, marshland, and mountains on all sides. The views are absolutely monumental.

It starts raining harder and the wind picks up. Ugh, here we go... I'm getting cold, and my supposedly waterproof outfit is starting to leak. Actually, my boots have been wet since the fifth kilometer. I put on my poncho... what a joke! It's too short and the wind tosses it from side to side. The rain keeps coming down harder and harder, the wind grows stronger and stronger. Fujiminawaja! The views are still spectacular, and somewhere in the distance I can see the silhouette of an emergency hut. We need to get there. It won't be easy, but we're polar explorers after all, living our dream. We won't give up.

And we made it! The wind is pushing against the door so hard I can barely open it. Inside, five people are sitting at a small table, packed tightly together. They all have portable stoves in front of them with ready-made dehydrated outdoor meals. Very fancy. We somehow squeeze in among them (only one of us can sit down) and while standing, we cook noodles from two packets of Chinese soup and add beans from a can. We're hardcore like that. I'm shaking from the cold.

Overnight stays are forbidden in these emergency huts. You can eat in them during the day, warm up, rest a bit, but at night they must be available for genuine emergency situations. Damn, but I'm having my emergency right here and now! Nothing to be done, we need to go outside and set up our tent. Mission impossible - the wind is blowing so hard it would tear the tent to pieces in 5 minutes. I go back to the hut and put the unpacked tent back in its bag. Great fun. There's nothing else to do. At 7:05 PM, I activate my Strava and we move on. We need to find some shelter from the wind. We're wet, tired, cold, but our spirit is high. We can make it.

After about a kilometer and a half, we find a kind of pit between two small hills that offers relative shelter from the wind. There's water nearby and a beautiful view of a rock with some snow that apparently forgot to melt. We set up the tent, I put on dry clothes and dive into my sleeping bag.

I barely slept all night. I'm shattered. I can't straighten my legs, we had our backpacks inside, there's no room to move or sit... the tent is small even for one person. Add to that the stress that the tent cover might blow away. Oh yeah, the wind was howling all night. It kept hitting the walls of the tent - I felt like it would grab us and we'd fly off into space.

But I'm very much looking forward to breakfast, I'm hungry as a wolf. I take out the gas canister and camping stove, but no flame comes out - just sputtering and hissing, then nothing. WTF!! The first morning and we have nothing to cook on. I try to fix it, but all I manage to do is dismantle the entire top. The gas is flowing at maybe 10% capacity. I somehow manage to heat some water for porridge. This is all wrong.

Day 2 - We trek all day long. "I walk, therefore I am.." with each step getting closer to Abisko. No rain, no wind. We meet a few people going in the opposite direction. We stop at a "fjällstuga" - these are huts along the entire Kungsleden trail where you can stay overnight for crazy money, or buy supplies. And if you happen to be a member (which we are), you can stop there between 11 AM and 3 PM to make your own food, for example. We chat with a guy from Israel. Like most hikers, he's walking north to south and is almost at the end. His stove also broke on the first day, but another hiker who was finishing the trail (going south to north like us) sold him his. Long story short, we have a stove and a gas canister for 200 crowns. Kungsleden is spoiling us.

Today's 30 km passed like a breeze. We found a camping spot quickly, with a beautiful lake nearby - everything perfect. The new stove works like a charm, so we're testing our first outdoor meal, real Turmat, 100 crowns. Kebab stew and vegan Asian curry. I give it 10 out of 10.

This time I slept like a baby. We organized things better inside - we stuffed one backpack in the vestibule.

Day 3 - Basically nothing happened on the third day. The usual 30 km, beautiful views, no rain or wind. A lunch stop at a crowded emergency hut. More reindeer than people along the way. Mountains, valleys, rivers, bridges, lakes - divine beauty everywhere you look. At one of the emergency huts, we chat with a guy who has a 100L Fjällräven Kajka backpack (yours for just 450€). It's packed to bursting. He's only doing this section and has allocated 6 days for it. He looks completely exhausted. What a desperate case. Probably his first hike. He looks at us like we're professionals.

Setting up the tent in the evening is a mere formality now. Life is sweet. Three days in and we've covered 80 km according to Strava. That's what I call a promising start.

Day 4 - The tiny village of Ammarnäs appears after seven kilometers. Here's a chance to catch a bus to real civilization. It's raining, but we don't mind. There's a shop here, and a shop is a miracle! We buy pastries, tortillas, chocolates... life is beautiful again.

A few dozen meters further in a small restaurant, there are still three free tables. We have coffee for 25 crowns, charge our phones, and celebrate reaching this milestone. Refills are free. How can you not love this?!

Ammarnäs - Jäkkvik - After coffee and in high spirits, we begin the second 90 km section.

Another emergency hut, right by a lake. The sun finally came out after several days. I haven't showered for four days, but now I'll take a proper bath. I immerse myself naked in the cold water. It's absolutely fantastic. A few kilometers later, we pitch our tent and actually camp properly for the first time. Today we only covered just over 20 km, lazy chickens! We dry our things around the tent, cook dinner outside for the first time, enjoying the sun. Until now, we've just set up the tent and immediately crawled inside. During the day it's usually around 10-14°C, at night 6-10°C.

Day 5 - Today's forecast isn't exactly ideal - wind and rain, with a complete nightmare expected during the night. We set off in good spirits. As usual, we have lunch at an emergency hut. A local Swedish guy is cooking meatballs. He's sick of dehydrated food. There's a bottle of ketchup on the table in front of him. He's a long-distance hiker. Damn, what does that make us then? He's planning to walk 1400 km from the Sweden-Finland-Norway border point all the way down to Stockholm. He did the 460 km Kungsleden two years ago. In Jäkkvik, he went shopping while hungry (big mistake) and ended up with 3 kg of candy, a kilo of cheese, half a kilo of chocolate, etc. A very cool guy.

A woman at the hut changes her soaked underwear for rain pants. After 20 minutes, they tear between her legs. Gradually, they tear all the way down to her ankles - looks like she was attacked by dogs. They have two layers, and the inner one is still holding somewhat. I pull out a couple of synthetic strings from my gear and use them to fix the woman's poncho. It's pouring rain. The wind is blowing. Water gradually seeps through my windbreaker and jacket to my body. My latex rain pants are holding up. I like them. I'm thinking about buying a pair two sizes smaller later, for home use. Very pleasant material to touch. And as a bonus, they keep the sweat inside nicely.

Damn, there's a big river ahead that we need to ford. There are two ways to do it. I just go for it, step by step, no hesitation. In a moment, I'm on the other side with freshly collected water up to my ankles. Very refreshing. My wife takes off her shoes and fords barefoot. It's slow going over those rocks in the strong current, step by step. I wait for her and freeze. She's just a meter away from the bank... and damn, her waterproof sock falls into the water - a key piece of our equipment! A rescue operation follows. I jump from stone to stone, balancing, while my wife reaches out with her trekking poles. We've got it! We put our shoes back on and continue. The stress at least warmed me up a bit.

We arrive at today's camping spot completely soaked and terribly cold. Down below the hill, I find a spot between birch trees. I firmly believe the wind won't blow us away by morning. In record time, we have everything ready for sleeping and cooking. Chicken tikka masala and chili stew with beans. Absolutely delicious delicacies!!

Cotton underwear, sweatpants, wrapped in my sleeping bag, I imagine a group of old Vikings looking down at us from above, laughing their heads off. Our tent, our camping gas, and pre-prepared food. Dry clothes pulled from a dry bag. And the bit of rain that fell on us. Ha ha, some adventure - bunch of pussies.

Day 6 - A morning like from a fairy tale. I routinely wring water out of my shoe insole - I didn't manage to do it yesterday. I put on a wet waterproof sock, then a wet boot. I keep my dry t-shirt on but over it I put on a wet fleece and a wet windbreaker. Beautiful, very fucking beautiful. We start off. The wind is blowing. And when I say wind - like in those Instagram videos where someone is at a 45-degree angle and still doesn't fall on their face. It's beautiful. Kungsleden is spoiling us. It's impossible to stay on the trail, and every step off it means pure immersion in water. But we don't mind, our gear has been wet since yesterday. We rush fearlessly forward. My wife is a terminator, always two steps ahead, dictating the pace. With my tongue hanging out, I try to catch up with her. Hardly any people today, just beautiful reindeer and a stunning landscape all around. Emergency hut and our traditional lunch - tortillas, cheese, salami, cucumber. Today we'll do about 30 km, a full day of trudging. The first normal campsite on the route is in Bäverholmen, and surprisingly they have vacant rooms!! We take one without hesitation. 700 crowns is a lot, but we can manage. Five nights in a tent was enough. The room is heated to 24°C. Two bunk beds, a toilet, a large kitchen. The shower is a bit separate, in the back of the building, but it's huge and hot water flows with strong pressure. OMG.

Six days and approximately 160 km behind us. What more could one want? We're about a third of the way through. We'll see how it goes from here.

Day 7 - Daniela doesn't feel well this morning. So we're staying another night in our little room. I negotiated the price down to 600 crowns. It's raining persistently outside and we're not moving. I'm writing this blog and listening to my Spotify playlist. By oversight, I've been carrying my Koss Porta Pro headphones all this time. What a patient.

And here are the photos, I almost forgot:

https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjBEzVD