TS Day 110

Via Ljungbyhed

Wednesday 27 October 2021

Tonight I slept better than the two previous nights, which felt good. The nausea was gone, and the headache slightly better, but still a bit annoying.

We woke up even more late today than yesterday, and didn't hurry this time either.

The first half hour that we walked felt super slow (for me) but after that the hours and kms just ticked on. Like all the previous days, we talked a lot, and therefore also took a wrong turn in several places because we didn't pay attention to where we were going.

Other than that it was fine. We took two pauses today. First one after 10 km, and another one after 20 km. Quite long, but it was really pleasant. Maybe that was a reason why it was easier to walk today too?

In Ljungbyhed we stopped by Pizzeria & Restaurang Oregano. I was hungry, but forcing myself to eat a whole pizza was still tough. Peter wasn't so hungry though, but little did we both know, that the pizza would be the day's saviour. After more than an hour at the pizzeria, we quickly went to Hemköp to buy some snacks, drinks and breakfast for me, and then we continued the walk in darkness. As we walked towards Söderåsen national park we kept a higher pace, and it felt really warm outside, and I had to open up my rain pants as much as I could to not burn up from the inside 😂

But the moment we came into the national park, the issues started. First, we though we had walked too far, and walked back. Then, we decided to go for a path that was in another direction. But the path was pretty much impossible to find. The area was very open and the ground covered with leaves, so you couldn't see where people had previously walked. And so, we had to descend down a reeeaaally steep hill. We couldn't find the path that was marked on the map, so we decided to just try and make our way down there anyway. Which was easier said than done. We walked slowly, sideways, down the hill as the leaves slid and rocks and gravel rolled down the hillside beneath us. Sometimes slipping and almost falling, sometimes making us fall down on our butts. Hands and arms shaking as we tried our best to brake the descent with our poles. When I came down, I was tired, and felt a bit shaky, but relieved I made it down unharmed. On the way down I had to stop several times and hold on to a tree and just breathe.

But little did we know that this pretty much was the "easy part".

Finding the path down here didn't prove to be any easier, and the area was very flooded. We stepped over and through several creeks, and I muttered a bit because my shoes had finally become dry again 😅 I also saw a pair of eyes staring at me in the dark. Then two. Three. And finally five pair of eyes. Don't know what it was, but we just ignored them and tried to focus on the path ahead.

And back and forth we walked in the mud, finally finding the path, but now had to find the crossing over the stream that was marked on the map. It took a lot of time back and forth, but when we finally thought we had found it, it looked like it had been destroyed by the water and washed away. By now, Peter was so frustrated that he was ready to just ford the stream, but luckily I wasn't so keen, and suggested we go have a look at another crossing on the map. Since it was dark, and I was very tired, we managed to miss this one too, and had to turn around once again. But we found it! And it was a PROPER BRIDGE! Heck yeah.

After this we decided to very carefully follow the markings, since there also was a sign saying "Liagården 900 m". And this was where we were going.

After what felt like an eternity later we finally arrived, and I could lie down in the shelter to rest my feet. Meanwhile, Peter found the water pump so we could fill our water bottles. Then it was, finally, time to go to bed.

Today's:

Distance: 36.7 km

Start time: 09:55

End time: 21:57

Ascent: 442 m

Descent: 381 m

Snickers eaten: 2

Totals (from Grövelsjön)

Distance: 1,157.2 km

Ascent: 15,411 m

Descent: 16,089 m

Tent nights: 15