Planning your holiday? Look no further than a wilderness experience in Sweden
Colin and Alison Smith loved Sweden so much that they moved out there. They bought a campsite on the banks of the Klaralven river and set up an outfitting business hiring out canoes and kit and providing a shuttle service for the many wilderness trips on their doorstep. Last Year they invited myself and my husband Mark to sample what they have to offer out there. |
Last September, Mark and I flew to Torpe near Oslo with Ryan Air, caught a train to Oslo and were then picked up by Colin for a 3 hour drive to his home, a charming traditional Swedish house on the banks of the Klaralven River . Alison his wife had prepared a hot meal and had already packed everything ready for the trip for the following morning, so we could relax with a few glasses of wine the night before (the easiest preparation of any wilderness trip that I have ever done!!) The plan was to do a 3 day wilderness trip on the Svartalven river followed by a day’s paddling on their local Klaralven River.
The next morning the four of us loaded the car with the barrels and the dry bags and strapped two composite Gatz Prospector canoes on to the trailer. En route to the drop off point Colin and Alison took us to their campsite which they had just closed for the winter. An excellent site on the banks of the Klaralven. Visitors can either just stay and enjoy the tranquillity of the site or be a bit more adventurous and employ the equipment and shuttle services of Colin and Alison and go on a single or multiday canoe trip. As well as pitches for your tents the campsite also has stugas on site. These are little wooden huts with their own balcony and basic amenities such as a fridge, beds and table and chairs - an alternative for those visitors wanting something a little bit more substantial than canvas as their shelter.
We left the campsite and headed on to pick up their friend Fred who drove us to the get on point an hour and a half away at Tyfors.
We finally set off on the tranquil waters of the Svatalven at about noon. The river was wide at this point and there was an immediate sense of remoteness even though in reality a road was not far away. The dense forests on the bank were wild and impenetrable and there were lots of evidence of beaver activity. We had never paddled the Gatz Prospector before and we were soon impressed by how smoothly it cut through the water fully loaded
After lunch we had 2 portages to navigate. The first was short and straightforward. The second was a little longer and the canoe trolleys were indispensable to pull the canoes along the road for approx half a mile. We got back on the water under a dam at a very picturesque point in the river where it had narrowed down quite considerably.
Eventually the river widened out again and we reached our first stop over, a designated camping spot ideal for people on multi day trips complete with fire, pit and wooden shelter. The banks are dotted with camping spots like these, some with a drop toilet to try and help reduce pressure on the local environment. Mark and I set up camp overlooking the river and then we went searching for fire wood. We dragged back the wood we had collected passing a bright orange mushroom the size of a dinner plate on the forest floor. Mark then set about chopping the firewood while Colin went for a solitary paddle in the fading light on the hunt for beaver activity. As the darkness came so did the stars and the stillness and peacefulness of the riverside were framed by the twinkling overhead. We enjoyed a hearty meal of venison, bacon and pasta round the campfire, feasted our eyes on the stars once more and then went to bed.
The next day the river became much narrower and twisting which enhanced the sense of remote wilderness. It was a clear sunny day and the mirror image of the trees lining the banks seemed to plunge down towards the river bed, a reflection only spoilt by the eventual rippling as we cut through the water.
The river eventually opened up and we came to a point where Alison and Colin would normally veer right to complete a circular route their customers used quite regularly. However we paddled on past this point – so it was new ground to us all!!
The second campsite was bigger than the first with 2 fireplaces which we took advantage of. We sat around one of the fires and cooked on the other – and boy did we cook a lot!! Mark and Colin made pizza garlic bread which was then followed by meat balls and potatoes – we had planned on a third course of barbecued bananas stuffed with chocolate but our stomachs could take no more so we retreated to our sleeping bags defeated.
The final morning the river opened up into a lake as we progressed to a more built up area with lodges dotting the river bank. We portaged a dam in the town and got back in the river at a much narrower and faster flowing point. The nature of the river once more became twisty and remote and we stopped for lunch in the sun. Soon after our lunch stop the river became wider once again as we headed towards the town of Hallefors. We knew our journey would soon be over as the river hinted at the built up area to come with mills and houses increasingly scattering the banks and the horizon line. Our wilderness trip would be over within the hour
The next day after a night back in civilisation we headed out to the Klaralven River to paddle from Karabro to Branas while trying out a few more of the Gatz canoes recommended by Alison and Colin, the Orca and the Yaqui – very different canoes and both really good to paddle.
The river was large and very wide with lots of water with a good flow for much of the stretch but nothing more than grade one. The scenery was stunning made ever more poignant by the sighting of an elk and its baby on the banks of the river as we paddled on by.
This image is a fitting memoir for our time in Sweden as it epitomises its proximity to nature and we would highly recommend not only the country but also Colin and Alison’s set up there. They are trying to make this experience accessible to all. The trips that they organise are well thought out – they are remote yet safe with easy access if needed. They also approach the trips in a highly flexible manner and are happy to shorten or extend the trips with very little notice according to the needs of their customers
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