Outdoor Adventures with Ancient Brit
Canoe articles - Sweden 2003 - June 25th
Wednesday 25th June
It was wet overnight, but clearing in the morning. I started with the portage of the
Tannefors Locks and then a further lock, which was more difficult because the landing
jetty was about 4ft above the water. The next lock had only got a rise of about 1ft and I
managed to avoid the portage by paddling up the bypass channel under a bridge against a
strong current. I was still in the outskirts of Linköping, but much of the time I was
passing through park or woodland. I took a break and had a swim at a badplats just
outside the city. I was caught by a torrential downpour as I approached Sturefors Lock.
There is nowhere to shelter in a canoe and it didn’t take long to get rather wet. I keep
my best waterproofs for use in the mountains, as I prefer canoeing in lighter more
flexible waterproofs, and the waterproofs I was wearing were too worn to cope with these
conditions. I portaged the Lock in the downpour and took a break at Sturefors Badplats
to dry out. It was crowded when I arrived, but by the time everything was dry everyone
had left and I had a swim.
I had to portage a 6-tier set of locks before carrying on to (Lake) Stora Rangen
where I camped in the woods by the shore at 8pm. It had been a long day with 6 hours of
paddling and 6 portages. There were good views of the setting sun over Stora Rangen.
It was wet overnight, but clearing in the morning. I started with the portage of the
Tannefors Locks and then a further lock, which was more difficult because the landing
jetty was about 4ft above the water. The next lock had only got a rise of about 1ft and I
managed to avoid the portage by paddling up the bypass channel under a bridge against a
strong current. I was still in the outskirts of Linköping, but much of the time I was
passing through park or woodland. I took a break and had a swim at a badplats just
outside the city. I was caught by a torrential downpour as I approached Sturefors Lock.
There is nowhere to shelter in a canoe and it didn’t take long to get rather wet. I keep
my best waterproofs for use in the mountains, as I prefer canoeing in lighter more
flexible waterproofs, and the waterproofs I was wearing were too worn to cope with these
conditions. I portaged the Lock in the downpour and took a break at Sturefors Badplats
to dry out. It was crowded when I arrived, but by the time everything was dry everyone
had left and I had a swim.
I had to portage a 6-tier set of locks before carrying on to (Lake) Stora Rangen
where I camped in the woods by the shore at 8pm. It had been a long day with 6 hours of
paddling and 6 portages. There were good views of the setting sun over Stora Rangen.
 |  |
Sunset over
Stora Rangen
Stora Rangen