Two weeks from now I will have packed up my tent, lifted my rucksack and started pootling southwards from the northernmost point of Norway, to begin a two and a half month journey to the bottom of Scandinavia. No biggie.
After a good couple of months planning (and by that I do of course mean a few days interspersed with many different types of procrastination) I am now in a position to share details of the route I will be following. This is useful from my point of view because it means I have identified the gaps where a lack of food could be an issue (most of Norway), and because it should reassure some concerned friends/family members that I do actually have some idea of what I am getting myself in for… But hopefully it is also useful for anyone interested in following my progress and those who are still a little unsure of what this journey will entail (though in reality the beauty of the trip is that I have no idea what the answer to that one is).
Just to jog the ol’ memory… the whole route looks a little like this:
So that’s 3,630km (ish) in total – which when broken down into roughly 48km sections (30 miles) works out to be around 77 days of travel.
However, having looked at the route more closely, factored in a few rest days and been a bit more sensible about the whole thing, the detailed schedule predicts that the total distance will be 3,769 km, run over a period of 3 months.
Thanks have to go to Barefoot Aleks here – for not only helping with the planning process and collating the dates, but also for letting me borrow the following breakdown from his (far more superior) blog page (I’d like to add that I have actually been busy plotting the route/distances/food – I am not just massively lazy…)
Norway & Sweden:
Norway
Nordkapp to Pitsusjärvi – 505.5 km – 5 potential food stops – 03/08/16 to 14/08/16
Pitsusjärvi to Arasluoktastugorna – 995 km – 5 potential food stops – 15/08/16 to 26/08/16
Arasluoktastugorna to Bustadmo – 1,503.5 km – 6 potential food stops – 27/08/16 to 07/09/16
Bustadmo to Roros – 1,983.5 km – 7 potential food stops – 08/09/16 to 19/09/16
Röros to Grövelsjön – 2,098 km – 2 potential food stops (3 day leg) – 20/09/16 to 22/09/16
Sweden
Grövelsjön to Mockfjärd – 2,490 km – 10 potential food stops (9 day leg) – 23/9/16 to 01/10/16
Mockfjärd to Semesterbyn – 3,000 km – 17 potential food stops – 02/10/16 to 13/10/16
Seemsterbyn to Varberg – 3,382 km – 13 potential food stops (8 day leg including ferry crossing) – 14/10/16 to 21/10/16
Denmark
Grenå to Skanderborg – 3,503 km (4 day leg) – 22/10/16 to 25/10/16
Skanderborg to German border – 3,769 km, (6 day leg) – 26/10/16 to 01/11/16
*German Border 1st November 2016*
These stages are based purely on the assumption that I can cover about 50km a day, with two rest days every ten days. Whilst I am hoping that I don’t need to be entirely sedentary on these rest days – it is good to have a few days to play with – in case the average km dips a little – especially over the first few weeks.
I am also hoping that as I progress through Scandinavia, the distance becomes easier to cover and who knows, I may even get to the finish before November.
Either way – I’m not in that much of a hurry – and though the dates may change I will be making it to the German border one way or another!
You can track the adventure on Facebook The Rooney
Images from http://www.fernwandern-in-europa.de website
A full breakdown of all the stages can be found here (for those who love a bit of detail)
