Sarek 1987

I was in Sarek with 3 friends in 1987. Two of the friends had experience from travels in, among other things, Nepal. The third and myself had no experience of longer hikes let alone mountain hiking. The trip was also a mixed success. We didn’t get nearly as far into Sarek as we had imagined.

We had trained far too little, as in almost none. In addition, we brought too little food. We ate oatmeal in the morning with nuts and honey. We didn’t eat lunch but kept it running with “prizes”. That is, fruit bars of different kinds. In the evening we ate one freeze-dried dish. It was simply too few calories and after a week it could be felt on performance and psyche. We had also opted out of delicacies such as coffee, cocoa and chocolate. Pampering is important for morale and it was a clear mistake that the “tastiest” things we brought were fruit sticks and honey.

After 7 days in the mountains, we chose to return to civilization, which was a bit unresolvable compared to experiencing Sarek for real.

However, Sarek made an unforgettable impression on me. I got to experience the fantastic nature in Sarek. I still think of Sarek as the cleanest and most pristine place I’ve ever been, which stuck with me. At that time I made a promise to myself that I would return to Sarek later in my life. I am trying to realize that now, 36 years later.