Sweden 2009 - Svartalven
Been looking forward to this trip for a long time.
The previous 2 years I had taken people from work who wanted to do some canoe camping in Sweden after they had seen my photos but this meant that we always did the ‘easy’ Rottnan river.
This year I wanted to do something different, so, along with my wife Linda and friends Hugo and Eleanor ( who have all done the Rottnan previously also) we went the first week in May to the Varmland area of Sweden to spend 7 days on the Svartalven River.
I’d sorted the basics of the trip last year at the end of the 2008 trip. I mentioned to IngeMarie of Vildmark i Varmland, the outfitters that we always use, that I would like to do the Svartalven trip but their website said that the tour isn’t on the agenda till the season starts in June. I always like to go in May. Then I miss the other people and also the bugs! - No problem she says, we can go in May, they will accommodate us.
The tour normally runs Saturday to Friday but due to flight times etc I wanted to do the trip Sunday to Saturday - again, no problem.
We would arrive the day before the trip starts so would like to camp at their ‘outfitters base camp’ which is all shut up for the winter - again, no problem!
I recommend these people unreservedly!
We arrived at the camp on Saturday afternoon, flying from stansted to Oslo ( we’ve always done Stockholm previously but decided to see Oslo for a night and day at the end of this trip) camp was set up and we had a celebratory can of beer
A good nights sleep despite being woken by a nearby Woodpecker and Bjorn soon arrived to put all our kit in the van and canoes on the roof and we were off to the put in about 45 minutes away.
We unloaded and after a final check to see that we had everything Bjorn left us to pack our canoes.
Our load seemed to consist mainly of food!, our sleeping bags etc went in the supplied dry bags and anything loose was tied in
We were off!
We only did a few kms the first day just to get into the rhythm and soon got to a small headland where we camped for the night
Since we were there relatively early I treated them to scones done in my piedish oven.
Next day more of the same, but now we were in the land of the portage..
3 in about 5 kms to start with but they were only short, the water in the river system is controlled and we had to circumnavigate the sluices and weirs which hold back the water in a controlled fashion
The river is all gentle water with virtually no flow due to the sluices so it’s very relaxing when you get the sunshine ( which we did, at some point every day)
After heading south down the Svartalven we headed up a small tributary, the Tvaralven, despite going against the flow we had no difficulty and soon reached the next open lake area. Nice place for a campsite
The clouds were gathering as we arrived so the tarp went up first. just as well.
We had a huge thunderstorm and were showered in hailstones, but since we were prepared they were not a nuisance, but went in the gin and tonics..
That evening we paddled back down the river for a couple of kms hoping to see some beavers but no luck- it was a nice peaceful paddle though.
Back at camp we were treated to a fantastic sunset
Next day off again, although the weather was mixed there was a stiff breeze which sometimes made things interesting..
But generally we had good weather with some fantastic views
We were always passing little cabins at the waters edge, presumably 'summer houses' which due to the fact that it was still may were not yet occupied.
We soon came to what was the longest portage of the trip, about 2 kms but the trolleys were very good and the road surface was tarmac so we trundelled through the town of Lesjofors. The locals didn’t bat an eye, they must get a dozen a day in the season.
We stopped at the Co-op and supported the local economy by buying a beer and some bread. The bread was the only thing we had to re-supply, we judged everything else to perfection
After the put in at the edge of the town it was a short paddle till we found a camp for the night
Next day dawned a bit breezy and by the time we reached the first small portage of the day we’d had a shower.
Once again there was lots of evidence of beaver activity but no sign of the animals themselves.
By the time we crossed the road and re-loaded the canoes the wind had blown the clouds away and we had a bit more sunshine
Off again with a couple of lakes to cross. About now the weather decided it had played with us long enough and came over very black with strong winds which gave us waves to head into as we crossed the lakes.
We stopped for a tea break on a small island
By the time we reached the portage at the village of Rammen we were a bit damp and had lost a bit of enthusiasm.
The walk through the village took us past this strange building - a blast furnace from the 1700s
By the time we reached the put in the wind was such that it was filling the lake with ‘white horses’ so a decision was made to stop early and make camp for the day.
The camp looks a bit like a hobo’s convention but we sat out the storm in relative comfort and by the morning we had a bit of sunshine once again.
The wind had abated to a stiff breeze and the white horses had disappeared so off we set again across another lake dotted with islands
The final portage of the trip was mainly along a logging track which made for easy progress, passing one of the many sluices which link and control the watercourses used on this trip
The final 400m however was down a rocky track and meant we had to carry the canoes.
A beer was the reward when the boats were back at the waters edge
We had intended paddling to a few kms from the point of collection and then having our final night on an island but the weather was unkind. It continued to blow sideways with occasional flurries of rain and the areas were we could have camped were a bit exposed so we continued to the pick up point where we knew we could pitch camp in a nice sheltered area.
Again we got a bit of sunshine to finish the day.
I rang the outfitters to arrange an earlier pick up the following day.
Anders arrived on the dot to take us back to the car and the end of ‘Sweden 2009’
If you’re one of the people who are going over there later in the year - I’m already jealous..
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That looked like a really nice way to spend a week.Sounds as if you had a very obliging outfitter. Some lovely views and easy paddling. Thanks for sharing. 
Great blog with photos to match.
May the gentleness of morning, greet your silent passage through endless waters...
