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This post covers Stage 21, Daletjärnen-Holmen, of the official guide to the trail.
You can also check out my report on the section before this one (going southbound), Stage 22.
If you have not already read the introduction to this trail guide, you can check it out by clicking here. It has a list of reports on other sections I have hiked plus other important/useful background information in general--so please read the introduction first before reading my reports.
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**Update 10/08/2016: Recently I went on a hiking/packrafting trip through a few sections of this trail again, and noticed that some trail markers and even whole shelters were missing. Then I saw the following sign:
So make sure to plan accordingly. A shame the landowner is messing things up a bit for us backpackers--but then again maybe they had a good reason, who knows? There are shelters both to the north and south of this stage anyhow, plus some good spots to pitch shelter near the scenic rivers and lakes.
**So note that the shelters pictured below are no longer there, but I will keep the pictures up for historical purposes I guess. End of update!
* I completed this section with my buddy Chris and his dog Chico back in April. We did a loop of the area going off trail the first day, and the next day went northbound on the trail. It is a somewhat short section at about 10km, but you will get a good work out from the elevation, as a lot of this section of trail is up on ridges of hills and cliffs. Makes for some great views, and your feet should probably stay dry with normal conditions.
Even though we went northbound, I will write from a southbound perspective in order to keep the continuity from the previous sections. Also big thanks to Chris for taking many of the pictures below and uploading them for me! :)
After the shelter on the hill that overlooks the lake/endpoint from the previous section, the trail goes up and down before meeting up with a gravel road. This picture I took shortly after leaving the shelter in August before getting off the trail and meeting up with my family to have lunch then go home:
You are not on the road very long until you are back into the woods, and once again going uphill, but this time you will stay up on a pretty long part of trail going east that follows a ridge that overlook a few small lakes before turning south:
The big lake in the distance is S Kornsjön, which you will see up close soon when you get to another shelter that is right next to it:
It's a good shelter area (as usual), with a nice campfire space and view of the lake. You will have to drag firewood from further away, however, as the shelter is mostly out in open and clear-cut space. This shelter is larger than the next shelter to the south, in case you are traveling as a group or there are a lot of backpackers on the trail. Next is another short hike that--you guessed it--goes up and down through hills again. You pass another lake as well, this picture is facing north at the south end of the lake:
Shortly after the above lake you will cross onto another gravel road. You can either follow the road or Bohusleden, doesn't matter--both will take you to the next shelter and endpoint of this section:
It's a cozy little shelter plus a grill on the side of a hill that overlooks yet another part of the big S Kornsjön lake and a bridge that crosses over it.
The following pictures of the area in front of the shelter/endpoint of Section 21 I took in August when my family and I stopped at the shelter to have lunch before going home:
This section took us about 4 hours to complete, but could probably be done in less time, as we had a relaxed pace for most of the hike plus had a dog with us. I'll never forget that the feisty dog nearly got into a nest of snakes in this section, but luckily Chris pulled him back. A lovely bit of trail, and it continues to be so--perhaps even nicer!--in the next section, which has a few very scenic bridges over tumbling waters of river that you follow.
Next from a section hike in October 2012: Section 20 Holmen-Vaktarekullen.
**So note that the shelters pictured below are no longer there, but I will keep the pictures up for historical purposes I guess. End of update!
* I completed this section with my buddy Chris and his dog Chico back in April. We did a loop of the area going off trail the first day, and the next day went northbound on the trail. It is a somewhat short section at about 10km, but you will get a good work out from the elevation, as a lot of this section of trail is up on ridges of hills and cliffs. Makes for some great views, and your feet should probably stay dry with normal conditions.
Even though we went northbound, I will write from a southbound perspective in order to keep the continuity from the previous sections. Also big thanks to Chris for taking many of the pictures below and uploading them for me! :)
After the shelter on the hill that overlooks the lake/endpoint from the previous section, the trail goes up and down before meeting up with a gravel road. This picture I took shortly after leaving the shelter in August before getting off the trail and meeting up with my family to have lunch then go home:
You are not on the road very long until you are back into the woods, and once again going uphill, but this time you will stay up on a pretty long part of trail going east that follows a ridge that overlook a few small lakes before turning south:
The big lake in the distance is S Kornsjön, which you will see up close soon when you get to another shelter that is right next to it:
It's a good shelter area (as usual), with a nice campfire space and view of the lake. You will have to drag firewood from further away, however, as the shelter is mostly out in open and clear-cut space. This shelter is larger than the next shelter to the south, in case you are traveling as a group or there are a lot of backpackers on the trail. Next is another short hike that--you guessed it--goes up and down through hills again. You pass another lake as well, this picture is facing north at the south end of the lake:
Shortly after the above lake you will cross onto another gravel road. You can either follow the road or Bohusleden, doesn't matter--both will take you to the next shelter and endpoint of this section:
It's a cozy little shelter plus a grill on the side of a hill that overlooks yet another part of the big S Kornsjön lake and a bridge that crosses over it.
The following pictures of the area in front of the shelter/endpoint of Section 21 I took in August when my family and I stopped at the shelter to have lunch before going home:
This section took us about 4 hours to complete, but could probably be done in less time, as we had a relaxed pace for most of the hike plus had a dog with us. I'll never forget that the feisty dog nearly got into a nest of snakes in this section, but luckily Chris pulled him back. A lovely bit of trail, and it continues to be so--perhaps even nicer!--in the next section, which has a few very scenic bridges over tumbling waters of river that you follow.
Next from a section hike in October 2012: Section 20 Holmen-Vaktarekullen.
