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The Rogen Nature Reserve is an area of wilderness in north-west Sweden, bordering Norway where it is contiguous with the Femundsmarka National Park. As well as being famed for its excellent fishing, Rogen is one of Sweden’s top areas for canoe tours, ideal for those looking for a real wilderness paddling experience. The article below describes our Discover Wilderness Canoeing in Rogen self-guided canoe tour (4-8 or more days). A longer and more challenging canoe tour in the Rogen area, Rogen Wilderness Canoe Expedition (8-14 or more days) is also available.
Together with three friends from Scotland (Adam, Craig and Euan our official photographer for the trip), I spent six days paddling in the area in mid-June 2011 – six glorious days of fresh air, clear water and stunning views, all served up with a healthy dose of boys’ trip cameraderie, and of course the occasional mosquito!
Photo: Euan Turner DMh Photo
The night train from Stockholm disgorged us blinking into the morning sunshine at Östersund at a most uncivilised 6am. Fortunately the station staff is used to early morning passengers and the kiosk already had the coffee machine on and cinnamon rolls baking in the oven. This, plus the fact that it was midsummer when sleep feels like a shameful waste of daylight, meant that we were relatively awake and ready for action.
Photo: Euan Turner DMh Photo
A couple of hours later and we were the only passengers on the bus to the wild and woolly outreaches of Funäsdalen, chatting to the driver about the local sights and his passion for Scottish whisky. Euan got very excited when we stopped for a rest break near an outdoor store – he disappeared inside and emerged five minutes later proudly clutching a full-length net mosquito jacket, which he’d always wanted for those Scottish hillwalking trips but couldn’t find at home.
Photo: Euan Turner DMh Photo
I’d visited the area a number of times in winter, but this was my first time in Funäsdalen, and it turned out to be a perfect jumping off point for the outdoor activities in the area. We had an instruction meeting with Kalle from the canoe centre, who advised us sagely to “take it easy”, especially when making land transports – wise words, as even a simple twisted ankle can be very serious in such a remote area.
Photo: Euan Turner DMh Photo
A question often asked by clients considering a tour in Rogen is “How far will we paddle each day?”, but in Rogen this question has little meaning. Depending on the particular area of the reserve you are exploring and other factors such as the terrain, wind and weather conditions, as well as of course your own energy levels day-to-day, you could find that you munch through the miles with a full day’s paddling, cover just a handful of kilometres on a day requiring a challenging land transport, or decide to take a day or more off the water completely to climb one of the peaks for an unparalleled view over the surrounding wilderness. Kalle was right – “take it easy” and you will have a more enjoyable, safer and more rewarding experience than if you focus on setting too many goals for your trip.
We dropped our bags at the canoe centre and headed for the supermarket to stock up. Unexpectedly, we were spoiled for choice and it took us rather longer than expected to negotiate a menu we were all happy with, but after quick repack we were ready for the off, rattling our way out of Funäsdalen along gravel forest roads to the start point.
Photo: Euan Turner DMh Photo
With a cheery wave, Kalle disappeared in a cloud of dust, our last sight of civilisation for the next week. The silence closed in around us and we gazed out across the water for the first time with a mixture of great excitement and just a flutter of trepidation.
Photo: Euan Turner DMh Photo
We had chosen to start the tour at Käringsjön ending at Käringsjövallen (one of a number of possible start/end point combinations), which would take us at minimum through a series of small, interconnected lakes, out into the large lake of Rogen itself, and through another labyrinth of smaller lakes to the pick-up point six days later. How much further we would get would depend on the weather and our own inclination.
Photo: Euan Turner DMh Photo
For our first day, we paddled in light rain through a beautiful maze of quiet, forest fringed lakes with some short land transports connecting them. The edges of the reserve are particularly good fishing waters, and occasionally we would spot a local sat quietly in his rowing boat and staring into the middle distance, contemplating the greater mysteries of life as only a lone fisherman can.
Photo: Euan Turner DMh Photo
Land transports in Rogen are a challenging business. The more commonly used transport points between the lakes do have basic paths worn by previous paddlers, but the terrain can be steep and rocky and at times it feels more like you are climbing with the canoe than walking with it. In these early days before our canoe carrying technique had been honed to perfection, we did each transport twice, once with the canoes balanced on our shoulders (advantage: efficient weight bearing; disadvantage: limited visibility, leading to increased likelihood of walking into a tree!) and once with our gear. By the end of the trip, we had developed shoulders of Kevlar and calf muscles of steel and managed most of the land transports with gear and canoe combined.
Photo: Euan Turner DMh Photo
Camping in Rogen is possible anywhere, but fires are permitted only at the designated wind shelters, where wood is provided for your use and is the only wood that should be used for fire making. The forests of Rogen are ancient and rates of decay very slow. A beautiful knarled tree stump or log you see lying on the ground may be hundreds of years old, and such rich natural heritage simply does not deserve to be turned into firewood. In places when travelling through the reserve you will come across the remnants of fireplaces made by visitors who have not observed the rules – please do not use these for your own fires, or even better, dismantle them where you find them and remove any traces of the fireplace to discourage others and preserve the pristine nature of the reserve.
Photo: Euan Turner DMh Photo
Over the next few days we explored a good portion of the Swedish side of the reserve and generally had an utterly wonderful time. We had our fair share of sunshine, and when the clouds parted and the sun streamed down onto the water and the forest the effect was magical. We crossed over the wide expanse of Lake Rogen (choosing our timing and crossing point carefully for safety) to find our “paradise campsite” for the trip near Bredasjön, a lovely spot which opened magically before us as the reeds parted and where we could have stayed forever. We frightened ourselves silly one day trying to round a peninsula at the northern end of the lake during a particularly choppy spell before common sense took over and we made for land and carried the canoes to calmer waters. We took time off from paddling to climb one of the many peaks for a stunning 360 degree view over the surrounding middle-earth-like wilderness and across the border into Norway. We battled early-season mosquitoes for the night at one particularly marshy camping spot and had a real “Cast Away” moment (the Tom Hanks one, not Oliver Reed/Amanda Donohoe!) next morning trying to paddle out from the bay but getting washed back repeatedly by the waves. And through it all we quietly bonded during our daily ups and downs of energy levels and mood, each of us fulfilling the roles that came naturally to us – Euan producing fantastic meals to lift the spirits conjured from a single pot using the humblest of ingredients; Craig, our tea and coffee guru, producing mysterious packets from the depths of his rucksack and concocting a succession of heavenly brews just when they were needed; Adam demonstrating intellectual superiority at the Guardian cryptic crossword and waxing lyrical on everything from music to psychology, and me, well, I mostly admired the scenery and did the washing up.
Photo: Euan Turner DMh Photo
Navigating on the water can be tricky at the best of times and in an area like Rogen can be very tricky indeed, especially in the more maze-like lake areas. One headland can look very much like another, a gap could be a space between islands or just an inlet, and it’s essential to be constantly monitoring your position to make sure where you think you are and where you actually are is the same thing! Navigation in Rogen is like the essential rule for DIY – “measure twice, cut once”. Amazingly, we managed to make reality and expectation match up pretty much all of the time, apart from a brief episode on the last day when with great reluctance we resorted to turning on the GPS for the definitive answer.
Finally, after a period which in some ways felt like years and in others like the merest heartbeat, we emerged from the depths of the Swedish wilderness like Livingstone from the African rainforest to wait for our pick-up. Our saviour, Jan, arrived to rescue us right on time and we bumped our way home, slightly shell-shocked at the sight of tarmac roads and streetlights.
Photo: Euan Turner DMh Photo
Another bus and night train journey later and we were back in Stockholm, hugging our goodbyes at the airport – hairier, muddier and undoubtedly smellier than we had been a week before (apologies to the poor unknown souls who had to share a plane with the other three on the flight home – I was off to the Stockholm Archipelago for a few days and a hot shower), but with a song in our hearts.
Best regards
Bob from The Nature Travels Team
This is the second part of a report on the Canoe Tours in Bergslagen experience in June 2010. Canoe in Bergslagen is one of a range of self-guided canoe tours offered by Nature Travels in Sweden, available in 7-day or 14-day variations. We also offer canoeing holidays suitable for families as well as challenging wilderness expeditions.
You can see additional photos from the trip on the Nature Travels Facebook page.
Tuesday
We awake early as the tents heat up under a blazing morning sun. Craig immediately sets to work with the morning baking, while we pack the things together and load the boats, feeling a little sad to be leaving what must surely be the nicest camp spot we’ll find on the whole tour. Little do we realise that camping nirvana awaits us just a few hours’ paddling hence.
We make our way along the rest of this narrow and beautiful lake. Euan and I are in the same canoe today, and we have both sets of maps (bad idea). Supremely (over)confident in our navigational skills, we strike out for what we’re sure is the correct landing spot, while Andrew and Craig in the other boat eye us suspiciously before paddling off their own way into a different bay. “Hah, poor hapless souls”, we laugh, as Euan and I land and sit down to relax in the sun waiting for the others to arrive. Time passes, vague shouts and expletives are exchanged between us across the water, and finally the other canoe gives in and paddles back to us. We unload and head off, only to discover after a few minutes’ hacking through impenetrable bush that Andrew and Craig were right all along. Oops. Feeling sheepish, we reload the canoes again and paddle around the headland where, sure enough, the correct landing spot is perfectly obvious.
Another day of paddling in bright sunshine and a long land transport brings us to the aptly named “Bredsjön” or “wide lake”. With our muscles aching and our tummies rumbling, it certainly looks an imposing stretch of water to cross, but we steadfastly load the canoes and paddle off, keen to reach the far shore before the wind gets up.
Surprisingly, it turns out to be quite an easy crossing, and just as we’re thinking that we’ve really had enough for today and would like a rest, we round a small headland and our very own “paradise beach” swings into view – a beautiful, small sandy bay with a lovely raised area for the tents and a forest conveniently placed for firewood. We resolve immediately to ring our respective wives and girlfriends and inform them that we’ve decided to stay a while and may not be home for Christmas.
Having shown signs of flagging during the day’s paddling, as soon as Craig’s feet touch dry land he is possessed with a maniacal energy. Spontaneously, he and Andrew decide to make a bread oven and spend the next hour of so heaving huge stones into place and lighting a fire inside. Euan wanders around enthusing about the quality of the light and taking pictures by the dozen, the evening passes cheerfully and a while later the bakers present us with the most delicious bread rolls ever made by man.
Wednesday
This time we really are sorry to be leaving, and sorry especially to be constrained to doing the route in 6 days instead of the standard 7, which would have given us another day’s idyllic loafing about at the camp. As I suggest dismantling the bread over, Craig and Andrew mutter about the heartless destruction of an architectural triumph, but after a little persuasion we all agree that in the interests of “Leave No Trace” it has to go. Wiping away a tear or two, the boys take the oven apart and scatter and bury the stones, and five minutes later it’s as if we were never there.
Every expedition has its “grumpy” day, and this is to be ours. Perhaps it’s the emotional wrench of leaving our beloved beach or perhaps the realisation that we’re over the half way mark it won’t be long before we’re heading home, but today we’re all a little fractious. After a long and tiring land transport we reach “Kanalen”, a 5km stretch of water that under normal conditions can be paddled without problem but today looks ominously shallow. Andrew and Craig once again make the sensible decision and opt immediately to do a land transport along the canal path. Euan and I foolishly elect to give it a go, unload the gear, manhandle the canoe down the bank, load the canoe, then half paddle, half walk through a few hundred metres of canal before it finally gets through to us that there’s not enough water to float the boat. We unload the gear, manhandle the canoe up the bank, load the gear and, hey ho, we’re back where we started, except it’s an hour later and we’re completely exhausted!
Nerves on a knife-edge, major fisticuffs are narrowly averted by Craig’s timely brewing of tea and gallant sacrifice of the last of the cinnamon rolls.
Optimism restored, we trudge on and are delighted to find that after a while the canal deepens and we’re able to take to the water after all. Andrew and Craig go into outdoor-catalogue-male-model-pose mode as Euan finds the possibility to take some photos gives him renewed zest for life. The rest of the day passes without incident. We admire the engineering of an enormous wooden-clad water pipe as we transport past a sluice gate and small hydro station (the pipe looks temptingly like a gigantic elongated beer keg and in our hot and slightly delirious state we fantasise briefly about bottomless supplies of ale).
We make camp on a small headland along the river Uvan, another lovely spot in its own right, though our hearts still yearn for the beach. Once again the cuckoo keeps us company as Craig and Andrew invent a new game – pine cone paddle cricket.
Thursday
It takes us a while to get going this morning, due in part to Euan becoming fixated on taking the perfect arty-perspective picture of our storage barrels. After indulging him patiently for the first few dozen shots, we drag him protesting into the boat and head off. Soon we’re into a lovely winding section of the river Uvan, watching cranes lift majestically from the bank and enjoying the change of scenery from the wider lakes of the earlier part of the tour.
We’ve decided to make things easy for ourselves for tomorrow to give plenty of time to clean and organise the equipment and also to set up some final shots, so today we’re pushing on through the other side of the small town of Hagfors to give us just a short distance to paddle on the last day.
Approaching Hagfors feels strange – the prospect of beer and ice cream beckons, but the call of the wild tugs us back. We land by a lovely floating restaurant where Euan, consolidating his reputation as group nutter magnet, is immediately and helplessly cornered by an elderly local and grilled on the finer points of canoe packing. Mercilessly, we leave him to fend for himself and make immediately for the bar.
As with all Swedes, the waitress speaks excellent English, but her language skills are not quite up to dealing with Andrew’s Tasmanian humour about and he’s surprised when he actually receives the half a burger he ordered, lovingly bisected.
After a surreal episode transporting our canoes right through the centre of town and parking them outside the supermarket, we tire of the bright lights of Hagfors and are keen to be back on the water. We find a nice camping spot on a headland just outside town. It’s cloudier and also windy and this evening, making it difficult to keep the fire going and hard to settle, and we bustle and fuss about for the evening before tiredness overtakes us.
Friday
Our last day. The wind drops and the sun comes out once more to greet us for our final short stretch of paddling. We spend a leisurely couple of hours basking in the sunshine at the end point, brewing up the last of the tea, making a valiant effort to eat all the food and pottering about taking photos of the equipment and cleaning the canoes. Before long it’s time for Anders to collect us with the van for return to the canoe centre and bus back to Karlstad.
Having survived 6 days’ paddling in the wilderness unscathed, Andrew finds the walk from the bus stop to the youth hostel a bit too much of a challenge. We hear a yelp and turn round to find him in a heap on the verge clutching a badly twisted ankle. We drag him hobbling to the Bishop’s Arms for an emergency dose of field anaesthetic (aka single malt whisky) and the rest of the evening gives a fitting symmetry to the trip as we make a determined effort to blow our remaining Kronor.
It’s been a great trip all round – we’ve been ridiculously fortunate with the weather, found that we’re not in bad shape at all really for three 40-somethings and a 20-something, seen that four guys can spend an extended period in each other’s company without major violence and indeed actually enjoy it and discovered that, when it comes to our paradise campsite, heaven really is a place on earth. We’re already planning the next trip for 2011….
Best regards
Bob from The Nature Travels Team
This is the first part of a report on our Canoe Tours in Bergslagen self-guided canoe tour 30th May-4th June. You can also see additional photos from the trip on the Nature Travels Facebook page.
Saturday
Bleary-eyed and sleep deprived, I take the coach from Bournemouth at an ungodly hour to Heathrow. Some hours later, I rendezvous at Stockholm Central station with Craig and Euan (our official photographer for the trip), who’ve flown in from Scotland, and Andrew, whitewater kayaking supremo from Switzerland. Andrew makes himself known to the rest of the group by appearing in a florescent shower cap and comedy sunglasses, attracting concerned glances from bewildered locals in the process. People don’t normally look like that in Sweden.
Fortified by pizza we board the train to Karlstad, where Euan and Craig break out their latest toys: a pair of ukeleles. It seems we’re in for an interesting week.
We make our way to the STF Karlstad Vandrarhem hostel in Karlstad and find it very nice indeed. A lovely old building that from its structure we suspect may have been a mental hospital in a previous life. Suddenly Andrew feels right at home.
It’s now 11.00 and we don’t expect a great deal to be going on in a sleepy rural town like Karlstad, but we leave our bags and go off in hopeful search of beer. To our surprise and delight we immediately find a lovely pub called The Bishop’s Arms right by the river, where we spend a very happy two hours sampling an astonishing range of obscure British and Swedish beers. Every few minutes a different classic American car packed with young Karlstadians and playing Eurovision music bounces by to keep us entertained (a love of classic cars and “schlager” music is a deep-rooted tradition in all parts of rural Sweden).
Sunday
After filling up on hostel breakfast, we take the bus to the canoe centre, where we’re issued with our gear before loading up and heading to the start point. We’re deposited with a cheery wave and a “See you on Friday!” and watch the truck disappearing into the distance until finally we are alone with just the sounds of birdsong, the wind in the trees and our own hearts thudding nervously in our chests. Overwhelmed by the sudden solitude and thinking Friday seems an awfully long way away, we do what any hardy adventurers would do and immediately sit down to make a cup of tea.
Steeled by a brew, we load the canoes and paddle off across the glassy expanse of Västra Sundsjön, a beautiful lake bounded by forest. A few raindrops fall but suddenly we’re in high spirits and can’t wait to get going. We make our way steadily, gradually getting into the rhythm of paddling. After 10 minutes we’re really starting to relax and enjoy ourselves.
We make our first land transport (or LTP) and our first efforts at unloading the gear, placing the trolley, transporting the canoe overland and launching again are clumsy and time consuming. By the end of the tour, when we’ve done this about 40 times (once at the start and end of each LTP, once every evening and morning when making camp and a couple of extra times by mistake!), the process is as slick and well-rehearsed as any motor racing pit-stop team.
With evening approaching we reach a small peninsula with a lovely camping spot. As self-appointed Hilleberg tent geek, Euan takes charge of erecting the tent while we settle in and gather firewood. Out on the lake, the bizarre calls of Black-throated Divers (also known as Loons) echo atmospherically over the water.
Even though we’re only a third of the way up Sweden, it hardly gets dark at all at this time of year. Hypnotised by the firelight and the wistful combination of Craig’s ukelele playing mixed with Diver song, we find it’s almost midnight before we even get around to breaking out the Trangias and making dinner.
Monday
Our first full day of paddling. Craig earns great respect by being the first of us to brave the waters for a morning swim, only to lose all credit later in the tour when the rest of us work up the courage to go in and find it’s actually rather warm.
We spend a leisurely morning organising ourselves before taking to the water to the soundtrack of cuckoo song, gliding our way through a lovely labyrinth of moss-covered islands into the more open waters beyond. Either there are a remarkable number of cuckoos in Bergslagen or the same cuckoo followed us for the rest of the tour, because for the next few days we would be accompanied by cuckoo calls wherever we went.
A mix today of some beautiful paddling and some gruelling land transports, including one muddy and rocky episode we thought we would never see the end of. Fortunately the sun streams almost interrupted from a sky dotted with fluffy cumulus clouds and this helps to keep spirits up. In fact, the few raindrops at the start of the tour were to be the last we’d see during our time in Sweden and we would have glorious weather for almost the whole tour.
The longest and most tiring transport of the day brings us to Hästergsagen and some stunning paddling in the evening sun. We cruise the tiny islands dotting the lake at a leisurely pace, lost in our own thoughts and searching for the perfect camping spot. We find a lovely west-facing spot, pitch camp and spend the rest of the evening lazing in hammocks and watching the sun steadfastly refusing to set. Only Euan, gripped by his photographic muse, summons the energy to take to the water again to shoot some evening pictures.
This describes the first part of our Canoe in Bergslagen tour in June 2010. Join us for Part 2 shortly, in which we discover our very own paradise beach, Euan finally learns how to tune a ukelele and Andrew and Craig build a bread oven.
Canoe in Bergslagen is just one of our range of self-guided canoe tours with wild camping in Sweden. In the Värmland area, we offer four other options from family-friendly rural tours to remote routes, while we also offer challenging wilderness canoe tours in the Rogen nature reserve.
Best regards
Bob from The Nature Travels Team
Looking for a real challenge for your next canoeing holiday? The Rogen Nature Reserve, in north-west Sweden near the border with Norway, may well offer the ideal setting for your next paddle adventure.
Rogen is an area of total wilderness – with no roads, no infrastructure and limited access. This makes the area a paradise for wilderness canoeing, but also means that in order to paddle here you must be in good shape and have experience of travelling independently in remote areas.
As a result of requests from clients for a greater range of options for wilderness canoeing in Sweden, we have now added two flexible tours in Rogen to our portfolio. These complement our existing five options for self-guided canoe tours in Värmland in the west of Sweden and offer the ideal “next step” for those looking for the next canoeing adventure. As with our other canoe tours, accommodation is wild camping along the route – the distance you cover each day and where you choose to pitch camp for the night are entirely up to you!
The most accessible option Discover Wilderness Canoeing in Rogen. As a circular tour with drop-off and pick-up at the same point, there is no requirement to cover a particular distance or reach a particular point, and for this reason this option is ideal for canoeists who have suitable outdoor experience but have not paddled in such a remote area before. This tour gives you a great deal of flexibility, with durations normally 4-8 days but with the possibility to extend your tour with additional days to spend as long as you wish in the wilderness. There is excellent fishing to be had and also wonderful hiking tours if you wish to leave your canoes for a while and explore on foot.
For the intrepid, Rogen Wilderness Canoe Expedition is the longer and more challenging option, taking you across the border into Norway into Femundsmarka with a choice of two pick-up points on the other side. For this tour you will require at least 8-14 days, with a number of portages and some challenging terrain to negotiate en route.
Whichever option you choose, you should be prepared for some long land transports over rough terrain, many several hundred metres or more. You will normally find it necessary to cover each stretch twice, once carrying your canoes, once carrying rucksacks and other equipment. The weather will also play a part in your tour – you will need to plan for contingencies and be flexible in your arrangements, as windy conditions may mean it takes much longer than planned to make your way up some of the larger lakes.
But for your hard work you will be rewarded with a unique experience – the chance to explore a stunning wilderness area offering world-class canoeing, fishing and wild camping!
Best regards
The Nature Travels Team
If you are not sure if Rogen is for you, why not consider one of our other self-guided canoe tours in Sweden? We offer options with duration from 4-14 days, from family-friendly canoeing holidays suitable for families even with very young children up to more challenging extended tours in remote areas.
The county of Dalsland, in the west of Sweden easily accessible from Gothenburg, is the location of Sweden’s biggest paddle event – the Dalsland Canoe Marathon.
Marathon canoeing is a challenging but fun experience, and the event is suitable for a wide range of participants. As much as winning, the canoe marathon has an emphasis on fun and participation – while you should have a general good level of fitness and some previous canoe or kayak experience, you do not have to be an elite paddler to participate and soak up the unique atmosphere!
The 2010 marathon will take place on 14th August 2010 and Nature Travels is the sole UK agent, offering registration for the event, canoe and kayak hire, transport of equipment to/from the start point, a choice of accommodation in the area and additional activities before and/or after the competition, from taking your own self-guided canoe tour with wild camping to peddling a “railway inspection trolley” through the quiet forests on a disused railway line!
Baldernsnäs manor, on the shore of Lake Laxsjön, is the beautiful setting for the start of the canoe marathon. From here, the adult course runs for 55km to finish at Bengtsfors, while a junior course for paddlers aged 12-18 is also available with a different start point, also finishing in Bengtsfors.
There are several options for competing in the canoe marathon. You can choose single kayak, double kayak or two-person Canadian canoe, entering in standard male, female or mixed classes for those who take their marathon canoeing seriously, “elite” class. And if you would rather watch others do the work, the event is also ideal for spectators. As a spectator, you are even welcome to join in the crayfish party held in the evening at the end of the race!
Now in its 5th year, the Dalsland Canoe Marathon is becoming more and more widely known outside Scandinavia, attracting a growing number of participants worldwide. With almost 1000 paddlers joining the event in 2009, things are looking good for 2010 and for the future of the event. Come along on 14th August and join in the fun!
For those who would prefer a quieter time on the water, Nature Travels also offers a wide range of canoeing holidays with wild camping from family-friendly tours to challenging wilderness expeditions as well as guided and self-guided sea kayaking tours.
Best regards
The Nature Travels Team
