Outdoor Adventures with Ancient Brit
Canoe articles - Sweden 2003 - July 17/18th
Thursday 17th July
It was clear early with a brisk northerly breeze. It looked as if cloud was building up
early, but fortunately it didn’t develop. I was now on the part of the Svartälven that was
a popular route with canoeists. I had canoed this river before, but in the opposite
direction. I discovered that the canoe-hire firms recommend that their clients start their
tour here if heading north, or finish here if heading south, to avoid the portages on the
river down to Karlkoga. The next few days would consist of small lakes connected by the
Svartälven. In these parts the Svartälven was controlled by small dams so there was a
deep channel, with little flow of water to fight upstream against.
I stopped for a swim at the small beach at Karlsdal. I stopped for a late lunch with
naturist, Kennt Sward, on a small rocky in (Lake) Mälmlangen. He was a local, living at
Skramforsen, and this island was his regular sunbathing spot. This was one of the larger
lakes and there were a fair number of small beaches, most of them only easily accessible
by boat. I passed one with a family swimming as nature intended and went on to a west-
facing beach. I was looking for somewhere to camp and this was ideal, as it would still
have sun in the evening. Despite its isolation, there were quite a few people there when
I arrived, but most were driven away when a storm threatened at 4pm and the
remainder left when there was a sudden downpour at 5pm.
Friday 18th July
It was mainly sunny with some high cloud. I spent the morning washing all my
clothes and doing other chores needed on these long tours. I left after lunch and paddled
up to the north end of the lake, landing for the short portage past the dam and power
station at Västgöthyttefors. Here I met Hans and Svanta, who were having a late
lunch/early tea. I fed well off their leftovers. They were on a 4-day trip down the
Svartälven in Svanta’s old fibreglass canoe, which was much heavier than the
aluminium or plastic canoes used today. This didn’t matter in the water, and could even
be an advantage in wind or waves, but it meant that it was much more difficult to handle
on land and portage. The rocks by the portage point gave us easy diving into the water,
which was much appreciated in the hot, humid conditions.
There was another easy portage at Blankaforsen, launching my canoe into a lovely
little rocky archipelago with small rocky islands in a big bay at the eastern end of (Lake)
Skärgen. On a previous trip there had been a number of naturists sun-bathing here and
they had taken a photograph of me that was used in the publicity leaflet produced by the
CCBN. Now there was thunder around, but I only got the edge of a shower and, by the
time I reached the beach at Godalstorp on Skärgen, the cloud was beginning to disperse.
This beach was only accessible by boat and was deserted.
It was clear early with a brisk northerly breeze. It looked as if cloud was building up
early, but fortunately it didn’t develop. I was now on the part of the Svartälven that was
a popular route with canoeists. I had canoed this river before, but in the opposite
direction. I discovered that the canoe-hire firms recommend that their clients start their
tour here if heading north, or finish here if heading south, to avoid the portages on the
river down to Karlkoga. The next few days would consist of small lakes connected by the
Svartälven. In these parts the Svartälven was controlled by small dams so there was a
deep channel, with little flow of water to fight upstream against.
I stopped for a swim at the small beach at Karlsdal. I stopped for a late lunch with
naturist, Kennt Sward, on a small rocky in (Lake) Mälmlangen. He was a local, living at
Skramforsen, and this island was his regular sunbathing spot. This was one of the larger
lakes and there were a fair number of small beaches, most of them only easily accessible
by boat. I passed one with a family swimming as nature intended and went on to a west-
facing beach. I was looking for somewhere to camp and this was ideal, as it would still
have sun in the evening. Despite its isolation, there were quite a few people there when
I arrived, but most were driven away when a storm threatened at 4pm and the
remainder left when there was a sudden downpour at 5pm.
Friday 18th July
It was mainly sunny with some high cloud. I spent the morning washing all my
clothes and doing other chores needed on these long tours. I left after lunch and paddled
up to the north end of the lake, landing for the short portage past the dam and power
station at Västgöthyttefors. Here I met Hans and Svanta, who were having a late
lunch/early tea. I fed well off their leftovers. They were on a 4-day trip down the
Svartälven in Svanta’s old fibreglass canoe, which was much heavier than the
aluminium or plastic canoes used today. This didn’t matter in the water, and could even
be an advantage in wind or waves, but it meant that it was much more difficult to handle
on land and portage. The rocks by the portage point gave us easy diving into the water,
which was much appreciated in the hot, humid conditions.
There was another easy portage at Blankaforsen, launching my canoe into a lovely
little rocky archipelago with small rocky islands in a big bay at the eastern end of (Lake)
Skärgen. On a previous trip there had been a number of naturists sun-bathing here and
they had taken a photograph of me that was used in the publicity leaflet produced by the
CCBN. Now there was thunder around, but I only got the edge of a shower and, by the
time I reached the beach at Godalstorp on Skärgen, the cloud was beginning to disperse.
This beach was only accessible by boat and was deserted.
Hans and Svanta
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