Day 9 - Midsummer

Gällö to Pilgrimstad

Distance: 13.3 miles / 21.4 km

Cumulative: 117.0 miles / 188.3 km

“I felt it was for this I had come: to wake at dawn on a hillside and look out on a world for which I had no words, to start at the beginning, speechless and without plan, in a place that still had no memories for me.” Laura Lee, As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning 

Today is midsummer, a big holiday in Sweden. For the record, sunset is at 11:11 pm and sunrise is 2:53 am. In between it never really gets dark. Eye masks are key for sleeping. 

One of the midsummer traditions is for young women to pick seven different types of flowers and put them under their pillow. They will then dream of their future lover. Kristine didn’t pick any flowers, but she took pictures of several varieties. I am going to check to make sure she doesn’t sleep on her iPhone. 

It was another good weather day, albeit a little cool. At about 2.5 miles we turned off a dirt road and into a dense forest. About 200 yards in we decided this was the time to break out the bear bells. 

Believe it or not, the trail is well marked and easy to follow. 

The trail twisted and turned, climbed and dropped, for the next three miles. It was hard hiking, but far and away my favorite part of the trail yet. To my mountain biking buddies (Pete, Timish, Ralph, Aana, Jack, Tony, Bruce, and Greg) it looked like the sweetest single track ever. 

Along the wooded path we passed the Hålberg Cave. It’s about 11 meters deep (36 feet) and was inhabited in the 1420s by one Salve Sverkersson. Salve apparently had an issue with Jan Björnsson, so he killed him. He hid out in the cave until he was pardon by Erik of Pomerania, which sounds made up. Our question was, how did he survive the mosquitos?

I decided against exploring the interior. 

We were once again skirting the edge of a beautiful lake. 

In early afternoon we arrived at Pilgramstad. Since they had named the town for us, we stopped in at the local midsummer celebration and had our picture taken with St. Olav. 

Being actual pilgrims we were treated, of course, like huge celebrities. The mayor came and gave us the key to the city, etc. (JK.) We had to convince some local at the celebration to take a break from cake and ice cream to take our picture next to the statue. 

We made it to destination, another cabin beside someone’s house. It is quite cozy, even though it is a cabin for hobbits. 

That is, in fact, the front door. And the bed is up the ladder. 

This is my view as I write this. 

Nicky, our host, is a Belgian refugee from the computer sector. He gave us two Belgian beers. We love Nicky

The abandoned bathtub count is up to five with two more today. 

Happy Midsummer to everyone!