Last weekend i August there is one of Sweden's oldest kayak meet at Stocken Camping on the island Orust in the west coast of Sweden. It used to be a very big gathering of kayakers but has seen it's heydays. But the Stocken Camping and "Tjörns Kajakklubb" has now tried to get this meet to be one of the better ones in Sweden again.
Me and my friend Björn arrived Friday afternoon and meet some other friends and after pitching our tents we took a nice kayak trip out to the island Hermanö and the village Gullholmen on the north end of the island. It was a nice afternoon trip in nice weather.
Once again back to the camping it was time for some dinner and showing of videos and photos from kayaking expeditions. I showed some of my photos from Greenland.
After a rainy night it was again a beautiful and sunny day and about 25 of us went on an organized trip with leaders from Tjörns Kajakklubb. Nice, slow and many breaks. It was a leisure trip with nice old and new friends. I could also show Tony, one of the leaders who has been one of my instructors from Kajakguiderna in teaching me how to roll, that my roll is now fairly good.
Ashore again we had an hamburger buffet at the restaurant and Åsa showed son photos and video clips from her trip to Greenland. Very different trip from mine.
Some are already out and we are waiting to go on a guided tour
Björn and Fredrik
The coolest kayaker of us all. Leon, Fredriks' dog
A bit windy
Colorful
Gullholmen, an old fishing village. Now mostly for tourists
Tony from Kajakguiderna and Tjörns kajakklubb
On Sunday we went to the south of Hermanö island into a maze of small islands and passages. Very, very nice and the weather was again in our favor. After lunch some of us went on the outside of the island to try some surf. A lot of fun!
Me doing a bit of "rockhopping"
Magnus from Linköping and Fredrik on their way back to the camp.
It has been a great weekend
with some of my friends and some new interesting friends as well.
It was a different experience going to Greenland from what I expected at first. Not so much kayaking as I hoped from the start but much more a wilderness expedition into the wild.
Arriving at Kangerlussuaq airport with a flight from Copenhagen me Joakim and Franz was met by Jens-Pavia, our local guide. This was a demo trip by Nordic Elements (Joakim) and GreenlandOutdoors (Jens-Pavia) and the only two paying participants was me and Franz.A short trip by taxi (the only one in town?) to the home of Jens-Pavia where we repacked our backpacks and then again a car trip 5 km outside Kangerlussuaq to the shore of Lake Ferguson.
Then the long hike begun. With us was also Siqasoq (unsure of the spelling) who was an apprentice guide with Jens-Pavia. Very hot weather this day for carrying a to heavy backpack more then 13 km (see track).But it felt more and more exotic as we walked into the interior of Greenland. Several times we saw muskoxen far away but as we neared the campsite a herd of muskox was close to us. Jens-Pavia and Joakim went for hunting a young bull as me, Franz and Sikkersoq made the camp. Kayaks, tents, sleeping bags and a lot of other stuff was already in place.When everything was ready at camp we heard one gunshot and and hour later the other two appeared with packs heavy with muskox meat. About 60 kg!Time to make dinner over open fire. Pasta and muskox meat that Jens-Pavia had prepared at home. The new meat had to be butchered into smaller pieces and then cooled in a creek.
As the sun was going down I was very tired after almost no sleep the last 40 hours. The sleeping bag was very warm and nice in the cold evening.As the sun was going down I was very tired after almost no sleep the last 40 hours. The sleeping bag was very warm and nice in the cold evening.
The track from Lake Ferguson to camp
My backpack
Walking
The camp by an unnamed lake
A lot of meat
Day 2
Cold and rainy we had a late breakfast of muesli and tea. After that we prepared the kayaks (which Jens-Pavia had dragged up to this remote place during the winter, a remarkable task!) A rather cold kayak trip slowly along the shore of the unnamed lake took us past some caribou and some muskox close to the lake shore. A lunch consisting of bread, cheese and mackerel in tomato together with tea made us warmer. Then the sun was also breaking through the clouds.Slowly we paddled pack to camp to make dinner on freshly killed muskox! After that delicious meal I had a small hike by myself. Time for bed again.
Siqasoq was tired and had sore hands after last days kayaking so she stayed at camp while we other four took the kayaks to the end of the lake (about 6 km, see track). And then hiked up to a hill where we could see the inland ice sheet about 15-20 km away. Very beautiful! And we really felt that we were in a place that was as far away from civilization as it is almost possibly to be.
On the way home we paddled along the south shore of the lake. Today we saw maybe 15 muskox. Very tired after a dinner with muskox meat (again fantastic), I fell asleep early.
A sunny but cold morning greeted us. After breakfast it was into the kayaks again and we went to the south side of the lake into a nice bay where we left the kayaks. A nice hike about three kilometers took us to the top of an hill about 650 m above sea level. Here the view was even more spectacular than the day before. Ice rivers, inland ice, muskox, arctic hare and a lot of birds were seen on this hike. Jens-Pavia showed us much about the flora and fauna and how to survive in this dry and remote land.
Back at the kayaks Jens-Pavia and Joakim took a nap in the sun while me and Franz went exploring nearby. Following the shore into bays we had not visited before we paddled back to camp in a mostly calm lake. I could stay here longer!
At camp Jens-Pavia made a stew of muskox heart with rice. Best food ever! A bit late to bed this last night.
-3 degrees centigrade in the morning but no frost in the dry climate. Breakfast and then packing all the stuff for the hike back to Kangerlussuaq. As Jens-Pavia and Joakim were going back a few days later with another group they left their gear at camp and carried all the muskox meat instead. About 30 kg each!
The walk downhill was a lot easier than the other way and again we had nice weather but not so warm. After a short while we stumbled upon a heard of muskox rather close (see video clip).
Five hours later we were back in town and at the hostel. Jens-Pavia and his wife Nina had us at dinner in their home. We had a great time with very good food (caribou, not muskox!) a lot of talk and laughter. Franz and their three year old daughter, Sara got along well.
Then it was back to the hostel for a nights sleep. I do sleep better outdoors!
Next day I went back home by a flight via Copenhagen and Stockholm. A lot of changes in my flights but that is a story for other times. If you fly with Greenland Air be prepared to have some time to spare!
Preparing kayaks for next group
Jens-Pavi and Joakim are carrying all the meat back
