Stora Blåkusten och Högasjön

We drive very far north to meet Annika.

At her summer house near Höga Kusten.

It is near viking burial mounds.

And has a pizza oven.

Annika guides us into the wilderness.

Deeper and deeper into the thicket.

We think it’s all fun and games.

Until we find the bear poop.

We reconsider our choices.

Then find a sunny lake, and forgive ourselves.

There are cranberries in the lake’s boggy borders.

“But where are the cloudberries?” Isabelle asks.

“Check over there!”

Here they are, but berryless.

Or eaten by whichever moose licked this moose salt lick?

Or eaten by slugs?

The game of “moose or bear poop?” is in full swing.

Isabelle decides to lead us back.

Annika is not sure this is the way back.

Indeed, the terrain seems a bit hostile.

Despite danger warnings, we get home… eventually.

We part ways with Annika, but she recommends we visit a waterfall on our way out.

We visit a waterfall our our way out.

Waterfalls are very rare.

We take the slide back down.

After a few hours of driving, we stop for some energy.

Every Italian’s favorite.

And after a few hours more, we find our destination.

First stop on the Wilderness Road: Stora Blåsjön.

That means “Big Blue Lake.”

This big blue lake has a big brown sand bar.

Which is filled with animal prints.

Is it bear prints?

All around us are endless sheets of shale.

We rent a cabin, from which we can almost see a big blue lake.

And we finish our long drive with a big plate of gas station frozen hash.

The next day we take a day trip to Ankarede.

A Sami village.

On the edge of a river.

It bridges to nature.

We cross into the wild.

There are mushrooms.

And mushrooms.

And more mushrooms.

And yet more mushrooms.

And mushrooms still.

Also cloudberries.

And a waterfall! How rare.

We come home with mushrooms, and they are delicious.

In the evening, we take a quick jaunt back into the wild.

There’s a little stream surrounded by shale formations.

We kick off our shoes, roll up our pants, and wade in.

It is colder than anything has ever been cold before.

Ah, but look!

A secret waterfall.

Next day, to Hällingsåfallet. I wonder what “fallet” means?

It’s also in this nature place.

And it also has a water source.

It has a serious ant problem.

Is that a bear print?

We don’t do whatever this says not to do.

But we do do this gorge.

Isabelle does not appreciate the height of this gorge’s ledges.

But does appreciate “fallet.”

We do not collapse into the fall.

We just admire its rainbows.

Will there be more waterfalls?