I had some trouble getting started with this segment of the route, as I was worried about hiking in the heatwave. Sure, it’s cooler in the forest, but I still wanted to be careful.

Here was the planned route:

Open the route on Strava

I mostly did better at following the route this time around and only added another 1000m due to trying to find the right trail:

The first orange marker of the day!

The first part of Upplandsleden from Barkaby was a stroll compared to this section. Shortly after leaving the parking lot at Hummelmora, we cross the road and head up a steep scramble – I was wearing trail runners, was glad for the grip, and was half wishing I had more solid hiking shoes. I’m glad the weather had been dry, otherwise it would have been more slippery.

It was a lovely hike that lead up to a series of flat rocks that allowed for a reasonably good view out over Mälaren.

It seems a little late for blueberries, but they were still very much around – and delicious!

The forest had dried out quite a bit compared to a few weeks back, when everything was green and lush. It was still green, but the ground was dried and often even cracked. We needed some rain and at this point, there was an eldningsförbud (fno fire allowed) for the Stockholm area.

There were quite a few people around <a href=”http://&lt;!– wp:paragraph –> <p>It was a lovely hike that lead up to a series of flat rocks that allowed for a reasonably good view out over Mälaren.</p> Görvalns Slott, so I didn’t hang around too much. I did find this epic sign post, though.

Things got tricky around Görvalns Slott and I was 1000m down a trail that looked right before I realized that there were no trusty orange trail markers. Because I wanted to do the “true” Upplandsleden, I backtracked and found myself at a busy area with three to four turn-offs. I chose the one that looked right, and though it turned out not to be, all of the trails ended up at the same point anyway.

I thought I was pretty much back where I was supposed to be when I came across this signage. Is that orange?

I wasn’t quite sure, but the route was a little vague at the moment, so I followed it. No, it was not the correct route and just added an extra bit of distance before it looped back to the main trail. Lesson learned: it’s not just the color but also the shape of the marker.

I was so relieved to clearly be back on Upplandsleden that I took a memorial photo.

I spotted these interesting constructions in northern Görvalns – my first thought that it was a bench and then a table to work on. But then, why would it be across a fence. I eventually realized that it must be another type of stile.

The trail fairly straight forward and I ended up down by Mälaren again. It was a welcome sight, as Kallhällbadet was supposed to be just around the corner.

I will admit that I was so excited to get to the beach that I forgot to take any photos. I took a wonderful swim – it turns out that wicking workout clothes do just fine if you walk into a lake and dry fairly quickly. So do trail runners, which was much nicer than trying to walk over rocks barefoot. Lunch was lovely and I was right near my pick-up point.

And then I realized that the trail didn’t actually go into the beach and turned off a little earlier. I wanted to be a completionist and finish it “correctly”. It turns out that it’s an interesting bit of trail that loops behind the beach and eventually comes out near Kallhäll station. This also turned out to be a problem because I had lost my mosquito spray during my dip in the lake – the mosquitos were vicious.

I made it through the woods after making my donation to the mosquitos and met my ride at the large and accessible Parkering Bolinders Strand.

As mentioned during the last segment, it turns out that a regular backpack just doesn’t cut it. I upgraded to an Osprey Sirrus 24L with a frame, as well as a hip and chest belt. I feel ridiculous having so many features on such a small backpack, but it made such a difference. I was grateful that my load didn’t move around while I was scrambling up tricky spots.

Lovely trip, looking forward to the next bit!

Check out Upplandsleden route info (Stockholm) for the full overview.

Other trip notes:

• Bathrooms available at Görvalns Slott (supposedly, I couldn’t find it) and at Kallhällbadet (porta-potties)
• Audio book: A Plague of Giants (The Seven Kennings, book 1), by Kevin Hearne