Hill walking: the pastime of walking in the hills, without the specific goal of climbing mountains or walking long distances.
On this page I am simply collected memories and annotations, digitised from my chaotic analogue and digital notes.
Despite always having been interested in nature, it took a while until I became a hiker, a hill walker: it started most seriously during a visit to the Faroe Islands and then Scotland, walking the Cape Wrath Trail rather unprepared. Moving to Sweden in autumn 2016 got me even more interested in the outdoors. Suddenly my weekends were more often spent in the forests and fjälls (“fells”) of Sweden. At times I had to hurry back from a trail to take part in a social event, or I simply just skipped for the sake of being outdoors – a reverse FOMO, I suddenly had a fear of missing out on hiking adventures. Throughout the years I also started with more kayaking and added skiing to my repertoire, extending my rambles from the short Scandinavian summer over the whole year. Looking back I went through a maturing process: from the first cautious, yet overconfident, hikes along marked trails to bushwhacking through djungles of creeping willow and swampy valleys in unknown mountain areas. With time, I have also developed my gear, balancing the need for lighter items with a desire for some comfort, and improved my routines for planning and execution of my travels.