So, I'm back again at Yttre Bodane at Lake Vänern. I started on a bleak Saturday with some drizzle. After being indoors a lot last week it was anyway nice to come out and in my kayak. I didn't go very far, maybe only for two hours before setting up my tent. No hammock this time.
I built a small place to make a fire (stones and dirt at bottom to protect the cliff) to put the kettle on. Tea and and apple before unpacking the rest of my gear. This was also an opportunity to test my new sleeping bag. It's a special ordered down filled sleeping bag from Roberts' Outdoors in Poland. It's the Explorer 1000, M+/W with 750 cuin fill with goose down. And it is warm! This night was not a cold night, so most of the night I had to have the zipper open until early morning when it was clearing up outside and getting a bit colder. Then I closed the zipper and it was very warm and very cosy. The bag is a bit big but it fits in one of my watertight compression bags which is nice. Takes a bit of space in my kayak but I managed to get all my stuff for a night outdoors into my Anas Acuta anyway.
Some nice hotdogs on the fire, more tea and simple quesadillas made on a flat rock on the fire, at the end of the day. In bed early in my luxury sleeping bag and after some hours reading I fell asleep.
Next morning I got an extra hour due to the end of "daylight saving time". The weather was clear, very windy and a bit cold. I made breakfast and broke camp in a slow way to let my tent dry in the morning sun. I took a small detour on my way back against an increasing wind to practise my paddle stroke a bit. The last part was with some nice sea and surf. I ended my trip with my customary roll. See the video at the end of this post.
Starting from the small wooden jetty special for canoes and kayaks
The refresher course for Wilderness First Responder ended on Sunday and on monday morning I headed home with a layover at some friends in Mora
It was a great course and hopefully i do not need to use my knowledge on anyone. But if something will happen I hope I'm now better prepared to handle anything medical that can happen in the wilderness (or other places).
Thank's Lena at Crossing Latitudes for yet another very good and entertaining course.
It was not as nice weather going home as it was going to Torpshammar but at least no rain or snow. I took it kind of easy with a lot of stops. One place i did stop at was "Helvetesfallet" (Hell's water fall) north of Mora in Dalarna.
Beam me up Scotty! WFR students lifting a patient with broken femur.
Nice colors on this country road. Probably in Härjedalen.
Now two out of three days of refresher course in WFR (Wilderness First Responder) are now done. It has been two great days with old and new friends and lot of training taking care of all kinds of wounds and illnesses out in the wilderness.
The first day started with an written exam that went well, all of us passed which was nice. Then the training started with a lot of scenarios, first the Patience Assessment System (PAS) and taking care of spinal injuries. Then it's been broken bones, sprained ankles, open wounds, puncture wounds, CPR and much more.
After a hectic start of the week I started from home on Wednesady morning towards Torpshammar in the exact middle of Sweden. As the trip is about 900 km I did it in two days and stayed one night by a small lake in Dalarna.
I was a cold morning but very beautiful with a clear sky as the sun was comming up. Then it was again behind the wheel and driving through Mora, Sveg and other small towns in the centre of Sweden. In the efternoon I arrived at Torpshammar and met Lena Conlan from Crossing Latitudes (and NOLS) as well as Sabine who was also taking this course with me two years ago. So tomorrow startes the refresher course for Wilderness First Responder (WFR).
Night!
Morning and about -5 degrees centigrade.
I was between two small lakes. This is the other one in the morning sun.
This day was a very rewarding and frustrating day. I went to Lysekil, at the west coast of Sweden, to have a whole day training kayak technique with my friend Tony from Kajakguiderna. He is a very skilled paddler and was instructing me in all types of kayak techniques, forward paddling, high and low braces, high and low brace turn, forward rudder, towing and much more.
Now I only hope to remember all that he has taught me today. The rewarding part is that I have learnt a lot today and by a man with infinite patience. For the frustrating bit it's to realise how much I have to learn and practice to be a good paddler with a good technique.
Well, at least my roll is one of the few things he didn't have to correct. That one I got right! But he has been one of my rolling instructors so it figures.
We saw a lot of harbor seal and a mink this very beautiful autumn day. Not sunny but calm and the water still a bit warm.
Me and my friend Björn went to a nice beach, Svanäs, for surf training on Friday. And it was surf allright! Probably the most difficult seas I have ever paddled in. The wind was 16-18 m/s and up to 20 m/s in gusts. (Up to 39 knots, 44 mi/h).
Hard to paddle out through the surf to deeper water for turning in towards land again. The wind was pushing very hard at my blade so it was a struggle. I really missed my Greenland paddle there. And what did I miss more? My GoPro that is in for repairs and charged battery for my Olympus camera. Very, very frustrating. But luckily enough Björn had his camera with him so he took some photos.
It was hard in the surf to stay upright and I tipped over several times. But I managed to roll up every time except two times when the water was to shallow. One time racing down a wave at great speed my bow went down, and down and down. Finally the sea pushed me head-over-heels to land upside down. This was absolutely a first for me. And I managed to roll up again!
After three hours I was knackered and went to Lidköping with a big grin on my face. Thanks Björn for your company and for the photos.
Saturday leisure trip
After piloting in the night and three hours sleep I went to Spiken fishing village to meet up with some friends. It was Fredrik, Frida, Magnus, Jens, Björn and Lennart. It's unbelievable how the water could be so smooth after the surf and heavy seas the day before. A bit cloudy, some fog but also some sun peeking through the clouds.
A nice slow trip in the archipelago of Kålland down to Naven light house. There we had some lunch and friendly discussions before going back again. Nice training of paddle technique weaving between islands and reefs. And as always I did some rolls. Some thinks it's just a show off. Well partly that I admit but mostly because Helen Wilson advised to do a roll every week. So I do at least one every time out kayaking.
Getting ready! Photo:Björn
Struggling to get out again. Photo:Björn
Do you see the top of my paddle? Very high seas. Photo:Björn
