Upplandsleden 1: Barkaby > Hummelmora

I have completed the first stage of Upplandsleden (Stockholm): Barkaby station > Görvälns/Hummelmora parking!

Here’s the planned route:

The planned distance was just over 9 km and I ended up at 11.5 km due to missing the trail a few times. It was just about 2.5 hours of walking, mostly due to stopping to figure out where the trail actually was – or to deal with mosquitos. You can also clearly see that my pace drops considerably when switching from smooth path to hiking.

The camera for this trip is a OnePlus 9: photos are unedited and more for atmosphere and information than anything else.

Upplandsleden starts just outside of Barkaby station. I was startled to find that it’s actually a construction site, but the path is still well marked. Start the game of “spot the orange marker”!

The route goes through a bunch of different areas and it was a lovely albeit hot day. I was glad for a hat and sunscreen.

Right around the 5 km mark, we head under the road and enter a forest. From here on out, it’s mostly green. So much green. I stopped within 500m to put on mosquito spray. The path is also well marked except where plants have grown so fast as to obscure the markings.

Around kilometer #8, I regretted my backpack choice. I had about three kg of gear with me, which fit easily into a standard backpack. The lack of chest strap, even with that minimal weight, did my shoulders in. I’ll try and find a better alternative for the next stage.

I skipped Gåseborg this time around as I was tired and hungry, and instead headed for the beach at Sandviken. Standing in the cold water was an absolute treat, and then I made up some coffee and lunch.

Lunch was Real Turmat chicken curry – I’d eat it again, and the coffee was Johan och Nystrom’s one cup drip coffee.

A large part of this section goes through Görvälns Naturreservat and it’s one of my favorite nature areas. The trees are so tall that with the least bit of wind, it sounds like there are waves on a beach. Part of the area are used for (mostly) sheep grazing, so you see lots of stiles – not many sheep this time, though.