I’m doing a 1 300 kilometer thru-hike of the Swedish mountains this summer, and this series of blog posts is about my preparations for the hike. You can read more in the introduction, or skip directly to the section you’re interested in below.
60 plus days of hiking means that you’ll need to resupply on the way. Managing drinking water is blissfully simple in the Swedish mountains. Streams can be found pretty much everywhere, and as long as you use common sense and don’t take your water directly downstream of a farm or a reindeer carcass, you don’t need to use a water filter. I will bring a 1.25L plastic bottle, but only fill it up completely before I make camp for the night. Most of the time, I hike without water and drink from streams I pass on the way.
Food, snacks, gas and other consumables are a different story. There are stores with supplies here and there on the Green Ribbon. Some Green Ribbon hikers buy everything they need from them, but most hikers send at least a couple of supply boxes to stores and mountain stations on the route. There are benefits and drawbacks to both.
Buying Supplies on the Trail
Buying your supplies from stores on the trail makes it easy to only carry as much as you need. You can also buy whatever food and snacks you’re in the mood for when you’re standing in the store. The flipside of that coin is that you’re limited to what the store has in stock, and that selection can be very limited. On the King’s Trail, the mountain station store in Kvikkjokk was so barren that I had cashew nuts for breakfast for the next week. On the Padjelanta trail, me and Rebecka had to eat canned goods for several days. The time you spent picking out the right lightweight spoon seems pretty silly when you’re carrying 500g cans of meat balls. The food on trail is also more expensive, but it’s nice to you know that you’re supporting local businesses when you’re on the trail.
Another thing to consider is that you might need to replace a piece of gear that you can’t find on the trail. I love my Injinji toe socks, and when the two pairs I’ll bring to the trailhead wear out, it’s unlikely I’ll find a store with them in the right size on my Green Ribbon route. If you also have an item like that, supply boxes are the way to go.
Sending Supply Boxes
Sending supply boxes means that you’re not dependent on the selection of items in stores. This could be extra valuable for people with special dietary needs, like vegans or vegetarians. Even if you don’t have special dietary needs, you likely have some dietary preferences. Maybe you’re a huge fan of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, and don’t want to go without them for six weeks. On the other hand, if you’ve eaten Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups for four weeks straight, you might not be too keen on opening your fifth supply box and finding ten more of them. It’s difficult to know what and how much you’ll want to eat months from now.
If you end up eating less food than you expected, you might end up carrying lots of food you don’t need or (more likely) leave food in freebie boxes in cabins and mountain stations. Also, supply boxes require a lot of planning. You need to decide what supplies you need and how much, buy them, pack it all up, decide which stores and hostels you want to send them to, contact them for information on how to send it, drop off the boxes in the mail, and then reach out to the recipients to check that they boxes actually arrived. From a logistics standpoint, buying all of the supplies as you go is definitely easier.
Update: Since writing this, I’ve reconsidered my resupply plan slightly. Instead of sending seven resupply boxes, I’ll now send five: To Fjällnäs, Anjan, Gäddede, Klimpfjäll, and Vuoggatjålme. I’ll buy supplies in Hemavan and Abisko, where there are well-stocked stores that sell freeze-dried meals. I’ll leave my original supply plan below.
I’ve decided to rely heavily on supply boxes on my Green Ribbon. The plan is to send seven supply boxes with freeze dried food, coffee and occasional replacement items like socks and whisky (very important), but almost no snacks or desserts. I figure the food items easiest to come by on the trail will be candy bars, nuts and other snacks, and I think I’ll appreciate being able to buy those according to my whims in the store on that particular day. I won’t need as much variety when it comes to breakfast, lunch and dinner. I’ve eaten Real Turmats meals for years now, and I’m yet to tire of them. (Ask me again at Treriksröset.)
These are the items I’ll include in the supply boxes:
Always
- Breakfast (100g of granola, with powdered milk)
- Lunch and dinner (Real Turmat)
- Coffee, tea, cocoa powder
- Gas
- Maps
- Cash
- Toilet paper
- Bonus item: A fun dessert or snack
Sometimes
- Snacks and desserts
- Socks
- Whisky
I’ll pick up wilderness wash, mosquito repellent, sun screen, toothpaste and other consumables from stores along the trail.
Finally, these are the stores and mountain stations I plan on sending supply boxes to and buy supplies from, including what I’ll resupply where. I used the list on this page to plan my supply boxes.
Section 1
Grövelsjön – Helags
Grövelsjön – starting supplies
For 4 days / 93 km (to Fjällnäs)
Gas: 2 x 100g
Maps: Calazo Härjedalsfjällen & norra Dalarna 1:100.000
Cash: 2 000 kr
Supply box #1 Fjällnäs – My girlfriends family cabin
For 2 days / 45 km (to Helags)
Gas: 1 x 230g
Maps: Calazo Jämtlandsfjällen 1:100.000 – Calazo Gäddede, Hotagsfjällen och Skalstugan 1:100.000
Cash: 400 kr
Section 2
Helags – Gäddede
Shopping STF Helags Fjällstation
For 1 day / 20 km (to STF Sylarna Fjällstation)
Shopping STF Sylarna Fjällstation
For 1 day / 20 km (to Storlien)
Shopping Storlien – Sportringen Outlet Storlien
For 4 days / 76 km (to Anjan)
Supply box #2 Anjan – Anjans Fjällstation
For 7 days / 137 km (to Rötviken)
Gas: 230g
Cash: 400 kr
Shopping Rötviken – Handlar’n Rötviken
For 4 days / 88 km (to Gäddede)
Section 3
Gäddede – Hemavan
Supply box #3 Gäddede – Gäddede Camping & Stugby AB
For 4 days / 101 km (to Klimpfjäll)
Gas: 230g
Maps: Calazo Kittelfjäll – Borgafjäll 1:100.000
Cash: Withdraw there
Extra: New socks
Supply box #4 Klimpfjäll – Klimpfjällsgården
For 6 days / 141 km (to Hemavan)
Gas: 230g
Cash: 400 kr
Section 4
Hemavan – Abisko
Supply box #5 Hemavan – STF Hemavan Vandrarhem
For 7 days / 141 km (to Vuoggatjålme)
Gas: 2 x 100g
Maps: Calazo Vindelfjällen 1:100.000
Cash: Withdraw there
Supply box #6 Vuoggatjålme – Vuoggatjålme
For 7 days / 115 km (to Stáloluokta)
Gas: 2 x 100g
Maps: Calazo Sarek & Padjelanta 1:100.000
Cash: 800 kr
Extra: Candy and snacks for the full stretch (not for sale in Vuoggatjålme)
Shopping Stáloluokta – Parfas kiosk
For 3 days / 57 km (to Ritsem)
Shopping Ritsem – STF Ritsem
For 3 days / 62 km (to STF Sälka)
Maps: Calazo Kebnekaisefjällen 1:100.000
Shopping Kebnekaisefjällen – STF Sälka
For ~3 days / ~62 km (to Abisko)
Section 5
Abisko – Treriksröset
Supply box #7 Abisko – Abisko Turistation
For 8 days / 167 km + 11 km (to Kilpisjärvi)
Gas: 2 x 230g
Maps: Calazo Treriksröset, Abisko & Kiruna 1:100.000
Other: A key for the Norwegian DNT cabins
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