Skåneleden Information

I will update this page as I become aware of changes or sources of information which may be useful to those intending to wander the trails of the Skåneleden.

Kyst to Kyst Shelters a photographic Essay.

The latest news (in swedish) about the trails can be found at Ledstatus click on Ledstatus and a table will open up. For those whose Swedish is not very good (like me) try Google Translate, it will at least give you a sense of the advice provided.

Travelling in Skåne, visit the Skånetrafiken web site (there is an English section) using the Timetables link will allow you to access the travel planner and determine how to get to, or from a trail head

Food and resupplying, ICA supermarkets are in most towns and have an excellent range of products.

Fuel for stoves, wood stoves would be the ideal stove in Skåne however, bottled Gas is readily available in hardware stores whilst fuel for Alcohol stoves is sold as: tenol / rödsprit / T-röd in Sweden and is normally available at ICA.

Swedish online maps and aerial photos

Changes

I am sure that many of you have been interested in my planned trip to Lapland, well the trip is no longer on the agenda. Why, you ask? Putting it simply we have been looking for a home which provides us with an outdoor experience whilst also meeting our needs as parents, working professionals and lovers of the outdoors. And yep you guessed it, we found a place and the transfer of ownership was to occur whilst I was out of contact in Lapland, so Lapland ceased to be an option for this summer.

However, I do have a window of opportunity, and as a consequence after much looking at maps (in between looking at legal contracts) Jotunheimen in Norway seems to be an option. But more about that later.

Kust to Kustleden: Shelter reflection

Shelters I used on the trip along the Coast to Coast in Sweden are; the Golite Shangri La 3, Terra Nova Laser Competition, Integral Designs Crysallis Bivy and the Backpackinglight (USA) Vapor Bivy. The Vapour bivy and the Crysallis Bivy were used in shelters whilst the other two were pitched near shelters.
My preference? The answer is it depends. If I know I am using shelters all the time I would take the BPL Vapor as it is light (285 gms) , will keep the bugs away and protect against moisture and wind. The Crysallis is an ideal bivy for those who want to sleep in the outdoors without a tarp, as it is a very roomy bivy with lots of space to store gear. Camping then it would be the Laser Competition, which weighs a little more the the Shangri La 3 but provides better all round weather protection. A further advantage of the Competition is that it takes up less ground space than the Shangri La 3.

Kust to Kustleden Completed: Footwear reflection

Yesterday I finished the final section of the Kust to Kustleden, the section from Båstad to Båstad, a circular route taking in Knösen, Torekov and Gryteskär (a report will follow).

I started on this journey on November 6, 2008 and after 6 sections spread over 8 months I have completed the 300 km walk. The walk started in late autumn with some colour in the trees, finishing with the bright green foliage and landscapes of early summer. I hiked through knee deep snow, experienced 25 C heat as well as cool days where temperatures did not get above 0 C.

It is interesting to reflect on the gear I started with and finished with, the changes made along the way and the reasons for these changes. The first of these reflections is footwear.

Approximately 2 years ago I developed Plantar fasciitis in part caused by my belief that I could walk long distances in short times without taking precautionary measures such as stretching. This took a while to recover from but with exercising, appropriate footwear I gradually recovered. For this reason I started off the first trip on the Kust to Kustleden with New Balance 760's I did two trips with these and was happy with the comfort and support (especially the arch support) over time though I began to feel that they were not quite right for my needs, so I moved on to Salomon 3D Ultras which I have been very happy with, so much so I wear them to work as well as hiking. However, for the last trip I wore a pair of Salmon Fastpacker, my reason being was related to my upcoming trip to Lapland and a concern that a slightly thicker sole may be more appropriate whilst retaining the 3D Ultras design features.

One of the realities of the Kust to Kustleden is that there is a reasonable amount of road walking which can be hard on the feet, but the Fastpackers are as comfortable on roads as they were scrambling around the cliffs of Knösen and walking along the sandy beaches of Bjärehalvön Peninsula. They are Goretex lined, which is not my preferred style of boot but combined with my Injinji liner socks and Darn Tough socks there was no feeling of hot feet. The tread design on the Fastpackers is similar to that of the 3D Ultras, however, the tread is deeper which is an advantage of these boots over the Ultras. All in all a great boot and while I will still use my 3D Ultras for shorter trips the Fastpackers will form part of my long distance off road hiking kit.

Return to Møns Klint

Møns Klint is one of my favourite places in Denmark, and whilst it is a major tourist attraction there are also many places where you can get away from it all. For a couple of days I was able to wander along the cliff tops as well as the forests to experience the variety Møns Klint. As I have said before Møns Klint is about two hours from Copenhagen and is accessible by public transport.

One of my reasons for visiting Møns was to sort out some of my gear issues for my upcoming trip to the Nordkalottleden Trail above the Arctic Circle in Sweden, Norway and Finland which will be the subject of a later post. So I set off from near Camping Møns Klint and headed toward the coastline. There are two options; to descend to the shore line or remain on the cliff tops, the cliffs were my preferred choice. For a while I had the tops to myself but as I approached The Møns Klint Geocentre so the number of walkers increased. But the beauty of the white cliffs remained no matter how many persons were around. As the day progressed and the sun's intensity increased I found a pleasant grassy covered knoll overlooking the Baltic, it was there I sat and watched the ferries head north and south as well as dozing off to sleep, yes it was a very relaxing stop. Having spent an hour or so there I decided that it was time to find a spot to stay for the night, there are a number of primitive campsites available on Møns none of which provide a view. However, I found a spot that enabled me to set up my bivy and tarp (the wind was ferocious by morning) and relax for the evening.


The return trip the following morning took me past the Geocentre then along forestry trails where a number of deer were surprised to see me. The culmination of the walk was the climb to Aborrebingbjerg which provide panoramic views to the north, west and east including Stevens Klint.

All in all a great trip in an area which I will revisit.

Almost There

Well almost almost.

I think i have pretty much worked out the route I will take in Lapland and the gear.

Firstly the route Hendrik suggested the Nordkalottleden Trail well it was one of those "yep it feels right" suggestions so very quickly organising myself to walk from Kilpisjärvi to Abisko in a bit less than 2 weeks, interestingly this section of the trail starts in Finland, but passes through both Sweden and Norway, having also crossed through the point where the three countries meet. As I am going at the beginning of July I am already planning for mosquitos along with not much darkness and probably damp weather as well. So this leads me to the gear.

The gear list is not finalised completely but definites are

McHale pack
Hilleberg Soulo tent, heavy but I will not need to worry about strong wind, rain etc.
Paramo Third Element, its flexibility will be ideal in Lapland
Tilley Hat, ideal for rain and sun


I have spent a lit of time trying to decide which stove to take, I have many choices and essentially they revolve around the use of wood, alcohol, Esbit of gas. The other complication is I have to fly to and from Tromsø so most fuels cannot be carried on a plane. I have decided to take my TiTri Caldera for my Evernew 900 pot. I am intending to use this with alcohol (Rød Sprit in Norway) along with the possibility of using wood.

Pacer Poles Camera Mount

I have been a long term user of Pacer Poles, I have the original Aluminium poles. When ever out hiking I like to take camera which is either a Dslr, Ricoh GX 100 or Pentax W60. Most times I will just hold the camera in my hand when taking a photo but there are times when a steadier hand is required. I do carry the Ultrapod mini but when walking there are times when a quick photo with a monopod, makes sense. Thus when I heard about the Camera Mount for Pacer Poles I quickly ordered one. The mount weighs 18 grams and is easily installed and removed from the pole, and more importantly, it works. On a recent trip in Sweden where the wind was gusting across the fields I was able to take pictures without worrying about the wind causing the camera to move. I strongly recommend these mounts if you are using Pacer Poles as they work as stated and in my view the benefits are well worth the weight.