This is a continuation of the photos and stories from the (North-west) Sörmlandsleden hike we did in July.
Day 2: Wednesday we ate breakfast, packed up, and then needed to walk back to the start of Etapp 18 to find the water source (most etapps have them, but sometimes they are far apart!). This was the biggest day according to the GPS, and I definitely felt it. Segments of the day:
- Etapp 18 Ånhammar to Finnsjön 11km
- Etapp 17 Finnsjön to Harsjöhult 6km
- Etapp 16 Harsjöhult to Skottsvång gruva 10km
- We slept in a vindskydd by Skottsvång, an old mine that is currently an outdoor concert venue. We cozied up in our tent to the sounds of Per Persson, a late-80s Swedish sensation.
The GPS measured 30.4km with 413m of elevation gain.
Most of the vindskydd had a view of the water, and the ones faaar out from towns were quite well-equipped 
‘Giant pot’, a geological formation made by a round stone revolving under glacier and carving out a round hole… 
…and it looks like this! Donät miss this one in the dark, it would be a nasty trip hazard. 
This region of the trail is a former mining area and charcoal-manufacturing grounds, and there were lots of interpretive signs to describe some of the ruins and remains 
An abandoned rail bridge used to cart ore out from the mine 
Lots of tailings piles like this, hundreds of years old and some entirely covered in soft moss 
Iron smelting needs charcoal which burns at a higher temperature, so it was needed for all the iron being mined. Charcoal production was manual and needed constant supervision and tending. 
The charcoal-tenders lived in small sod huts with stone chimneys, and many of the stone chimneys still remain as reminders of former industry in the forest 
This way to the old oak! 
Lots of little blooms along the forest floor 
Describing an iron-age cairn grave on a hill top… 
…and the cairn 
Taking a break from my pack 
Cool natural stone bridge that you can walk over and (crouch) to get under 
There is an old folk story that someone who is sick and passes through a rising pine-root and be healed… 
This tree gives two potential options! I am too big to pass through, but I’d like to think if my arm or leg was sore I could just pass that through like it was a peripheral CT machine 
Vindskydd at the old mine for night #2