Went out for a walk. Kallhäll to Barkarby, along pieces of Upplandsleden and Mälardalsleden. Around 19 km in total. Familiar paths most of the way, but I’ve never linked them together quite this way. The last time I was here in winter was with Ingrid in 2018.

This was also part of STF’s Signature Trail Stockholm, one of over a dozen walking trails in various parts of Sweden that STF describes as “spectacular, while also being characteristic for the region”.

It was overcast, windy, and snowing lightly. On the one hand: nice, firm, mud-free ground to walk on, and dreamlike views out over Mälaren.

On the other hand, I kept hunching my neck to try and hide from the constant headwind. I suspect I might have a stiff neck tomorrow.

Lunch was leftover cheese and spinach muffins. I thought they might get all cold and hard after hours of freezing weather, but the warm air in the lunch box kept them insulated well enough.

Getting closer to Barkarby, the trail started doing weird things. Instead of going across the large open green area, the orange markings took me along the edge of the field, only to then follow a large, noisy road. A closer look at the map showed that the field was actually a golf club, and during summertime you probably can’t just hike across it. In winter, though, you can! I backtracked and cut across the golf club’s grounds more or less randomly. There was more backtracking on the other side where some sections had fencing around it, but I got out in the end.

Getting back to civilization after a long walk is always a shock. Especially on a quiet day like this, and especially after walking through such silent places. It makes me want to pull into my shell like a turtle, and hide from all this, until I get back home.