#classicfjallraven2018

[sallyannthearts]

How to Hike for Princesses Episode 6: Day 4 Bonfire

Day 4: 21st August 2018 Destination: Somewhere to Alesjaure (5km) ; Alesjaure to Kieron (18km)  Total distance: 23km  Weather: Where have you been? Ah there you are!  

Pic: Our camping site for night 3. Photo credit: Michael Mead

Snow were on the mountain tops where a few hours ago we had been. It was very cold, as it’d been for the past two nights (we were north in the artic circle anyway) and I shivered trying to pack up the tents with one glove on. I couldn’t care less if my one glove was muddy and wet, I still scratched my face if I needed to and ate without washing my hands. No, I never got stomach sick. 

Pic of us having breakfast/lunch at the Alesjaure checkpoint Photo credit: Michael Mead (a.k.a. Jesus is a professional photographer)

5km and we arrived at the Alesjaure refuel checkpoint where there was another sauna and chalet selling more Snickers bars. We loaded up on that crap that was giving us the motivation to go on. God, chocolate is heavenly! We decided to have brunch there as the view was amazing although it started drizzling lightly again very soon. 

Pic: Alesjaure checkpoint and brunch spot view 

Now comes the point where I used the loos for the second time, and this time not just for a little waterfall break. It was and will always remain the only time I unloaded my golden bricks during 6 days (totally bad I know). On the 6 days, you were either supposed to do your business in one of the few wooden toilets only at certain checkpoints that has just a seat, a hole and smells so flagrant that you came out feeling harassed nasally. Either that, or you made a hole in a quiet place in the wild with your spade and covered it back up after you were done. 

Pic: “What do you mean you can't poop in a hole? We do it all the time, we reindeers!” (Photo credit: Michael Mead) 

While it’s a checklist for people to say ‘Hey, I pooped in a hole in the wild!’, it will always be mine to say, ‘Hey! I managed not to poop in a hole in the wild!’. Of course, my bowels’ rock solid defence that only gave way that one time at the Alesjaure toilets (that just so happened to be one of those that was see-through on the top so light shone in and you could literally see piles of shit below you); well anyway, my bowels revenged on me once I got back to civilisation. Still, I am glad I didn’t need to do that. 

Pic: Beautiful river to help you not picture what we are talking about at the moment. Photo credit: Michael Mead 

My boyfriend made a hilarious joke when he first used one of those stalls en route. He went in and after shutting the door, realised that there was no light to even navigate around. He said to himself, “Man, I can’t see shit” and then he laughed out loud to himself. 

Pic: One of the many reindeers my friend Michael chased after for photos.  Photo credit: Michael Mead 

After that first and only experience of unloading golden bricks, we made our way to the next checkpoint via a photography session. The weather had brightened up and there were such beautiful views (and aching feet) that we stopped so often to laugh and pose for Jesus’ camera and mine. 

 Pic: Day 4!!!! (Photo credit: Michael Mead) 

Pics: The Beauty that rewarded us after two days of horrid weather  (Photo credits: Michael Mead)

Yup, we took our time and finally let the cameras out for good as the sun got us taking off our layers and the wind got us putting them back on again and again, as if we were still playing hide and seek with the weather. 

I didn’t know that it was also the day where we started the longest descent so my knees were really suffering towards the end. So much so that when I took off my bag pack, I was still swirling automatically as if I had just been tossed about in the sea waves for a while. I’d thought that the worse was to be the day after so I did moan a little claiming how tough today already was. Luckily for me, the worse was over without me ever acknowledging it as being the worst. 

Pic: Rolling intense cold puressential oils onto my back, the same one that made me freeze in the cold the nights before. Jesus taking a break in the back. 

Pic: It was a really long adventure. Starting off 6 days without prior experience wasn’t exactly the route I’d advise you unless you’re determined. 

By the time we got to the next checkpoint, we learned that many people had to leave this year’s fjallraven and that it really was the worst one to date. We were all mixed feelings, happy that we stayed despite the harsh beginning and sad for those who couldn’t experience this adventure to the end. Everybody looked at each other with respect for each one of us had fought this far. There was no more turning back. 

Kieron greeted us with hot pancakes and a hot cuppa tea or coffee! They gave each person 3 pieces with jam and whipped cream, oh so welcome carbs after the tough descend! 

We set up our tent right beside a bonfire and became the only ones who stayed up all night around the bonfire, chatting and wishing for the auroras to come out. Everybody around us were deadbeat and hibernating in their tents but I refused to do the same. This bonfire, the only one we were able to have throughout 6 days, was the real camping that I’d awaited for! 

Picture: Kieron campsite, Night 4. (Photo credit: Michael Mead)

That night, we knew that Jesus was going to leave us for he had planned the trip to be only 5 days. (Sounds like the last supper). I chose Chicken & Lime to be my last supper and shared it with Andro over Sweet & Sour Pork. We dried our shoes and socks, burnt my sister’s sock in the process and talked about how great this trip had been because we had all come together. 

And it was then that I knew I would never forget how great this adventure had been and that, as surprising as it was to everyone who knew me as the city princess, I would do this again. 

CLICK HERE TO READ THE END OF THE BEST CLASSIC FJALLRAVEN SWEDEN TRIP EVER. 

[sallyannthearts]

How To Hike For Princesses Episode 5: Day 3 After Hell

Date: 20th August 2018 Destination: Salka- Tjaktja (14km), Tjakta- somewhere before Alesjaure (8km+) Total distance: 22km+ Weather: Still raining...

I woke up and saw rain still pelting down on our 1-man tent for 2 and decided to close my eyes and pretend like it never happened. I hadn't slept well with my knees folding down on me and my back aching like a 100 year-old witch who's never stretched in all her life.

I was still there and there were another 4 more days to go. I imagined the worst and couldn’t see how I was going to get through it all. 10 hours of hiking each day under such circumstances... there was going to be hill to climb and later a descend. God, what was I doing there, really?

But of course, I got up and I pushed on. In a way, we were very happy that the nightmare happened so early on, though many people had to unfortunately quit due to that. Because, in the end, I left the hike with better memories than that night that traumatised me and would have scarred me from hiking for life.

It also meant being able to proudly say to myself that, “Hell yeah, I did it! I survived the toughest Classic Fjallraven Year ever!”

I could have gone home. I did cry in despair on night 2 after all. I was this spoilt princess who enjoyed civilisation and marbled tiles.

But I didn’t.

Pic: Sis looking at me, probably trying to mentally motivate me to trudge on through what looked like paddy fields, but really muddy..

Day Three started with a quick pee break at the dirtiest toilets, or so I was told, at the Salka station before coffee from the chalet and Snicker bars again. We grouped with some of the Singaporean team but quickly separated from one another again. Michael had some issues with his legs so he said that he would start a little later and maybe see us at some point.

So we started with our hike towards Tjaktja pass first. That was the highest point of Kungsleden, or the Swedish King’s Trail. 1140 m.a.s.l. 

Andro, my sister and I hiked this route ourselves as Nat took her time behind us. The three of us took the path less taken, which was muddier and more slippery, not really the indicated path to climb up the mountain.

But when I was climbing up, there was a bunch of closely packed Taiwanese and I weighed my options. Either I climbed behind them and risk falling if one person slipped from the top or I took what seemed like a more dangerous path by appearance. I did the latter and got to the top in no time, to see a breath-taking view that brightened my day.

It also wasn’t raining by the time we got up there! And wonderfully, the 3 of us hadn’t broken up some part of the way so we were able to enjoy the highest point of our hike together.

Somewhere along the line, the nightmare slowly dissipated even though the rain continued very often. We walked through a vast array of landscapes that day. Actually, the entire 6 days are worlds that are so different from one another all the time! From paddy fields that morning, we reached mountain rocks and then started our descend to Star Trek looking scenes (see picture below).

Pic: The painful knees buckling down every step I make...

We grouped back together with Nat at the Tjaktja checkpoint where we had delicious brownies, so fattening and yet so good at that point of time. We stayed there for the next 1hour plus to see if we could meet any of our Singaporean team mates because we were not sure where we were supposed to camp that night. So far, we had managed to keep in contact and camp in the same area the last two nights. We had no plans made known to us so we had lunch while waiting in front of another rainbow.

Pic: Tjaktja rest stop where we ate brownies with rainbows.

The day got better as we continued our walk but Alesjaure was another 13km away and we had started off late after our long break. We knew that the evening was just gonna be us after all since we never saw the rest of the team and we weren’t going to rush our hike to try and catch up with the other part who were probably planning to tent at the Alesjaure checkpoint. We decided to go solo.

It was then that my sister proclaimed me with an instinct for nature despite my protest against loving nature. I saved my loved ones from a night camping on the top of the valley where quite a lot of people ended up. They would have been freezing all night up there as it snowed that night. I’d forced them to trudge on the kilometres until we ended up in a quiet area with just two other tents beside a river.

Pic: The Morning after the rain where snow had built up where we had just come from.

As we were setting up our tents late evening, out of nowhere, Michael arrived miraculously and we just so happened to be in that area where we were visible and we were also just outside our tents. That was when we decided to call him Jesus because it was hilarious how coincidences happened. He came to join us, telling us how he had started later than us and trudged on, telling himself that if he kept walking, he’d somehow meet us along the way. And he did.

Andro helped set up Nat and Sis’ tent and found that a piece was missing to finish the tent, albeit less severe a condition than ours had been. He started to look for solutions, using our bag packs and all whilst Michael set up his tent quickly. When Michael was done, he came over to help Andro and ended up whipping out a huge pair of scissors and together, the two boys found a remedy for their tent. With a piece from Andro’s bag pack and Michael’s surgery skills, our tents were ready. That further sealed the bestowed name of Jesus on Michael. We laughed out loud at the inside joke.

Pic: Night 3 camp site somewhere 5km before Alesjaure checkpoint 

I found out that Michael didn’t have enough food so I gave him some of mine. And so, I fed Jesus. Michael also had a box of plasters and what not that helped my sister with her bunion feet (yes, even with bunions, you can do it!). And Michael was a profession photographer who ended up taking great photos that I’ll be featuring more of soon. That was pretty much how Michael Mead became Jesus of our Holy Hikers.

Our Holy team of Hikers: (from left) Michael a.k.a Jesus, Sue a.k.a Orange Spongbob, Nat a.k.a the only Singaporean, Andro a.k.a The Holy Spirit who refused-to-be-one-even-though-he-was-pretty-much-setting-up-all-our-tents, adjusting-our-bag-packs-and-cooking-our-food,& Me a.k.a the Hiking Princess.

By that time, nightmares were forgotten but it was still very cold, I still slept naked and I still had, but one glove.

CLICK HERE TO READ EPISODE 6: DAY 4 Bonfire and the last supper

[sallyannthearts]

How to Hike for Princesses 3

DAY ONE of the CLASSIC FJALLRAVEN SWEDEN 110KM HIKE  Starting point: Nikkaloukta  End point: Kebnekaise  Total distance: 19km++ Previous experience: None 

Pic: I thought somewhere deep down that I’d fight with all my might to make it out alive and I did. This was when we arrived from Stockholm at the Kiruna airport to be picked up by huge buses for the Classic Fjallraven hiking event. 

Early in the morning we woke up at our cosy Ripan Camp Hotel in Kiruna to have breakfast and try to hit the loos one more magical time, hoping to God that the many coffee cups we took would help, before taking the 1 hour bus ride to the starting point. 

Pic: Last point of ‘civilisation’ before heading off into the wild. This was our cosy room at the Ripan Kiruna Hotel. 

At 6.30am we boarded the bus and were all smiles and laughter as we arrived at the Nikkaluokta flag-off point an hour later. There were toilets and a restaurant with two huge blue fjallraven tents waiting for us to receive our orange bag tags and to stamp the first checkpoint on our books. There was even a guy with his guitar singing at the corner, making the event sound promising, literally. 

We drank another cup of hot coffee and snacked a bit more whilst weighing our bags one more time to check the exact weight. We made one more pee trip to  civilisation’s toilet hole. The day looked promising. 

At 9am, the horns sounded and people started to take off. My sister, Andro and I took photos at the starting point sign for my mother. We couldn’t care less about starting off on time and getting to the finishing point quick. We had 6 days, and we soon found it was even possible to have accomplished it in 5 days if not for the last two days of taking it easy and camping 5km from the end point (you have to book way in advance to camp at the final point so we didn’t do that). 

The Singaporean team didn’t start together at the starting point and didn’t end up finishing together. Everybody had a different attitude about the hike. In no real order, the first party were a few more experienced guys who always woke up super early and trudged on headfirst with the aim of reaching the end asap. The second party became our own formed group with Michael a.k.a Jesus joining us later (to be elaborated). The third party were two girls who never stopped for lunch and yet were still able to keep going. The fourth party were the others who stayed with the organiser or had some physical issues that prevented them from walking easily. The fifth party were individuals who either left or did the trail on their own. Most of them were jet-lagged and early birds who woke up super early to start their day. I told my team that I wanted my beauty sleep, which was already waking up around 7.30am most days. 

Pic: Meanwhile, I saw the Malaysian team relaxing their way through, even waking up at noon to have their ‘breakfast’. Haha!) 

So around 9.15am, after our selfies, we started the trail together. One Singaporean girl, Nat, from the team joined us, and she formed the only Singaporean that stayed with us throughout our Singaporean representative team (the irony, again). We strolled through, my sister and Nat took loads of photos and learned how to pick blueberries. Andro and I played word games and joked a lot while hiking. We also, of course, took photos like this: 

Shortly after, the four of us got to the first eating point with a Lap Donalds Hamburger stop very soon but found that we hadn’t even done enough to earn such a lunch and so we stopped for snacks and photos only. The view was breathtaking and the skies were smiling down on us. There were toilets at this checkpoint but I didn’t want to use them. It seemed like the hike was going to be quite a nicely planned out one for city people like me. After a nice rest there, we got up to go again. 

Pic: Lap Danalds, the first beautiful rest point for lunch. 

We continued on for a while more before stopping for lunch at another area, where we saw the most insects during the whole trip. They said that in the Swedish lapland, there could be a lot of mosquitoes during summer. Well, maybe that was the good part of having suffered cold and rain because they never did come out except during Day 1. 

Pic: Andro teaching us how to use the equipment for the first time. I had to recondition my mind to eat in the wild with dirt around. Just up above a few feet away were a shitload of reindeer poop. 

After lunch, we broke off from my sister and Nat, who continued to stroll through at their own liking whilst stopping for various activities like taking photos of a random dog (there were many beautiful ones hiking with their masters!). Andro and I found Day 1 to be a rather simple hike (little did I know what awaited me) and so we caught up and joined the first party of our team halfway through. 

We got to the checkpoint Kebnekaise of the day and waited there with the other guys for a while more for the other parties of the team. But when the wait deemed long and the skies were turning grey, we left onward for another 2km or so to find a spot and started pitching our tents. 

Halfway through, the rain, this detestable leech who presented itself without welcome, started pouring down on us. The sun was gone and our tents were getting wet under its drooling curse. Andro and I managed to get ours done quickly and so did the other Singaporean guys. 

The rain never did stop and it was from then on that the nightmare began. 

Just as we were finishing up with organisation of our bag packs, my sister arrived with Nat. They had been waiting an hour at the checkpoint 2km away from our camping site for the night before the others arrived to inform them about our camp position. Andro and I started helping my sister and Nat set up their tent in the what was now pouring rain. Yup, we were getting soaked and it was getting colder suddenly. 

Pic: After more than an hour freezing under the rain, I had to stay inside with my head popping out every few seconds to pass Andro and my sis something. They named me the genie in a tent. 

Then came the other party of the team and despite having stayed under the rain for more than an hour already, Andro and I decided to stay on to help the other part of the Singaporean team set up their tents. (It was the right thing to do being in a team, right?) 

So, under the rain and cold, we stayed for more than an hour. The organiser of the group asked the other guys to come out to help but none of them did or even gave a verbal excuse except for two who finally did come out albeit towards the end. It was then that I realised who I could really turn to in our team  in case of emergency. I felt real lucky that I was not there alone and that I had a good group of four by then. 

Pic: After Night 3 where I’d apparently saved my loved ones from camping at a cold valley and had chosen a nicer slightly warmer flat land down below instead. 

Andro and I offered my sister to share our 2-men tent. She declined but after getting inside to try and sort out of her bag pack, I heard her ask if she could take back that offer. We happily invited her in, and thank God because it was cold that night and sleeping 3 in a 2-men tent gave heat! Also, it was a family time for us 3 to be together, eating miserably under the rain whilst laughing about the day. 

Pic: Night 1 when after an hour plus outside, I was too frozen to stay out in the rain anymore and so popped my head out each time to help pass Andro and my sister stuff when they asked for it. They called me the genie in a tent. 

That night, whilst people froze, I slept with no pants on (because I gave my only one dry long johns to my sister out of love whilst my sole pants tried to dry in vain in the wet tent on the other side) but I wasn’t cold at all. The cold-blooded me who revelled in cold enjoyed a nice sleep. But even so, the cold-blooded me wasn't ready to be an ice princess the next day. 

CLICK HERE TO: READ ABOUT DAY 2 AND HOW IT WAS THE WORST CLASSIC FJALLRAVEN HIKE IN HISTORY. 

[sallyannthearts]

Hiking for Princesses 2

How To Prepare for a Hiking adventure when You’re a City Princess

Pic: Day One when all was still well and I could still balance well enough on a steep rock to take this photo. 

A real princess is one who lives in fantasy whilst still having her toes touching reality, no matter how harsh it may seem. In that sense, signing up for this trip wasn’t on a silly girly whim. I knew that there’d be tough times ahead but I also didn’t want to think too much about it. 

One thing that I knew I’d be okay with and was ready to do was: NOT TO SHOWER FOR 6 DAYS... and probably crap in a hole in nature. 

I’d signed up before the summer holidays and told myself that I’d be dancing every single day at summer dance camp while hiking on the weekends to prepare for this feat. But just before the summer holidays began, I found myself with a severe ankle sprain after having fallen off a chair during a dance in Cabaret the Musical. I couldn’t walk properly for the next 1 month. Oh Oh. 

Pic: Early stages of rehearsal during Cabaret the Musical by ECM Paris at Theatre de la Variete, Paris. I wore heels to dance in the show. 

So, in total, Andro, reason 1/2 of why I was going for this torture trip and I only trained like, twice for the trip. The first time we did so was around our backyard from Paris 5th arrondissement to Parc Montsouris where we ended up having a tasty lunch with beers. 

Pic: If only she’d known back then what awaited her. 

The second time we ‘trained’ was in Dieppe with 8 bottles of milk in my bag pack and we walked over slippery rocks at the beach with the tide threatening to come in close to wash over us (dangerous thing to do). That was more like it and already, I thought I was dying from lack of stamina. I shivered at the thought of the 110km. But summer was very hot in Paris for the next remaining weeks so... we didn’t train anymore. 

Pic: Day One when we arrived at the first viewpoint/ eating place with LapDonalds hamburgers for sale and I thought this was going to be an easy breeze. 

SO, if you’re going to sign up for a Classic Fjallraven Hike or anything like that, one thing I do advise you is: TRAIN FOR IT or at least have good enough stamina because I have to thank the Gods for my youthful energy and dance background for having saved me by the latter. 

Also, another note that would be elaborated later: LEARN HOW TO USE YOUR EQUIPMENT because not everyone will be lucky enough to have an Andro to help you through it all. 

Pic: This is an Andro. He was the one who helped me and two other girls survive this trip by teaching us how to really set up our tent and to use our bunsen burners amongst other camping tricks.

Photo credit: Michael Mead (a.k.a Jesus because he came to join forces with the Andro to help us girls along the way; to be continued). 

Now question about your packing list, what do you really need in that bag of yours? 

I got most of my stuff from Decathlon and their equipment proved to be very good. My undergarments came from Ice Breaker, full 100% Merino wool of comfort and cleanliness which makes every cringing penny you spend SO worthwhile. 

YOUR HIKING PRINCESS PACKING LIST:  

1) A Waterproof Bagpack (YES WATERPROOF IN SWEDEN!!! You will soon read why.) Mine was a 60L one which was just enough and nice for a little body like mine. Anything lesser would be tough to keep everything in for a 6 day hike like this. It also comes with a waterproof bag cover, worth the buck! 

2) Waterproof Boots (Decathlon, mine came with pink laces!) I remember telling my boyfriend that I didn’t wanna get mud on them when I first used them. HA. Ha. 

3) CLOTHES: 

-Base layer: 100% Merino Wool bra and panties (Ice Breaker) Yes, they’re expensive but they’re well worth it! You’ll smell like roses even after six days of rain and not changing them. 

-Extra base layer (if it’s cold because the weather in Sweden can go from hot summer to freezing cold winter with snow): 100% Merino Wool long johns and top (or sleep naked in the ice cold like me because you love your sister more than your comfort and you gave her your long johns to sleep in whilst your soaking wet pants tried to dry in vain in the rain) 

-Middle layer: A odour-proof, sweat-proof basic T-Shirt (Decathlon) 

-Top Layers a.k.a the dozens of Jackets you’ll put on if it’s super cold: 

1st Jacket: Basic Fleece Polar (Mine was from Uniqlo) 

2nd jacket: Feather down Jacket (Mine was a pink one from Gap, pictured above) Get one that’s easy to pack and very light so that you don’t add more weight. 

3rd jacket: Waterproof & Windproof Jacket with Hoodie (Mine was a green one you see above from Decathlon, a $20 euros deal that saved my life!) 

-Rainy layer: Huge Poncho (Decathlon) that can fit your bag pack inside too. Choose wisely for you will look like hunchback or if you prefer, like my sister, a cute orange spongebob. 

Pic: The Orange Spongebob, nicknamed after my boyfriend when we were looking out for her in the distance.

-Head layer: A beanie because even your ears will freeze if you are blessed with weather like ours. 

-Neck layer: An all purpose scarf/headband (Decathlon) 

-Hair: Bring hair ties to tie your hair up! 

-Hands: Winter gloves that can withstand rain (Or 1 single glove because you love your sister and gave her yours only for her to find hers and lost 1 out of 2 of your gloves and so you continued the hike with one aching hand all the way) 

-Bottom Layer: One pair of Waterproof pants that can be turned into shorts (Decathlon); actually, bring 2 pairs because if it rains, I’d rather save you from the horrors of sleeping in 0 degree Celsius naked. Also, if you’re a less adventurous princess, sleeping in your bed with the same muddy pants may not be your cup of tea as I did during my adventure. 

4) FOOD & DRINKS: 1 Lifestraw water bottle 50ml (You’ll keep passing beautiful streams and rivers of nice fresh water but still this built-in filter assures 99,999% of bacteria and virus killed); 1 pot and pan with utensils, 1 bunsen burner beaker (they'll provide you with gas), 1 lighter or matches (bring your own and don’t make the mistake like us of sharing only one! But hey, now we have a matchbox from Salka as a souvenir!)  !!! Bring your own energy bars and chocolate and all that guilty crap you couldn’t eat back in the city because of well, fat. YOU CAN SNICKERS YOUR WAY THROUGH IT THIS TIME! Hello, guilt-free eating! 

Pic: DO NOT get the Creamy Salmon with Pasta from Real Turmat. Neither do I recommend the beef and lamb stews. Instead, the best were Chicken & Lime, Kebab Stew, Curry Chicken and Chilli Con Carne! 

5) BEAUTY: Vaseline (For your feet blisters), Blister pads & Hand plasters, thick creamy facial cream (with 20SF sunscreen in case you get some sun suddenly popping out), Flip Flops (Even in the cold, to let your feet breath), Toothbrush & Toothpaste (although I only used them twice in 6 days), polarised sunglasses, small microfibre towel, lip balm, hair oil, mosquito stick (in case), 1 roll of toilet paper, 1 small anti-bacteria hand wash. 

6) MEDICATION: Panadol, Diarrhoea pills, Muscle ache roll-ons (DO NOT get the ones that cools instead of heats else you’ll end up feeling intense cold on certain parts laughing in semi-hypothermia like me).

<!!! Contact Lenses: 

I’ve tried looking for blog posts about advice on wearing contact lenses when hiking and camping in the wild but to no avail. So here it is: TO WEAR OR NOT TO WEAR YOUR CONTACTS? 

Yes, YOU CAN WEAR THEM. How? Dailies. Wash your hands beforehand or use a small bottle of eyedrops to wash your hands and then put them on, preferably with the help of a tent if not you’ll be surrounded by three other people like my sister whilst she tried hard to put them on in the wind and rain.> 

7) Walking Sticks (2 of them because you’ll thank the vision of yourself at age 90 walking with these sticks when you’re at 25km and limping in the cold towards the next checkpoint) 

8) TENT (Spend on your tent, seriously! The Green ones most of the Singaporean team got from NatureHike was not suitable for the cold weather at all! Your Tent is your Home. It’ll motivate and help you to stay strong. More to come about my horror Tent story later) 

There goes, my Princess Hiker Packing List. I also brought a book and a packet of Monopoly deal, neither which were ever used. My bag was one of the lightest  from the start because we spent on the newest and lightest quality equipment, all of which your back and shoulders would thank you later. 

Pic: With one of the lightest bag packs at less than 10.5kg amongst the 2200 participants of this year’s Fjallraven that had an average of 15kg to a whopping 25kg+, I was set for a breezy walk, wasn’t I? 

So, with about $500 euros per person spent on equipment. I was ready for the 110km adventure wasn’t I? 

Click here to READ ABOUT THE WORST CLASSIC FJALLRAVEN SWEDEN 110KM HIKING YEAR EVER AND HOW IT BECAME THE BEST. 

[sallyannthearts]

Hiking for Princesses Episode 1

The next few posts are dedicated to real princesses who dare take that step out of their comfort zones towards slippery muddy adventures. 

Pic: Day One of the 110km adventure when it was still sunny and beautiful and I was thinking how easy this was after all. 

I am a city princess. I love the comfort and luxury I was brought up with in the concrete jungles that I’ve lived in all my life. Despite having a side of me who tried venturing towards ‘boyish’ activities when I was a kid, I gave that up the moment I found my boyscout days rather political and since then, never did anything else that required me to get down and dirty ever again, or at least pretty much so. 

Pic: A City Princess (Credits: Yann Caneill Photography) 

So, when I was asked by my sister and boyfriend to join them on a 110km hiking trip in Sweden, I flat out said, “No way.” And I stood by my decision for many weeks. They tried to remind me about the time I did a crazy advanced caving in Gunung Mulu, Malaysia for 8 hours straight (with only 1 prior experience before that); I still said, “No, thanks.” 

Pic: Advanced caving in Mulu, Malaysia back in 2015 where no ropes but my muscles kept me alive from the crazy heights and rushing river in the dark caves. 

But for some crazy reason, that decision wavered as I thought how fun it’d be to see my sister, who still lives in Singapore at the moment and hence is very far from me, who live in France. I also thought about how boring I’d be in Paris during the August summer holidays while my sister and boyfriend explored Sweden, a country I’d never been to despite having been a flight stewardess for three years before this. I’d always wanted to see the beautiful nature that I saw in pictures of Sweden. What more with the trip that was being organised by the Singapore representative team, there’d be at least a day or two in Stockholm with my family. 

Pic: Night in Kiruna Ripan Hotel before our journey, after having been pampered by my sister with expensive Fjallraven souvenir clothes. 

So, thinking my dancing days has given me some stamina to probably survive this, I signed myself up by taking the last slot that Singapore had. See, each country has a limited amount of passes and this year 16 people represented Singapore, including my Malaysian sister, my French boyfriend and this nomad franco-malaysian city princess that you’re reading about. 

Pic: Team photo of the Singaporean team (the irony of being a part of it even after having left the country years ago) just before the kick off when everyone was still a smiling face. P.S: You don’t see my sis who is off eating somewhere. 

We paid about $1350SGD per person for the organised trip which included hostel stays before the hike and some bus transfers. I don’t really know the actual fees for the event which was part of the fees. However, this made me realise how incredulous nature could costs as much as your spa stay in a foreign city. And this did not include the crazy airplane tickets not just from Paris to Stockholm. What was more pricey were the limited tickets from Stockholm to Kiruna (the starting point) where in a fit to get the last 3 tickets left on the plane, we had booked ourselves Business class tickets. That experience was rather hilarious. 

Pic: From Stockholm to Kiruna in an SAS aircraft, business class. The princess still hadn’t gotten down to ‘it’ yet. 

So dear princesses, if you’re thinking hiking trips are cheap and for poorer people who can only afford a night in the tent than your white sheets in a hotel, you’ve got it wrong. Your fashion sense may think “eww I’m sooo not wearing that” but hiking gear can be more costly than your high-end fashion garments and also equally fun to shop for. 

Pic: Towards the finishing point when everything was better by then, including the broken knees. 

Trust me, I spent a fortune on de-virginising my hiking wardrobe. 

CLICK HERE to: Read the Next Post to find out about How to Prepare for a Hiking adventure when you’re a City Princess. 

[sallyannthearts]

How to Hike for Princesses 7: The Best Toughest Classic Fjallraven Year ever

It tried to rain once more that morning on Day 5 so I closed my eyes and waited for it to stop. When it did, we were one of the few tents left who hadn’t started their day yet. Jesus had left as if he had never existed. And the Malaysian team were still sleeping by the time we started our day. We found their chillax spirit hilariously inspiring. 

Day 6:  23rd August 2018  Destination: Abisko National Park to Abisko Turistation (5km)  Thoughts: Got to save the dog, got to save the dog, and gotta get to the finish line to get beer! 

Pic: Did Jesus ever exist? He was gone early in the morning. Was Jesus ever okay with his nickname? (Yes he’s still friends with us now.)  (Photo credit: Michael Mead) 

Day 5 was going to be easier. 

Pic: One of the two times I ever brushed my teeth during 6 days. 

Date: 22nd August  Destination: Destination: Kieron- Abisko National Park Camp Site (12km) We had pancakes again for breakfast, albeit mine was spilled with coffee so I had added aroma to mine. After brushing my teeth for the first time since 5 days, we started our day with the sun beating down on us beautifully. 

Into the Abisko National Park we went and it was suddenly such a easy trail that it felt like baby’s steps on a stroll. The steps were way more maintained and somehow less interesting because it felt like we were no longer in the wild. However, we did see dead animals, probably eaten by either a lynx, a wolverine or a bear; according to the information provided by the national park. 

We stopped somewhere along the way to have lunch. I wished I could turn back time and relive the moment slower because I realised that at some points, I had forgotten briefly the whole purpose of the 6 days: to take my time revelling in nature with my loved ones. My sister and Andro had to stop me at one point and remind me that though we were towards the finishing point, that wasn’t the aim for now. 

Lunch beside a river with my sister and Andro relaxed me before we finally headed to the camp site for the last night which was 5km away from our finishing point and was where we also grouped back with all our teammates from the Singaporean team. 

But instead of going to sleep early like the rest of them, we stayed up that one last night hoping to see the auroras, knowing deep down that we wouldn’t that night but enjoying the chilly breeze whilst chatting under the near dark sky of summer Sweden. 

The next morning, we woke up late and left last because we only had 5km left and I was sure that there was no use leaving as early as the other of my team members who thought they’d serve alcohol and hold a party at the finishing point before 11am. (It’s Sweden, they have specific alcohol and party rules! You also can’t buy alcohol in a normal supermarket!) 

It was the first time I ate two packets of my breakfasts and enjoyed it. I brushed my teeth again and then the four of us packed up for our last day’s journey. 

We intended to take a stroll but halfway through we met a couple who was struggling to carry their husky and their backpacks towards the finishing point. Their husky had an internal bleeding and so she couldn’t move at all. I felt so sorry for them that I offered our help. 

Though it meant rushing the last few kilometres and even sprinting with a bag pack for a few hundred metres, I am glad that we did it to save the dog. At one point, the Husky who couldn’t even lift his head anymore, tried hard to do so when I was striding beside him with his eyes fixed meaningfully at me as if to thank us. I knew that I had done the best thing to end the trip. 

When I reached the finishing point, I didn’t even hear the accolades that sounded around me. All I had on my mind was the dog and hoping it would be safe. After leaving them their items that we had helped carried, we finally let ourselves breathe and realise that WE HAD MADE IT! 

WE HAD FREAKING MADE IT! 

HOW?  TOGETHER. 

TOGETHER. 

We weighed our bags again and mine was way heavier than when I had started. My trash bag, though heavy, wasn’t the heaviest but I was happy that it wasn’t. 

We put our bags down and went to relax with drinks. We had to wait a few more minutes before drinks were allowed to be served. But there were a lot of things to do from waxing our shoes for free to making our own pen knives. 

Pic: Trekkers Inn where we got our alcohol after 6 days of sobriety. 

In the bus, I looked out the window at the beautiful landscape of mountains and found it incredulous that I had been there. I had been on top and among those landscapes and I had survived, despite having broken down once during the hardest night of all Classic Fjallraven Sweden history to date. I hadn’t given up and I had survived because I was with loved ones. 

I had survived and will continue to survive because I am loved. 

I forced myself to remember at one point somewhere in the wild when things were really tough that I’d been through harder stuff than this already challenging hike and that I was going to make it out more than alive. And now that I’ve added this other tough moment to my life as a sweet memory, I know that I can only go on further. 

And this trip, albeit hard at the moment, will always rest a precious vacation to me because I did it with love. I did it with love surrounding me and it couldn’t be a lovelier metaphor of life in 110km.