Siljan

The Signaturled Siljan is a beautiful 4-day hike in Central Sweden. I saw the amazing weather forecast and booked myself the tickets…

Day 1 Stockholm -> Mora -> Nusnäs -> Orsa

Today was the beginning of my little prolonged weekend-trip to the lake ‘Siljan’. I decided to hike a part (3 of 4 steps) of the ‘Signaturled Siljan’ and spend the rest of my time just walking through the beautiful towns and enjoying the view. It took me only 3,5h to get from Stockholm to Mora with a SJ intercity and the ride went very smooth. Around 14:00, I was already relaxing by Mora strand with some food and a refreshing drink form the local ‘Dalabryggeri’. Mora is commonly known for being the Cross-Country-Town in Sweden, as the popular ‘Vasaloppet’, an annual long-distance race, ends there (it starts in Sälen, distance: 90km). However, it also offers amazing summer activities due to its location right next to the beautiful Siljan.

Next up, I took a bus (line 324, direction: Garsås) to Nusnäs and visited the beautiful ‘Nils Olsson Dalarhästar’ factory which produces original Dalecarlian Horses. I have been dreaming of having one for so long and I’ve finally gotten myself a tiny, 7cm one.

For the last destination of the day, I grabbed two busses (line 324, direction: Mora + line 141, direction: Orsa) and arrived in Orsa around 17:00. I spent the rest of the evening by the private harbour with some meditation and stretching exercises. I booked myself a bed in the local STF Orsa for the first night and had an amazing & relaxing sleep.

Day 2 Orsa -> Fagerberg, 24km (26km), 8h

Day 2 was my first proper hiking day. I planned to do the second etapp of the ‘Signaturled Siljan’ (Orsa to Brunnvasselbodarna) but ended up hiking almost all the way to Tammeråsen, the goal of the third etapp. I started fairly late at around 9:45 and of course walked in the wrong direction just 5km in. After a little detour of 2km, I was back on track and had a smooth hiking experience for the rest of the day. The best thing about hiking in Sweden is the availability of wind shelters, which not only offers you a nice spot for a break, but even a cozy shelter for the night. I took my first break at one of these and my proper lunch break in a little ‘Raststuga’ in Brunnvasselbodarna after around 16km.

The afternoon was ok but felt a lot longer.

The last kilometres were only motivated by some dancehall music in my ears, and I made it to a wind shelter in Fågersberg.

I decided to settle there for the night – only 1km outside of Tammeråsen. I was very happy about today’s progress and made myself some mashed potatoes while watching the sun set behind the forest. I also had a little reading session before sleepy times – I’m currently reading ‘Fanny&Alexander’ by Ingmar Bergman – a Swedish classic.

The night however was rough. I barely slept due to hypothermia and had to move almost the whole night just to keep myself warm. For anyone wondering: I had a quilt with a comfort rating down to -8°C, as well as sleeping pad system with an additive R-value of around 6. The temperature never went below 0°C so I would consider myself a VERY cold sleeper and will definitely bring a different sleeping system for the next trip.

Day 3 Fagerberg -> Rättvik, 19km, 6h / Rättvik -> Stockholm

Thankfully, I was greeted by some sunshine around 5:30 and I happily got up. I quickly made myself some coffee, had a few bites of bread and was then off for the day. Today’s goal was the beautiful town Rättvik and the hike included a distance of around 19km. I was aching quite a bit from yesterday, therefore kept a slower pace, but was still making good progress.

The trail was kind, and I only had a little foodbreak in ‘Trollstugan’ before arriving in Rättvik around 13:00. The weather on that day was just marvelous so I instantly went to the beach area in Rättvik. The beach break felt like a summer vacay - I really appreciated the warmth after many months of darkness and below zero temperatures! I ordered myself a pizza and just spent the rest of day relaxing on the beach.

Since I finished my hike one day earlier, I changed my trip and booked a trainride later this evening. At 19:00 I was already sitting on a SJ Intercity back to Stockholm and dreaming about my next trip.

Siljan, thanks for having me!

My thoughts/tips:

• First things first: An adequate sleeping system is sooooo essential! Go out, test your gear in different temperatures and find out what works best for you! I now know that I’m an extremely cold sleeper that barely produces any body heat, so not even the references for a so called ‘cold sleeper’ work for me.

• It’s nice to have an open end or the possibility to rebook without a lot of extra fees. When I book my train tickets with SJ in Sweden, I always take the option ‘ombokbar’ - rebookable. It’s usually a little bit of extra cost but really pays off when you do have to change your journey. Especially with hiking trips, they tend to be quite unpredictable.

• I recorded myself for the first time. It feels nice to have snippets of my real-time thoughts and plans of the day.

Until next time!
Love, Karin