Father and Son Bushcraft Trip to Sweden; Gear

This months review is going to feature some of the kit we used on our father and son trip to Sweden, both well tried and tested, there's no point heading so far afield with unproven gear. 

Klättermusen Arvaker 60 litre modelled by yours truly. 

The first review is my rucksack, the Klättermusen Arvaker. They don't make it anymore but I've had this for about eighteen months and it's seen extensive use in Scotland and Sweden in that time. It's by far the most comfortable rucksack I have ever used and although at 60 litres it doesn't have a huge capacity, they do also produce a 100 litre rucksack, the model that was contemporary with the Arvaker was the Mjölnir which has now been replaced by their Tor model. 

Even when it's loaded heavily it is extremely comfortable, you can hardly feel the weight in it at all and I really wouldn't want to switch back to a rucksack without the proprietary load bearing system.  

The rucksack has an aluminium frame which spreads the load and the hip belt is a perfect fit and is adjustable from four points so it can be tighter at the bottom or top depending on how your prefer it. The hip belt also includes the loop fields which can be found all over the rucksack. These can be used to attach a range of pockets and accessories. They are not designed for use with MOLLE but they do just about fit and a Maxpedition map and compass pouch fits perfectly on one side of the hip belt for convenient access, this means I don't have to carry my map and compass around my neck, and I hate carrying things around my neck. 

The external stretch pocket fitted to the arvaker using the loop fields

A closeup of the butterfly bridge feature on the right pack strap, you can also see them in the picture above.

The shoulder straps feature Klättermusens unique 'butterfly bridge' technology which is best explained in the manufacturers own words;

"Key for carrying easier and increasing your endurance is transferring the load to the skeleton in an efficient manner, which our Butterfly Bridge does efficiently. 

The benefit of load transfer is twofold. By carrying directly on your skeleton, you can simply lift more with better endurance. On the other end, the strain placed by regular systems on the muscles and ligaments is relieved letting blood pass freely through your muscles keeping you both free from pain and more alert."

All I can say is that this feature seems to work beautifully; I often find that the muscles of my left shoulder get uncomfortable when carrying a heavy rucksack but not with this pack. It is a little on the heavy side due to the frame but any actual weight the construction of the pack adds is more than made up for by the way it spreads that weight so well. 

Although it is a roll top pack like many dry bags, it;s not guaranteed to be waterproof so anything you need to keep dry should be packed up in waterproof bags inside the bag. Although it resembles a dry bag it is constructed far more strongly and the Kevlar reinforced bottom  will put up with being put down in brambles, bushes and on sharp rocks without you having to worry about damaging your pack. 

The only bad thing about the Klättermusen pack is the price. The Arvaker used to retail around £250 as far as I remember and it's equivalent product that is available now is about £300 but the quality is undeniable, if you spend a lot of time on expeditions you will struggle to find anything more comfortable and it is comparable in price with other very high end packs like the Fjällraven or some tactical packs by Karriomor SF, TAD Gear and Mystery Ranch.  

  

My Arvaker at a trig point in Scotland

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Another piece of kit we took with us, and which despite the craze amongst 'survivalists' for one tool knives I would recommend everyone include amongst their bushcrafting gear, was an axe. The fact that on a bushcraft trip to Sweden I didn't take a Swedish axe may seem a little blasphemous to some but for the last two years I have been using an axe by a Basque company called Jauregi. They make axes by hand to a traditional pattern and rather than having the axe handle inserted into  the bottom of the head and secured with a wedge these axe heads are fitted to their handles in a similar way to tomahawks. The model I have is one of their pruning axes and it has a 50cm handle and a head weighing 0.8kg's. 

When I picked one up a few years ago i wasn't necessarily looking for an alternative to my other axes out of any sort of dissatisfaction, I have a Wetterlings Swedish Forest Axe which I have had for over ten years now and which is as close to being the perfect axe as I've ever found, but it is a bit on the big side for every day bushcrafting, and for taking in hold luggage. I also have a Gransfors carving axe which is a specialist tool and not one to take on a bushcrafting trip. The Jauregi pruning axe is a little larger and longer than a hatchet  making it more powerful for cutting and chopping but it's lightweight handle means it weighs no more than a hatchet. 

Clockwise from top; Gransfors Bruks carving axe, Wetterlings Swedish Forest axe, Jauregi pruning axe

The beech handle is the only disappointment I have with this axe, it's a little on the skinny side, it has to be for the handle to fit, but that does make it a little uncomfortable so I wrapped a small portion with tape to provide a slightly chunkier grip, it can easily be unwrapped if I want to get the head off.  Additionally beech is not going to be as strong as the hickory used in most modern axes. I understand that they are using traditional materials but there is a reason that Wetterlings and Gransfors use hickory and it's not that it's native to Sweden. Hickory is an American import and before we had access to it tool handles in Europe would have been mostly made of ash and while ash is an excellent material for tool handles it's not quite as resistant to impact as hickory and I'd prefer something other than beech but it's not the end of the world.

The handle was fairly rough when it arrived and while some might complain about that just pause and think for a moment that the Gransfors carving axe, which will cost you at least £50 more than the Jauregi is deliberately made with a rough handle, according to the design criteria of celebrated wood carver Willi Sundqvist, to aid gripping it. If a rough handle is a problem for you use it more and get some callouses. 

Clearing a trail from windblown trees in Scotland last year

Looking out over Ullsjön and having a hot meal thanks to the firewood cut with our axe. 

The carbon steel head does seem to be a little more prone to rust that some of my other axes but it sharpens easily and came with a very robust leather guard that secures with a buckle.

The Jauregi 50cm pruning axe and a home made froe

I've only found one place to get these axes from; the Finland based online knife, tool and outdoor supplier Lamnia. While I can't recommend it above Wetterlings or Gransfors axes it is a unique design and very effective and lightweight. 

Whatever approach you take to choosing your gear make sure before heading off far from home to practice your bushcraft that you take tried and tested gear, don't head off on an expedition with a brand new rucksack or brand new boots use what you know and are comfortable with.

Father and Son Bushcraft Trip to Sweden; Ullådallen, Åre and route planning

A marshy hike into our camp site at Ullsjön

When Michael and I headed out for our adventure in Sweden we planned in advance where we were going to spend our time. Any outdoor activity, especially if you are far from home needs, to be properly planned so you can leave a detailed plan with someone at home so rescue can be arranged if you don't come back or get in touch according to schedule. 

While you should be able to navigate from map and compass even if you haven't previously planned a route there really is no excuse for heading out somewhere without doing some planning in advance. This is especially important if you are taking a child with you, there may be terrain you want to avoid, or particular features you want to include in your route. I am fascinated by maps anyway so spending a few hours poring over a map is no hardship and has always payed off. 

It's also important at the planning stage to make backup plans and 'escape routes', especially in mountainous areas where weather can change drastically and very quickly.  These plans might include a route around a particular feature that could be dangerous in bad weather such as river crossings that might be too dangerous when water levels are high or mountain tops and ridges that might be too dangerous in snowy conditions or high winds. These routes might also be used in the event of injury or the need to depart from a route and head back to civilisation in an emergency. 

This route with all necessary camp sites and  escape routes can then be left with someone at home so if the worst was to occur and you didn't get back in touch when you said you would or you don't come back on schedule they can pass those details on to whoever becomes responsible for your rescue.  We ended up having to use one of our alternative routes  on our trip; we had hoped to get to the top of a mountain called Åreskutan a 1420 meter mountain which overlooks Åre,  a popular ski resort during the Winter on our first day in the mountains but as there was snow already on the top of the mountain when we arrived we decided to reverse our route and head off up  Ullådallen first. Taking an eight year old up a a snow clad mountain top without proper winter climbing kit would not have been a responsible thing to do and would have added significant unnecessary risk to our trip. 

We were expecting snow on the last day of our trip but it had snowed before we get there and was settled above about 1000 meters so we stayed a bit lower down and headed up into  Ullådallen on our first day instead of our last. 

A depiction of Ullr from an Icelandic manuscript from  the 18th Century showing Ullr on ski's with his bow.  Image is in the Public Domain. 

Ullådallen takes it's name from the Norse God of Hunting Ullr. According to mythology Ullr was the son of Siv and foster son of Thor. He was skilled at skiing and a talented bowman and is also celebrated as the God of skiing and archery. It is a popular destination for skiing in Winter and for hunting and fishing. 

A sign informing hikers that hunting was in progress and that dogs may be loose in the area.

We had planned to camp near Ullsjön on the second and third nights of our trip and do some fishing and exploring but now this was to be our first stop, it was important that our trip not be all about hiking each day. I've done my fair share of expeditions when I have needed to hike day after day after day and they haven't always been fun and I wanted to make sure this was fun for Michael and not something he had to endure. 

The hike up Ullådallen from Åre started on the 'trollstigen' or troll tail and fittingly considering that our destination takes it's name from a Norse God the troll trail starts with a a crossing of the mythological 'bifrost' the rainbow bridge that links Asgard (the world of the Gods) with Midgard (earth). 

Michael heading through the bifrost, the platform above him is one of the many mountain bike routes that are popular around Åre outside of ski season. 

On the troll trail we saw signs off all sorts of mythological creatures such as trolls and hob goblins.

We needed to plan a route that wouldn't be too strenuous for an eight year old but was remote enough  to feel like a genuine adventure for him and the troll trail and some of the well marked hiking trails got us up out of the valley to the head of the trail we would follow to Ullsjön. We had picked a camp site there where we thought we would have access to a small shelter, these are marked on maps in Sweden and are popular places for people to stop and stay while hiking and camping, they can be a bit hit and miss though so I never know what to expect, some are positively luxurious others are a bit more spartan. 

Our little shelter on the banks of Ullsjön, you can see the long drop toilet behind the shelter and further up the bank a tiny cabin used by the Sami reindeer herders when their reindeer are ranging in the area. 

Our route around the foot of Åreskutan into Ullådallen took as through Buustamon a little collection of holiday cottages and a small hotel which serves the area in holiday season and which takes it's name from the old jamska dialects word for wind shelter; 'buusta' and a dry place in a marsh 'mo'. And it was indeed the last dry place we encountered on our hike. From there on it was very wet under foot and we had several miles of hiking through marshy terrain until we eventually saw the lake we were heading for. Even though it was a fairly misty, damp day with the low cloud hiding the mountain tops from us the scenery was beautiful and seeing the occasional mountain hare already in winter pelage and flocks of cross bills in the pine and spruce trees was great. We were both happy though when we spotted the lake and realised it would only be a few more minutes before we could get out of our wet boots and dry our socks by a fire. 

fishing at Ullsjön with Rödkullen which we would climb on our last day in the mountains in the distance. 

It was a great place to stay close to the lake and on the edge of a beautiful patch of birch forest with junipers and spruces scattered amongst the lichen bedecked birches. The juniper was a great source of firewood as we found plenty of dead dry branches amongst the thicker, larger growths of juniper and that as well as some dead birch that we collected made the basis of all our camp fires.  

Michael hiking through the birch forests at the foot of Åreskutan on our way out of  Ullådalen. 

We never did make it to the top of Åreskutan, the snow never did clear and actually fell quite heavily the night after we headed out of the hills. We did make it to the top of Rödkullen a smaller 900 meter peak to the west of Åreskutan which Michael had taken to calling Raven Hill after the hill and outpost at the foot of the lonely mountain in The Hobbit. We had been looking at it from our camp site and decided that as it was clear of snow we would change out route so we could climb it on our way back. That route change would also have us climb out of the marshy ground earlier than we otherwise would and get somewhere drier. 

Climbing up our of Ullådalen

Looking back down Ullådalen with Ulsjön in the background. 

While our adventure didn't take us anywhere truly remote in the grand scheme of things it was far enough from everyone to feel like a real adventure to an eight year old and being able to hear a wold cry under the moon by our camp fire one night was a real thrill. Uullådalen and it's surroundings were beautiful despite the fact that we only briefly had clear skies and sunshine and it's a place I fully intend to return to explore more fully, hopefully with members of my family at mys side again.

Hopefully this adventure has only encouraged Michael to pursue more opportunities to get outside and explore, we had a great time and I'm really glad he chose to take me on his adventure.

Foragers Diary; Sweden October 2018

My recent trip to Sweden with my oldest son Michael should have yielded a bit more wild food than it actually did, our plan was to do some fishing, now we dedicated a whole day to fishing but didn't actually catch any fish, we did though find some delicious fungi to incorporate into our meals.

Michael has grown very adept at spotting penny buns or as the Swedes call the karljohann svamp, the year one of the most sought after culinary mushrooms in Europe and absolutely delicious, it was too late in the season to find many but we found enough to supplement our first meal at our camp site near Ullsjön. 

Frying the penny buns in the lid of our billy can before adding them to our meal of meatballs and rice. 

We found plenty of crow berries and blue berries but they were all far past their best and not worth picking. 

 

We found a really good haul of hedgehog fungi, something I don't see a lot of in the UK although it isn't rare here, and made several meals of them. They are known as blek taggsvamp in Swedish but don't be confused by google translate, if you type 'hedgehog mushroom in Swedish' into google you may find it leads you astray. hedgehog in Swedish is igelkott and the Swedish word for lions mane fungi is igelkottstaggsvamp (literally hedgehog spine mushroom) but that isn't the same as this. 

A billy can lid full of delicious fungi, we made skewers with some of them and picked more for a stew later in our trip. 

It wasn't only in the wilderness that we found mushrooms, I've said before that the UK is behind the rest of Europe as far as wild food, particularly mushrooms, are concerned and this just highlights that. This is Hötorget in central Stockholm and the market stalls are loaded with Chanterrelles and other fresh produce, I haven't seen anything like this in the UK.  

Even the manikins in the outdoor shops are out picking mushrooms. 

Check back in tomorrow for more about our adventures in Sweden. 

Father and Son Bushcraft Trip to Sweden; Bushcrafting Abroad

Last week during the half term holidays I had the immense privileged to take my oldest son Michael to Sweden for a father and son adventure. My wife and I have promised all our children a trip abroad as their eighth birthday present, as long as we can afford it. Michael turned eight earlier in the year so the October half term was planned as his trip to Sweden.

On the trail heading toward Ullådalen

He wanted to see where I used to live and to go camping and fishing, luckily camping and fishing makes trips abroad much cheaper than they otherwise can be and I think I was as excited about the prospect of getting out in the Swedish countryside as Michael was.

Today's post will be about the travel aspect of bushcrafting and camping abroad. With budget airlines offering flights for as little as £9.99 nowadays getting away to Scandinavia or other European destinations to do a bit of bushcrafting really isn't difficult or expensive anymore. You can get a return flight to Stockholm or Oslo for less than the cost of a train ticket to London.

The problem comes from all the kit that you need to take with you to enjoy the outdoors. Yes as bushcrafters we boast about our ability to make do without heavy tents, stoves and other 'modern' camping kit but even if we can pack light enough to fit all our kit in a tiny cabin bag there will be things we need to take which can't be carried as hand luggage; knife, saw and axe will never be allowed in the cabin and you will have to purchase space in the hold. The price for this varies from airline to airline and with the time of year. On our recent trip a 20kg hold bag cost us £25 per flight, a total of £50 on top of the price of the ticket, but as that only cost £46 for the both of us that still was very reasonable, under £100 for both of us to get to Sweden.

There is a very valid question to ask at this point; is it cheaper to buy bushcrafting tools when you get to your destination than to pay for the hold luggage?

Gransfors axes in the Sveavägen branch of Natturkompaniet

Would it be less hassle to buy tools at your destination that have to carry hold luggage?

Well if you could fit absolutely all your kit into your cabin luggage and just buy cheap tools when you arrived that might be cheaper but consider the fact that although you could buy a knife, axe and folding saw for under the £50 that our hold bag cost is it going to be simple and easy to find them once you arrive? For us it would have been impossible our travel schedule brought us to Stockholm after the shops shut and onto a train with only a few minutes to spare before it headed off overnight to our final destination. Additionally if the budget tools that could have saved you money aren't available you haven't saved yourself any money at all. Yes you could buy a Hultafors Heavy Duty knife (£4) a fiskars X7 hatchet (£19) and a bacho lapplander folding saw (£16.50) for under £50 but could you do that without internet deals and all at a single shop in an unfamiliar country? probably not. Also consider that by the time you have packed you sleeping bag, tarp and a change of clothes and waterproofs you will still need a hold bag to fit it all in, especially in winter and the option to save money on hold luggage and buy when you arrive doesn't seem so sensible.

                           

[NOTE: the prices in the text do not necessarily match the Amazon prices shown here, but I can highly recomend the Bacho saw, the fiskars axe and anything by Hultafors]

The added benefit of packing your own tools is that you can use the tools that you are familiar with and presumably quite attached to and ones which you trust in terms of their performance and quality.

My bushcraft knife by Ammonite Knives being used to prepare a meal of 'korv' (sausage) and foraged hedgehog fungi

With most our kit packed into a single hold bag and the rest in small cabin bags we travelled about as cheaply as I think it is possible, it helps that we were travelling 'off-peak' at a time of year when flights are a little cheaper anyway and also in terms of our final destination which is a popular ski resort in Winter.

A key to making this kind of adventure fun for children is not to load them down with too much kit, I carried both sleeping bags, all the shelter kit, both fishing rods and the bulk of the tools, leaving Michael with a small bag for his spare clothes, a spare poncho liner, his knife and some snacks. At eight years old loading him down with too much kit could easily have turned a fun adventure into a misery, there will be a time and a place for him to carry heavy loads but this wasn't it. So as a parent be aware on trips like this, whether at home or abroad, you will need to carry the bulk of the kit otherwise your children won't enjoy it, definitely make them carry something but not everything. For this reason a 80-100 litre rucksack is an absolute must for overnight trips especially in Winter. If you are out camping and bushcrafting with children you might be carrying multiple sleeping bags, multiple changes of clothes more food than you usually would, it all adds up and a bigger bag is the only solution.

hiking through the birch forest near Ullsjön

When we set out on this trip the plan was for Michael to carry one of my smaller rucksacks with the straps all cinched tight, this was as good as we could do at the time but in an outdoor shop in Sweden I discovered the Osprey Jet, a proper rucksack that is sized to fit children. This would have been a better and more comfortable option for him and although he doesn't know it yet Michael will be getting one for Christmas if Father Christmas is on form.

                                                                  

Once we had made it to Skavsta airport which is Stockholms equivalent of the UK's Stanstead we had a little over an hour on the bus to get us to the centre of Stockhols where we could catch the night train to Åre, a nine hour train ride away in Jämtland and quite close the the Norwegian border. The connection bus cost £44 for a return journey and seats on the night train £72.52, a cabin with beds would have increased the cost considerably but can still be had for a reasonable price, a return trip with beds would have cost in the region of £180.

When you are bushcrafting abroad be extra careful with vital documents like boarding passes, passports and money, keep them in a waterproof bag and try to keep them in one place so you don't forget and panic about them. When you are transiting through bus stations and airports have them to hand in a pocket but while you are on the trail a sealed dry bag in the main compartment of your bag is the best place for them so they don't get soaked or lost.

So don't think that bushcrafting abroad is out of reach, Michael and I went to Sweden for about £212 and were there for five days. Yes if you start to add accommodation on to that it adds up and if you want to eat out at restaurants then that adds to the price but our grocery bill was about £38, not including the pizza we had in Stockholm before we came home. The rations we bought for the trail and our nights camping included rice, dried potato, korv, rice porridge (it comes in plastic tubes like dog food and doesn't weight anything near as much as tinned rice pudding), hot chocolate, vegetable stock, tomato puree, tortillas and cheese. We had hoped to supplement that with some fish but were very unlucky in that respects but did forage a couple of meals worth of mushrooms which you can read about in tomorrows special edition of the Foragers Diary.