On Sunday we went to Hällingsåfallet – a majestic gorge in northern Jämtland.
Once we were just outside Östersund, the satnav said “follow the road for 137 km.
It was a straight stretch through the forest 🫣
But then this one road turned out to be so beautiful and varied.
We arrived at Hällingsåfallet at around 4pm. It was only a few minutes from the parking lot to the waterfall and we finally had really nice weather. So we had a breathtaking view of the waterfall.
The river Lilla Hällingsån plunges 43 meters down the mountain face to form the mighty Hällingsåfallet.
It then swirls through an 800 meter long and 15-16 meter wide canyon before flowing into Lake Hetögeln.
We decided to stay one night at the Hällingsåfallet parking lot. It was a real shame that the weather didn’t play ball. It would have been a great place for hiking. But that evening and the next day the rain came again. When the forest is muddy and some paths are slippery, it’s no fun to hike there, even though there are plenty of opportunities to do so.
So the next morning we drove on to Korallgrottan near Stora Blåsjön in the northernmost part of Jämtland.
The 4km walk to the grottan med vattenfall was very unusual but beautiful.
Most of the way was along the narrow wooden planks. Sometimes it was adventurous to keep your balance, because taking a step next to the wood was not a good idea as everything was very swampy.
The Coral Cave was discovered in 1985. Speleologists have repeatedly discovered new passages and surveyed the cave. In 1999, they discovered that the Coral Cave, with its 5 km length, is the longest cave in the whole of Sweden.
It is hard to imagine that you can crawl through the narrow gap and that there are caves and passages inside in which you can walk upright.
In any case, it was enough for us to see the cave with its waterfall from the outside.
What a wonderful area. And this silence!
Again and again we were accompanied by moose droppings, but none of them wanted to show themselves to us.
The further north we got, the more we noticed these snowmobile signs and the red crosses. These are signposts for the winter season so that people know exactly where the snowmobile routes are. This also explains why there are suddenly stop signs in some places in the middle of the forest without any paths or trails visible.
Stekenjokk is a huge nature reserve in the northern region of Sweden, close to the border with Norway.
One of Sweden’s highest roads runs through here. The highest point is only 876 meters above sea level. However, this route is completely closed from October 15 to June 6 due to heavy snowfall.
The 20 km long route that leads over the Stekenjokk plateau is also known as Vildmarksvägen.
As we entered this region, the vegetation changed remarkably quickly. It got colder and very foggy in places, and eventually we were driving above the tree line. There was still snow. The high mountain grasslands and rugged rivers are breathtakingly beautiful. One of the many “wow” effects in Sweden.
In summer, the area is also grazing land for reindeer and a bird sanctuary. There are countless species of life here, such as the golden eagle, meadow pipit, Mornell’s plover and other rare bird species, as well as moose, the largest population of reindeer, wolves, brown bears and, thanks to the subarctic conditions, the snowy owl and Arctic fox.
Until 1989, this area was home to the largest copper mine in Sweden. This is also the reason why Vildmarksvägen exists at all.
Since 2013, Stekenjokk has held the Swedish record for the highest continuous wind speed at 170 km/h. It also has a subarctic climate, which is too cold for trees to grow.
On the Stekenjokk plateau, motorhomes are allowed to stand there for 24 hours. So we spent a night in the somehow surreal landscape.
We have now arrived in Lapland and have found a nice spot for the night, somewhere in the middle of nowhere, with a beautiful sunset.
The next morning we decided to take the main road, the E45, as we wanted to make good progress. We wanted to reach the husky farm in Dragnäs the day after tomorrow and stay there for a few days. We had already been told by Jenny, the owner, that they still had a place for us.
But after the first bend, we were only able to drive at 25 km/h for several kilometers due to roadworks. This naturally cost us some extra time.
Again and again, large construction site trucks came towards us or overtook us. They probably didn’t care about the bumps and potholes.
Nevertheless, we made a stop in Vilhelmina to buy some food, as the next shopping opportunity at the husky farm is almost 100 km away.
Here we found surströmming, the stinky and foul-smelling “sour herring”, for the first time.
We preferred to keep our hands off it.
Auch für die sehenswerte Kirchstadt von Vilhelmina nahmen wir uns noch Zeit.
Vilhelmina ist fast 9.000 km². 1995 zählte die Gemeinde 3572 Einwohner. Wobei wie überall in Schweden die Bevölkerungsdichte sich eher reduziert.
The church town (Kyrkstad) with around 20 log cabins from the 18th century is probably the most beautiful area in the town of Vilhelmina. The huts are grouped around the church and were once used as overnight accommodation for visitors to church festivals or markets who had come from far away. There used to be 75 of them, but in 1921 a devastating fire destroyed large parts of the town and almost the entire church town. The remaining huts began to fall into disrepair and were later bought and renovated by the town of Vilhelmina. Today, the cozy dwellings can be rented as vacation apartments.
Once again found a great place to sleep for the night.
When we arrived at Huskyfarm Lappland Adventures the next afternoon, we were warmly welcomed by Basti. He explained to us where everything was and where we could find a spot.
Then we had a barbecue because we were hungry😂
Later, we were allowed to feed the dogs with Basti.
Mailo and Alea enjoyed being stroked.
We got to know every single dog by name and they all have their own personal story. They all come from difficult backgrounds or were/are ill. Goofy has even been blind since birth because he has no eyes. Here at the Lapland Adventure Farm, with Basti and Jenny, they have it really good. The two of them look after them lovingly, have nursed most of them back to health and some are trusting and well-behaved again. Others still have a long way to go. But here they get everything they need. It was also interesting for us to see how these dogs communicate. Because huskies rarely or never bark. They howl. Almost like wolves.
You can imagine the howling of one or two dogs. But can you imagine what it’s like when 23 of them communicate with each other at once? We’ve never heard that before and it’s wonderful! But it’s also great when everyone is suddenly quiet again. Especially at night 😂😂
Of course, we also want to go for a ride in a horse-drawn carriage. But the weather can’t be too warm and we have to start quite early.
Basti said Saturday would be a good morning for it. So the next day we set off along the Moose circular hiking trail. The trail got its name because it’s the best place to spot moose. And indeed, we were accompanied by reindeer and moose droppings and countless footprints. Unfortunately, none of the animals showed themselves to us. Nevertheless, it was a really nice hiking trail.
Through the middle of the forest and along paths…
… along the dam wall of the hydroelectric power station. The wall itself, which consists only of stones, was interesting. So far we have only seen concrete dams…
Alex later enjoyed feeding the dogs again. I, on the other hand, gave them cuddles after they had eaten.
Tomorrow we are going on a dog team ride and Alex has already helped us to get the driving equipment into position.
Basti explained to us how it works and which dogs are allowed to join us. This saved us some time in the morning, because the heat, which is not great for the dogs, means we meet at half past six.
We are always surprised that almost all the people we spoke to said that it had been warm enough for them in the last few days and that it didn’t need to be any warmer. They enjoy the days in summer clothes, whereas Alex and I usually wear a jacket and may only be in a T-shirt for short periods. That is very interesting to observe. Most of them also tell us that it is winter, which is why they live here. Basti also told us that the darkness (most pronounced here in the north) is only extreme for a short time in winter. It is light from around 9 am to 1 pm/ 2 pm. The rest of the winter it is light for a few hours longer. He also told us about the amount of snow and how his life changes here in winter compared to summer.
The ride with the dogs was great. Alex was allowed to drive himself and had 4 dogs harnessed to him. I sat in the front of the car with Basti and we had 6 dogs.
When we got to the kennels, they already knew what was coming. They jumped, barked, howled and were really excited to be pulling the carriages. As they were so happy and wanted to run straight away, putting on the harness was a bit difficult. Alex helped diligently while I preferred to concentrate on taking photos and stroking them.
Then Alex got another briefing from Jenny while the first dogs waited impatiently for the start.
As laymen, we thought the dogs would be harnessed and off we went. But that was a misconception.
During the trip, Basti told me which dogs harmonize when running, which are suitable as lead animals and what kind of work it is to turn the dogs into good draft animals. Especially the dogs here, as they all had a bad past. Why he also likes to take the blind Goofy with him, why some of them are not suitable for driving, especially in the summer months, and much more. He commented on the running style of the individual dogs and explained to me why it works, that they always stay on track and much more. It was really very interesting!
After a while, we took a drink break before heading back.
When the ride was over, Basti gave each dog a pat and kind words for a job well done. That was also very interesting to watch. They were also checked to see if they were doing really well after the trip. It’s really great how lovingly the two of them look after every single four-legged friend here on the farm.
Alex helped to put the harnesses back on and tidy up the harnesses. A great experience, but certainly twice as much fun in winter.
Now we’re going to stay here in this beautiful place for a few more days to process what we’ve experienced so far and get some rest. You may not be able to imagine it, but driving for miles every day (even if we take turns), looking for places to spend the night, making sure we don’t run out of food, fresh water and fuel (as there are not always opportunities to shop, refuel and fill up with fresh water here) and the excursions worth seeing, all of this can actually be really exhausting. So we need a short break from driving every now and then, which we prefer to do on private farms. The great contacts, the different people who can tell us so much about Sweden and their region, their lives and their personal stories, are all part of the many priceless experiences for us.
By the way, we also saw a reindeer family this week. They were standing in the middle of the road, but everything happened far too quickly to take a photo 😂
And here on the farm, Basti asked if we could hear the ringing. It sounded like the bells of the cows on the mountain pastures.
He explained to us that some reindeer wear bells around their necks. But by the time we set off, we could only find fresh droppings and footprints.