Sometimes life still has suprises

 

I had not logged into Blogger for over a year. I honestly thought that this blog would be forgotten about and that my views would fade away. Maybe I would post something, maybe not. But I'm on summer vacation so why not log in and check things out. I must admit I was shocked.

I check the stats out of habit and see that the last 12 months have been the most views that my blog has ever had. I've been blogging since 2011. 15 years. Now all of a sudden my views are higher than ever? In the past year I have over 150K views. It feels surreal.

There have been thousands of people that have read my blog. I really didn't think that would happen, yet here we are. So I just wanted to acknowledge this, and thank whoever reads this, and especially anyone that has followed my blog. And just know that this has made me happy. I've worked hard on this blog. It has been my labor of love. And to know that others seem to find this place useful and/or a nice way to kill time gives me a nice sense of purpose.

An Unexpected Update

 Recently on Reddit I talked about my Troll Trail route with another hiker. This hiker's name is Aljoša and they are planning to hike the TT this coming summer. We chatted about the trail via DM, then to my surprise Aljoša sent me a GPX map of the TT. I never bothered to create such a map as I never used GPX maps on any of my hikes. But of course this was very kind of Aljoša and I thanked them a bunch and said I would update the TT posts with the maps for others to use as well. So I'm in the process of doing just that, so check out the TT guides soon if you are interested.

As far as an update on me and my hiking life, there's not much to say. I still go hiking when I can and want to, I just don't document it online anymore. My use of social media is limited, with occasional posting on Reddit and a rare comment on Youtube, and that's about it.

But for anyone reading this that has hiked the TT or plans on hiking the TT, I am happy to be in contact with you for questions and/or feedback. I will keep this blog up as a resource as long as I can, but I don't plan on posting anymore new content. I may post updates of guides if I re-hike certain trails and think it may be useful I guess. 

But I really doubt there will be any gear posts in the future. My gear has remained nearly unchanged for the past several years, and even before that there were only a few changes of note for the past half decade or so. 

Yeah that's pretty much it. I'll get back to work on updating the TT posts now. Peace!

A Long Overdue Update

 I'm not sure how many people will read this, but I figured I should have some kind of an update on what the situation is with this blog (and by extension my vlog on Youtube). A few years ago I finally had enough with most social media and quietly quit. And honestly I am happier spending less time online in general than I was before when I was more of a regular.

I still go hiking and still love the outdoors. There was a phase of my life when I loved documenting it. It was fun to take a bunch of pictures and discuss my outdoor life on here and on Youtube. It became a part of my routines and I did get a lot out of it. Then eventually I started to feel like I got what I wanted to say and document out of my system. I reached many of the goals I set out for myself over the years.

It didn't happen overnight. And at first I was a bit disappointed, but then looking back at everything I've done on here and on Youtube, satisfaction replaced the disappointment. Then going out on my usual backpacking trips I felt something that I didn't feel before, which was an odd sense of being liberated from the work involved in all this. I still take pictures, of course, but just a handful. It never felt like a chore or homework writing this blog. But it was work. With that work gone, it made things a bit easier. A few less things to think about.

So I'm not sure what the future of this blog will be. I have no more big plans here or on Youtube. But things can change. I doubt my kit will change much, though. I have my gear so dialed in and it works so well for me that I have very little desire to change or upgrade anything. Thankfully I have been able to maintain my body so that I still wear the same sized clothing that I wore two decades ago. I'm 44 years old now, and as perhaps most mid 40 year olds, I can feel my vigor slowly slipping away. Ten years ago I was slightly disappointed if I didn't hike at least 30km in a day of backpacking. The past few years, I have been fine with 25km a day, and felt a tinge of pride on the more rare 30km days.

I still make sure to walk at least 5km a day in my "normal" work routines. I hope that I can at least hold on to my goal of wilderness backpacking trips of multiple days of 25-30km. Which I think is a modest goal, knowing that there are those my age that can still crush 50km days. I'm not sure how long I can maintain this goal. It feels surreal packing my backpack and wondering if this will be the last backpack that I will need to buy.

I do feel more tired than before. But I also feel more contented, more satisfied, and just all around more at peace with things than before. So don't expect much more content out of this blog or my Youtube channel. And aside from a few comments here and there on Reddit, nothing on other social media. If there is anything that still feels the same from when I posted my first posts on this blog and now, it's that I am aware that I am mostly talking to myself here. I was surprised at having anymore than close family and friends read and encourage this whole project. If you are a rare stranger out there that got something out of my blog or Youtube channel, thanks for following along with me and for any support you may have given me.

As I wrap up which might just be my last post, I can proudly say that I never made a single solitary penny from this blog or from my Youtube channel. I never monetized either, I never became a partner, I never got paid. I never got any free gear to test and I was never sponsored. I did get some offers for advertisers, at times strange ones like online casinos and other bullshit. I turned them all down.

That's it. I wish you all happy trails. There will more happy trails for me in the future, and I feel grateful for those to come and those I left behind. The fact that am able to walk them at all let alone afford the time and money to get out there makes me (and probably you too) very, very lucky.

Peace out.

Hiking from South West Sweden to Halden, Norway

Introduction

Halden is border town close to the south west region of Sweden. Halden is also a municipality (AKA a county) that is interesting geographically for hikers for a variety of reasons. If you single it out on a map you will notice that the municipality juts into Sweden, making it possible to hike from Sweden into Norway from any direction on your compass. For instance, you can walk south into Norway at the southern end of Iddefjord, which makes for the rather rare sentence: "I hiked south into Norway."

But I would also say that the Halden area of interest because it is beautiful and has good hiking. Over the years I have explored the area here and there, taking short hikes across the border and then returning back to Sweden on many different section hikes. And for years I said to myself that I should plan some hikes that go through Halden. I finally got around to doing a few section hikes across this charming little slice of Norway, and I am happy to report that these were good hikes and that this area is worth exploring.

What follows shortly is a trail guide to hike from Sweden through Halden municipality to the city of Halden and then back into Sweden again. The starting points I recommend (and the points I used in my hikes) are the town of Ed to the east of Halden, and the small city of Strömstad to the west. Another feature that makes this hike of interest to both section hikers and thru-hikers alike is the proximity to several other longer hiking trails. Meaning that hiking through Halden can be done, for example, as a side trail or hiked in addition to hiking Bohusleden, Pilgrimsleden, The Troll Trail, etc. I will point out how this hike could fit into other hikes soon in the guide below, as well as other useful information on how to hike this route. After the trail guide will be my trip report, which will be in the form of a photo essay.

Store bought dehydrated meals and DIY meals: my best of both worlds system of eating on trail

The usual disclaimer: No, I'm still not sponsored, still not a shill, no free gear or food, etc.

I avoided store bought backpacker meals in the past for several reasons. Perhaps the biggest one is that they can be expensive, but I also didn't think they tasted all that great much of the time. And they also didn't have as many vegan or vegetarian options (I eat vegan, my wife vegetarian), plus they were also bulky, then there is the issue of all the packaging waste, etc. 

 

At times over the years I would get a few of these fancy store bought meals as gifts, and of course I'd use them, and at times I was surprised by some of them for being tastier than older ones. Which got me to reconsider them as an occasional treat. Then when I would check out various options at a few different stores, in addition to noticing more vegan and vegetarian options, I also noticed that at times there would be sales. Lucky for me, at the stores I frequent, the vegan options were more often on sale, as they were not as popular as other options, I would guess. So I started to buy a few here and there and add one or two to my food bag for trips. It also made planning somewhat easier.

My 2022-2023 3 Season Gear

Hey everyone! Hope you are having a nice summer and getting out there as much as you'd like. This is just a quick post to give updates on the current state of my 3 season gear. I haven't changed much, but there is always fine tuning of small things and replacing of old/worn out things and such. And I don't expect to make any big changes in the near future either. I am generally very happy with my gear and have things dialed in just the way I like them, and it's been like that for several years now. 

For nearly a decade now, my BPW (base pack weight, all gear minus food, water, fuel, and other consumables) has hovered between 3-4kg/6.6-8.8lbs. Some trips slightly less, some trips slightly more, but these are the exception rather than the rule. Right now my BPW for roughly half of the year is about 3.6kg/7.9lbs. Before I link my gear list, the usual disclaimer: I'm still not sponsored, still no free gear, still no adverts on my blog, etc.

Cesar's Guide to Northern Dalsland: Tresticklan National Park and Torrskogsleden

 

 

Introduction

Dalsland is one of my favorite places to hike in Sweden. It has several marked hiking trails (and a number of unmarked ones as well), many lakes (some massive in size), various nature reserves, and the Tresticklans National Park. It also has a low population density along with a vast amount of thick, beautiful forests, which makes for great, if not more challenging, hiking adventures in relative isolation. There are many hills and cliffs in the area, which also make this place unique, in that some routes call for scrambling and/or climbing to one extent or another.

Dalsland also features prominently in The Troll Trail, so be sure to check out that long distance route if you haven't already. If you are thru-hiking the Troll Trail, you could explore northern Dalsland as a side trail trip to extend your hike.

So for several years now I have hiked a fair amount of kilometers in Dalsland, yet there was one area that I've wanted to explore for a while now, and finally got the chance to go deep into this more wild northern part of the province. The plan was simple in theory: to connect the Tresticklans National Park in the northwest with the Torrskogsleden marked trail in the north. But in practice, there are various complications to account for, though I am happy to say that I feel they are definitely worth it after hiking this long-ish section hike. You'll want to spend at least 3 days or up to a week here, depending on how you choose to hike, how many kilometers you can hike in a day, and what you choose to do. There are plenty of really nice spots to swim, for example.

The Boulder and The Fox

About 10 years ago I was on a self imposed mission to fully explore this one big patch of woods about an hour away from my home here in Sweden. It began with looking for a good spot to pick wild mushrooms. The deeper I hiked looking for delicious shrooms, the more I fell in love with the area. So I bought a map of the area and just really got into trying to walk across and up and down and all over this chunk of woods. There were a few local hiking trails that went through it, but other than that and an occasional hunter during hunting season, these woods seemed like they were all mine. Like I had it all to myself, and for the most part, I did. I'd be all alone out there.

Cesar's Guide to Nordvärmlandsleden: Ransby to Höljes

 

Introduction

Nordvärmlandsleden is a roughly 55km hiking trail that follows the Klarälven river valley in northern Värmland county.  The trail technically has a southern terminus in the village of Branäs, but this guide and trip report will cover the trail from the village of Ransby (just across the river from Branäs) to the northern terminus in the village of Höljes.  This section is a continuation of my alternate Swedish E1 trail called The Troll Trail/Trolleden.  Click here for more information on this trail system.

Here is the official website for this trail in English, but there is not much to it.  Nordvärmlandsleden is generally well marked and maintained, and has some nice views as it traverses up and down the peaks and ridges of the long and beautiful valley. It even goes up to Värmland’s highest point, the small mountain (or big hill) called Granberget, 700m above sea level. There is also a really cool lookout tower built on its peak.

The Troll Trail in a Nutshell Full Guide

An Abridged Guide to The Troll Trail:

An Alternate Trail to the Swedish E1 Long Distance Hiking Trail

Version 3.0

By Cesar Valdez

Note: If you prefer to download a PDF file of this guide, you can do so here.

 

UPDATE 04/05/2025: 

Thanks to another hiker, the TT now as GPX files and maps! Thanks again Aljoša!

 

Here is a link to a folder with the files.

 

And here is a link to a Google Maps route with the TT map files in action.

 

Note that Aljoša made the route follow a more "direct" route of the TT. There are sections that have various ways of hiking to the next section, for example the section that goes through Glaskogen nature reserve in Varmland. There is more info on this below and in the longer guide linked above.

 

Enjoy!

Foreword

This is a condensed but full guide to The Troll Trail, a long distance hiking trail that I created. The longer, unabridged guide--which includes additional details on the various areas/sections, hundreds of photographs, and trip reports of my personal experiences hiking the trail--can be found on my blog (click here). The goal of this shortened guide is to provide just the most essential information to help hikers plan and hike this trail. What I recommend if you are seriously considering hiking this trail is to read the longer guides and trip reports on my blog while you’re at home preparing, and then on the way to the trail and/or while you’re actually out hiking the trail you can switch over to this shortened guide.

Or if you’re restless and just want to get out there and hike, say you’re an experienced backpacker, etc.--I get it. This guide should be enough on its own and you can read the whole thing in less than an hour, then revisit it on trail as needed. Make sure to download all the custom maps that I created for the connection routes, and have fun being on autopilot most of the time hiking the longer marked trails.

Breakdown: My 2021 Sleeping Systems for Every Season

Introduction

It's been a while since I posted a big breakdown of my various gear combinations.  Back in 2015 I wrote one that focused on my sleep systems, for example.  That's the last time I did a big breakdown of my sleeping gear here on my blog, but I've written and discussed sleep systems quite a lot on various forums, such as the UL subreddit. One such post over there got a fair amount of up-votes and positive feedback, which was me making a case for using only two quilts to take care of one's year-round backpacking needs. I called it a case for a two quilt system, and you can read that post here.  You should definitely give that post a read if you are unfamiliar with the two quilt system and its benefits and nuances.

But when I wrote that post I was in the process of upgrading one of my quilts (the summer Apex quilt), and since then all of my sleep systems are more or less complete.  So this post will breakdown my current sleep systems, as not only has a lot changed (and for the better), but sleep systems are one of the combinations of gear that I get asked about or comes up in conversation the most.  Both the novice camper or backpacker to the grizzled old outdoors enthusiast, everyone seems to have their own preferences and opinions about the best equipment for a good night's sleep.

And rest is very important when you're out there, so I often recommend to others (especially greenhorns) that if you are going to splurge or spoil yourself when it comes to gear, you should prioritize a good sleep system.  This can be tricky for someone who is new to sleeping outdoors, as you have to dial in your preferences and everyone has different needs when it comes to being comfortable.  So it may take some trial and error if you're new to all this, and you should also not expect to sleep 100% as comfortable as your own bed at home (assuming you have a comfy bed at home).  But that being said, some of the best sleep of my life I've had sleeping outside under my tarp or in a trail shelter.  So here's the gear that provides me with pretty damn good sleep while I'm out and about.

Cesar's Guide to the Värmland Connection Route: Röjden to Ransby

 

Introduction

This section is a continuation of my alternate Swedish E1 trail called The Troll Trail/Trolleden.  Click here for more information on this trail system.  The southern end of this section is at the south tip of the huge lake Röjden, which is a nice place to swim and has a few trail shelters.  The northern end of this section is the village of Ransby, which has a bus stop, a few resupply options, and a hotel.  Note that bus service here is limited, as this is fairly isolated/low population area.  One small supermarket is in the ski lodge area of Ransby on the west side of the river (up on the mountain), and the other more normal supermarket is 8km northwest of Ransby on the highway.  Ransby is also the southern terminus of the next trail that hikers can continue to follow northbound, Nordvärmlandsleden.

Mountain Laurel Designs Duomid Pyramid Shelter: Cesar's First Impressions Review

 

The usual disclaimer: I bought this shelter with my own money and I am not sponsored by MLD or any gear company.

 

 

This is one of my favorite UL shelters that I have slept in to date, and a welcome addition to my go-to shelters.  As I have been exploring more and more of Scandinavia, I've been going into the mountains all the more.  And after trying a few different options together with my wife, we fine tuned our couple's kit, but my solo mountain trip kit was lacking.  I considered just taking my Nemo Hornet 2 to use as my solo palace.  But after using it in some rainy mountain conditions and having a bit of leaks inside the tent, and having to do a few minor repairs to it, I wanted something with better coverage and that was all around more robust.  

 

After much research on various pyramid shelter options, I settled on MLD, which is a company that happens to have made some of my all time favorite gear, such as my Burn pack. So here's my current list of go-to shelters:

Cesar's Guide to Hiking Värmland: Charlottenberg to Röjden

Introduction

This section is a continuation of my alternate Swedish E1 trail called The Troll Trail/Trolleden.  Click here for more information on this trail system.  The southern end of this section is the town of Charlottenberg, which has a train station, public library, hotels/hostels/B&Bs, and resupply options.  At the northern end of this section is the big lake Röjden, which has campsites with trail shelters on both the north and south shores of the lake, and about 4km down the highway to the east in the hamlet of Röjdåfors there is a bus stop.  Note that this bus stop does not have service on the weekends, and that you may have to call to book a bus at certain times.  But if you manage to catch a bus way out there, you can take it southeast to the village of Östmark or the small town of Torsby further on to resupply, get a hotel/hostel/B&B, or a train/bus elsewhere.

Cesar's Guide to Hiking Värmland: Älgå to Charlottenberg

Introduction

This section is a continuation of my alternate Swedish E1 trail called The Troll Trail/Trolleden.  Click here for more information on this trail system.  The southern end of this section at the village of Älgå connects Glaskogen Nature reserve to Pilgrimsleden Värmland.  Pilgrimsleden can then connect to another trail called Kyrkleden past the village of Koppom, which in turn then connects to the border town of Charlottenberg.  

Here is the official site of Pilgrimsleden, which is maintained by the Swedish Church.  It has some PDF maps and info, but only in Swedish.

Kyrkleden doesn't really have an official site, just some bare bones info on the local county website.  Best if you just have a good map of the area.

There are a few different ways one can choose to hike this route, but in total it's about 75-80km long from Älgå church to the train station in Charlottenberg.  After exiting Glaskogen, you can also choose to take a bus from Älgå to Arvika to resupply and check out the city--it's a cozy place with cafes and shops and such.  Then from Arvika you can take a bus back to Pilgrimsleden in the village of Sulvik, and the only thing you'd miss would be a 5km asphalt walk from Älgå to Sulvik.

Common Pro vs Con Gear Debates in Ultralight Backpacking

Foreword

I first wrote this text as a brainstorm over on the Ultralight subreddit, hoping that it would be added to the information side bar or wiki section. But it didn't seem to pick up enough steam and it would have given the moderators there extra work when they are busy enough as it is. So I figured that since I put some work into it anyhow, why not post it here on my blog. Not everyone is on Reddit and some of my followers might find this useful, or better yet maybe someone new to UL that is Googling info on UL pros and cons might stumble upon this and find it helpful.

I will include some improvements and more solid info from some of the feedback I got from the UL forum. So thanks to anyone that gave constructive criticism that might be reading this! Unfortunately, I also got trolled by one rather mean spirited member of that forum, and won't be getting into all the absurd semantics that were thrown my way that were neither constructive nor helpful for someone trying to understand the basics of these UL issues. 

What was lost on this troll is that this pro vs con list and discussion was/is intended for general points (as most pro vs con lists are), and should be helpful for those who are not as familiar with these UL debates. This was never intended to be an exhaustive meditation on each and every aspect of these issues and points. Yes, there is quite a bit of nuance for veterans to jump down the rabbit hole and get into. And yes things like UV radiation and its effect on fabric can be quite complicated. But that is a story for another time, not for an easy to read introduction to common UL pros vs cons when it comes to certain common gear choices.

Which brings me to my next point: this list is also for UL gear intended for use by UL or more lightweight backpackers. For example, there is no need to bring up say 70D fabric for a tarp when it comes to UL backpacking. The grand majority of UL backpackers and UL cottage gear manufactures stick to 7D to 40D when it comes to tarps and tent rain flies. That's not my opinion, that's just a fact that anyone can confirm by checking out the current state of affairs of UL tarps. Nor do I think bringing up heavier and more robust stoves meant for deep winter/cold backpacking is very useful here--one should start with 3 season before moving on to more advanced conditions, like say alpine trekking in Alaska in the winter.

Thus the point of this text is to cover some main points that are the most relevant and useful for someone that has little to no knowledge of UL backpacking. While it can be interesting for UL veterans to read as well, and maybe a few vets could learn a thing or two as well, again, this is mostly for noobs. So with all that being said, below is the final version of the text that was originally posted on Reddit. I will go through and edit it to make some improvements and such, and may do more updates on it in the future. Feel free to email me with constructive feedback and if I have time I'll be happy to get back to you.

Best Gear of the Decade and Long Term Reflections on Ultralight Backpacking

*First let me get the same old disclaimer I've been giving over and over again this past decade out of the way: I am not sponsored.  Never have been.  I get no free gear, and never have.  There are no ads on this blog, i.e. this blog is not monetized.  I am not a Youtube partner, i.e. no ads on my channel and I make/made literally no money off of it. 

Introduction and Reflections

The beginning of the 2010's saw me discover and then quickly transition into ultralight backpacking.  It was a pretty fast transition because I saw and felt the benefits of UL for myself in practice right away, and I was soon a die-hard UL convert.  The problem was that at the same time I went back to university and was a struggling student again, so I didn't have much spare cash to put into my rediscovered hobby.  But that didn't stop me, of course.  I had been backpacking well before that, and had used a lot of old army gear and traditional and heavy K-Mart camping gear--both of which are pretty cheap.  I was determined to go UL.

By 2011 I designed and had my wife help me make my first key piece of UL gear, a MYOG backpack that only weighed 445g/15.7oz.  And while of course it had its shortcomings and was pretty minimalist or even a bit crude, it actually worked--and I put it to good use as well.  And it only cost around 10 bucks.  That same year, and for a few years to come, I rocked a cheap but decent MYOG tarp, and my instructions on how to make this tarp still remain one of the most popular posts on my blog.  And I was happy with my makeshift but fully functional UL gear, and went on plenty of great overnighters and section hikes.

2020 Updates and My Updated, Current Gear Lists

Introduction and General Updates

Another winter is just around the corner, and a new year soon after.  So I thought I'd give some quick updates as well as show off my new and improved gear lists.  These gear lists I don't see changing very much for the next few years at least, and that's how my gear lists have been for the past few years, with a few exceptions.  Overall I am very happy and confident in my dialed in kits, and hope to continue to get good use out of them.  

I still go out backpacking about as much as I have been doing the past half decade or so, which is not as much as I would like.  But this is changing, as most of the reason I had to cut back on my time spent on trail has been due to being a proud father of two.  Well the kids are growing up and slowly but surely I'm getting more free time back, so more solo trips are in the works for the future.  But of course my family and I all love nature, so we also spend a fair amount of time out there together, doing car camping, day hikes, and shorter backpacking trips.  All in all, I can't complain much.

But because I've had less free time due to family and work obligations, combined with the fact that my gear hasn't seen as many changes or experimentation due to being pretty contented with my kits, this has resulted in much less content here on my lil' old blog.  But there will still be trail guides and trip reports to come, and the occasional gear ramblings, some of which I will get to shortly.  

I will continue to slowly but surely chip away at The Troll Trail, which was/is a big project to undertake.  I am looking at this project as a long term commitment.  After I finish hiking and documenting the whole thing, the next step will be to spread the word and raise awareness.  This will probably take another half a decade at least, and perhaps more.

Cesar's Guide to Glaskogen Nature Reserve

Introduction

Glaskogen is a large (240 square km) nature reserve in Sweden's Värmland county.  The reserve has a variety of marked and unmarked hiking trails throughout its wilderness, as well as many backwoods dirt and/or gravel roads, lumber roads, and some normal roads as well.  The reserve is also a popular destination for canoeing/kayaking and car camping due to its many lakes/ponds and rivers/streams.  There are a variety of ways hikers can choose to get to Glaskogen, and the best way to think of hiking this nature reserve is to treat it as a "choose your own adventure" type experience due to its many options.

Our Ultralight and Deluxe Cook Kit for Two

My wife and I are getting ready for another section hike, putting the finishing touches on our gear and food.  One kit we've been quite happy with over the years has been our cooking set-up, and we recently added a small but amazing upgrade to it: the option to drink fresh-brewed, real coffee!  So I'll break down all the items in the kit and offer some brief commentary as well.