With Ingrid off for several days of scout camp and Eric working even though it’s weekend, Adrian and I went on a mini-hike of our own. He appreciates camping much more than the actual walking part, so we did much camping and not very much walking at all.

I picked Lake Trehörningen (“Lake Triangle”) in the Paradiset nature reserve. True to its name, Paradiset is a lovely place, and the walking here is very pretty. The Sörmlandsleden trail passes through there and I walked here in January and even passed the same lake, but I didn’t recognize it at all – the forest looked so different now without snow, and I came from the other direction as well.

Initially we were going to sleep in a tent, but as I was packing I realized that my pack would end up quite big and heavy. The lake isn’t far from the parking lot, only about a kilometre and a half, and I wouldn’t have any real trouble carrying it all, but I would enjoy the hike more with a smaller pack… so I skipped the tent and we slept in a shelter instead.

I really like the Swedish hiking shelters. I didn’t photograph the one where we stayed this time, but it was just like the shelter the kids climbed on near Skottvång. The bare fact that they exist is great. They are open to anyone, free of charge, whole and clean and well kept, and usually in a pretty location as well. In nature reserves there’s often a supply of firewood nearby as well.

There are at least three on the shores of Lake Trehörningen. We aimed for the one that I thought was “just far enough” and had the nicest views. When we got there, we found a father with his two sons there, but the shelter was just large enough to fit all five of us. We didn’t exactly become best friends but it was nice to have a bit of company, especially for the kids. The boys showed us where to find tadpoles; the dad offered Adrian “stick bread”. I didn’t offer anyone anything.

I swam in the lake; the lake was small so the surface water was pleasantly warm. The shore was stony and steep so Adrian could only go a few steps in.

Unfortunately I always sleep like crap when I’m hiking or camping. The combination of a hard sleeping surface (even though I have an inflatable mattress), the constriction of the sleeping bag, light, noise, and unfamiliar environment means that I wake up countless times during the night. At some point during the night a large buzzing insect (either a wasp or a bumblebee) found its way into the shelter and circled it several times, inside and out. Later, when it was getting light (so maybe around 3 in the morning) two gulls landed next to the fire pit and started squawking loudly at each other. They kept at it so long that I woke up enough to start considering getting out of the sleeping bag so I could throw pine cones at them, but at that point they finally left.