I read recently that November is the most horrible month in Sweden. It gets darker and colder. December is better because there is snow and it is white. Plus, people have acclimatized to the darkness in November. So, many people do not like November. This is my third November in Sweden and I did not find it a problem in the first two Novembers. So, I read that one of the methods to beat the dark and cold November is to be out as often as possible, in the nature or in restaurants. Just do not stay at home and mope. I started my November right by camping on the first weekend!
We went to Utö which is one of the islands on the archipelago. This island is huge and has all the facilities for tourists - a hotel, an inn, many cottages, and a hiking trail that is well taken care of. We took the commuter train to Västerhaninge station and took the bus to Årsta brygga, and finally the ferry to Utö. We reached the jetty at 10.13am and arrived on the island at 10.55am. All the transportation is covered under the SL train card. You can guess that it was really cold. It was 3 degrees that weekend.
This shed that is by the jetty has two toilets, water and seats but no heater.
There is even an ICA on the island that has the license to sell liquor. The store is a recognised representative of Systemsbolaget (the authorised liquor seller in Sweden).
It was a short walk from the jetty to the camping place. There is an area that is designated for camping but one has to pay a fee for it. So, we camped slightly further up. It takes about 20 minutes to walk to the jetty from our camping spot.
The designated camping spot has toilets but it comes with a code, so they are reserved for paid camping guests.
Once we set up the tents, we started our hike. We hiked south of the island which was a distance of 12km. This island has a well-marked trail and the surroundings are beautiful. This place is worth coming during the summer. I enjoyed the path in the forest but not on the rocks because they were slippery as it had drizzled. I could not catch up with the group but as it was a well-marked trail, it was okay for me. Occasionally, they would wait for the whole group.
No sun today. It was really cold when we stopped for lunch. Also, not forgetting the fact that it was windy. I had four layers of top (a thermal wear, a dry fit t-shirt, a ski sweater and my hard shell jacket), and two layers of pants (a thick pair of leggings and my hiking pants). I had also on me a neck warmer (it is thicker than my usual buff). Don't forget too that I have my thickest pair of gloves!
There were lots of mushrooms on the island. They were in abundance!
We saw a moose on the way back to our tents.
The island has a few mining areas.
After our walk, the organiser build a fire and we huddled around the fire till it was 9pm. It was nice, although it drizzled during the night.
Dried food for dinner. Just boil water and pour into the dried food. The meal is ready after 8 minutes.
The next morning (Sunday), we huddled around the fire again, had our breakfast and started our hike towards the north of the island. It was about 11km in distance.
A little bit of sun peeked through the clouds.
We took the 12.45pm ferry back and I was back in the warmth of the house by 3pm. What a lovely weekend!
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