Adventures of the High Coast

Do you enjoy the outdoors, adventure and a community atmosphere? This is the place you want to be. FriluftsByn, the Swedish outdoor village, located in the High Coast, a UNESCO world heritage site has all that to offer and more. Read about the High Coast Trail run, the various adventures you can do around there and the real reason I keep coming back to this unique place.

I arrive at the airport. My flight to Stockholm is not for a few hours. Usually I am not this early but with all the regulations around Corona I did not want to take any risks. I quickly go through the check in and security. All goes smoothly. The fact that it is less busy than usual at the airport is a pleasant advantage.

I have a few hours to spare so I decide to get a coffee. The Privium lounge, that I usually go to and where I get coffee for free, is closed, and the better coffee places are too. Starbucks is open. Starbucks is good for coffee flavoured drinks like Chocolate chip Frappuccinos and Pumpkin Spice Lattes, but for a good espresso I rather go somewhere else. I am relieved I already had my caffeine fix at home and decide to sit and wait at the gate for the remaining two hours.

THE JOURNEY

It is a short two hour flight to Stockholm. FriluftByn, the outdoor village I am headed, is located 500 kilometres north of Stockholm, next to Skulenskogens Nationalpark, a UNESCO World Heritage site, overlooking the Gulf of Bothnia, the Northern part of the Baltic sea.

Previous times I was able to drive up with runners I met through the High Coast Trail Facebook group. Just by posting a carpool request in the group, I always managed to get a ride. Now, being a few days early for the race, I thought it would be easiest to take the train. A five hour direct train takes me to where I need to be and I get picked up from the train station upon my arrival.

The train passes through the beautiful Swedish rolling lowlands with cute red coloured wooden houses that Sweden is famous for. I observe the forested hills and a few of the 101,000 lakes Sweden possesses. When I am not busy reading my book or catching up on some work on my computer, I enjoy to sit, relax and take in the views passing by my window seat.

I travel alone, but I never feel lonely. I enjoy being alone with my own thoughts and feelings on a journey, without distraction, or consideration of others. For me, this is my time to reflect. We do not get to be still very often in our daily lives. There is always something to do, or someone around. During my travels I enjoy this time to myself. I write, read or just do nothing, and look forward to the adventures ahead.

I have always been fine on my own, even as a little kid. Of course, I had friends that I would play with, but I also enjoyed playing by myself. I could easily spend hours up alone in my room. Although, I did surround myself with about eighty plush animals, all with their individual names. Now, about thirty years later, these cuddly toys are replaced by the friends and followers on my mobile phone, I guess. If I want to share my story, I find the platform there.

MUSIK MAKARNA

Upon my arrival, the students of the Swedish most prominent singer-songwriter Academy, Musik Makarna, are on stage preparing their performances. They have been at Friluftsbyn for the past few days writing and are busy preparing the songs they are about to perform tonight. A songwriter camp, as you will. They go out and stay in nature, enjoy the tranquility and get inspired by their surrounding, and produce a song in only three days. The quality of the songs and the singing is incredible. Even though, these guys and girls are no singers, I have been told. From my point of view, they might as well be.

I am impressed with their creativity, skills and the diversity of the songs. Sensitive ballads are alternated with hard beats, and a guy playing the violin in the midst of a rap song. The class in front of the stage goes wild, which shows the amount of joy and support they have amongst each other. I sit at the fire place with a glass of wine in my hand and take it all in. I watch and listen to the music and enjoy the atmosphere of the evening. A few days later I still find myself humming the tunes of the songs I have heard that night and wonder which of these songs will make it into the hit lists and will I be hearing on the radio in the future.

PRE-RACE FUN

As I plan to go out for a little pre-race run the next day, loosening my legs, I get asked to help out with the race preparations. My pre-race run seems to fit seamlessly with the efforts of the team of volunteers to mark the trails. Debora and I mark the first thirteen kilometres of the course. The start of the route is pretty straight forward. There are no side roads where one could go wrong. Still, we place some red-white ribbon, just in case. As a runner, and terrible navigator, myself I know it is comforting to get the confirmation from the markers to let you know you are still on the right track. After about four hours, Debora and I have clearly, and somewhat excessively, marked our part of the route. Let’s say, I am glad I am not the one taking the ribbon back down after the race.

It feels good to be out in nature and it is a great way to recce the course. I now remember the difficulties I had two years ago running this terrain. It is not an incredible fast course, which one would expect seeing the elevation plot. Fifteen hundred meters of elevation is not a huge amount for a forty three kilometre race. The tough part comes with the terrain, however; boulders, rocks, patches of sand, and lots of trees with their roots covering the trail. It requires some skill, courage, grit and focus to run this trail fast, I think to myself. I slide the sole of my trainer over one of the rocks to test how slippery they are. They seem fine and runnable. I just hope it will not rain until race day, Saturday.

"I like being around these likeminded adventurers"

I like spending my time in FriluftsByn, the outdoor village. I feel accepted into the community, or family as most call it, and immediately feel at home. I spend most of my time sitting around the ‘camp’. The centre of the outdoor village, where there is always a nice fire burning, food being served and people getting together.

A few days before the trail weekend, runners start to arrive. I meet new people and some I know from previous times I have been here. Some who I have seen on one of the hikes FriluftsByn organises, or runners I have met during the winter trail last winter. All of whom love the outdoor life and look for adventure. I like being around these likeminded adventurers. It makes it easy to connect and we soon share stories from our previous and upcoming travels.

HIGH COAST TWIN PEAKS 25K

The Twin Peaks twenty five kilometre trail run is the first race to start off the trailrun weekend. The participants get dropped off by bus at the start at Entré Syd. Where they have a maximum of six hours to run through the national park over the the top of Skuleberget mountain to the finish at the FriluftsByn ‘camp’. Seeing all these runners finish, overhearing the animated stories about their run, makes me excited about my own run tomorrow. I can not wait to venture out there. I try and get some rest and go to bed early, while I am sure the Twin Peaks finishers party on till later in the night.

HIGH COAST TRAIL 43K

My alarm goes off at six AM. Two hours before the start of the High Coast Trail 43k. Plenty of time to get ready, but I want to have my breakfast on time to be able to digest it before the start. There is breakfast being served in the outdoor village centre, but I took some leftover pizza up with me last night, so I can eat my breakfast quietly up in the cabin. At seven o’clock I go down. I grab some coffee, sit at the fire place and wait for the bus that will transport us to the start.

The start is earlier than usual this year. Due to the Covid regulations there are several starting slots to spread out the number of people on the trail. I am in the second slot of the day, as I registered to finish sub six hours. The sub five hour group starts ten minutes before us at eight AM. On the bus, I close my eyes. I am still feeling tired and I hope the caffeine of the coffee I had starts to kick in soon. Just as I doze off, the bus stops and the doors open. Time to run! Two by two we cross the matt that registers the chip attached to our shoes. The timer has started and so have we.

THE COURSE

The first part of the course we find ourselves on a winding road that slightly moves up. It is well runnable, especially this early on in the race. After about three kilometres we take a hard turn right, crossing a little foot bridge, and enter the forrest onto a small trail. All familiar territory so far. I spot the white-red ribbon Debora and I used to mark the route. Even though, some ribbons might be somewhat unnecessary, I am content with the job we did.

My legs feel good. The running feels effortless. I am contemplating whether I should push myself harder to run faster. Although, forty three kilometres is still a long way and I have not really decided yet whether I am just running or racing. A few weeks ago, I was running in the Alps for six days. Obviously this has had the expected amount of physical impact, but the conditions and obstacles we faced, also made me dig deep mentally. I am not quite sure, whether I am ready to push myself yet again.

I end up pushing myself on the parts of the trail I like. Running down the small technical trails through the forrest, hopping over tree roots, trying not to trip. Skipping from one rock to the other along the river bed. Running fast as I can over the flat surface of the big boulders on top of the mountain. It feels like being a kid again playing outside, unaware of the risks. Although, I quickly get reminded of the latter.

It has been raining this morning, which has increased the trickiness of this already technical trail. For a moment I lose focus and step on a green patch of moss or lichen. Immediately I feel my trainer slide underneath from me and there I go… I land on my bum. Fortunately It doesn’t hurt and I am still in one piece, ready to continue. I slide a few more times but I manage to stay on my feet.

"Running or racing, either way, it is not worth taking too much risk."

The wooden board walks through the forrest cover the trails where they are too technical, muddy or wet. They should help make hiking or running easier. As they are slippery from the rain, I choose to run beside them where possible. When the tree roots and cobbled rocks make the trail too hard going, I jump back on the board walk. One time I jump too carelessly and there I go again. This time I land on the other side of my bum. It takes me a minute to regain myself. That hurt! At least my bum will be equally bruised on both sides now, I think to myself.

In all trailrunning there’s a certain amount of risk involved. The amount of risk you are willing to take, will determine how fast you can go. At least on the downhills. The more experienced you get, will of course help you get more confident and able to conquer those technical trails. After another little slide, I decide to slow down and run more carefully. Running or racing, either way, it is not worth taking too much risk.

I can feel my legs have got stronger from running in the alps, and of course the training I did before going there. It feels good to run up the slightly inclining trails and when it gets too steep, I hike. Slowly I am getting in the flow. I run when I want, hike when I need to. I look around and enjoy the views from the top of the mountain. The sun has started to come out and I can see the ocean from here. After taking in this breathtaking scenery, I redirect my gaze down to stay focus on the trail, not to trip again.

Meanwhile I notice I am getting overtaken quite a bit. Heavily breathing, runners pass me hiking rigorously, some even slowly running. For a moment I had forgotten I was in a race. I clap my hands on my quads as to re-activate the muscles and encourage myself to pick up the pace. We are not there yet.

AID STATIONS

There are four aid stations during this forty three kilometre trail. I did not feel like running with a heavy pack so I have only taken two half litre soft flasks with me and count on the aid stations for replenishment. The first aid station comes after sixteen kilometres. Somewhat to my surprise, it does not offer water, or any other drink. They do have chocolate balls though. Although I brought my own bag of chocolate M&M’s.

Fortunately the water in the area is clean to drink. About one kilometre after the aid station we cross a little stream where I refill my bottles just before the trail goes up. Perfect timing to drink and eat something. The next aid stations, at respectively 25k, 35k and 40k, offer water, sports drinks and snacks. I quickly refill my bottles as I pass and I am on my way. Eating and drinking I prefer to do while moving forward. Although I have let go of my goal to finish within six hours, I still do not want to waste time either.

THE FINAL CLIMB

After about forty kilometres we come out of the woods and run into FriluftsByn, the outdoor village. I pass my cabin. I wonder if the organisation has created the route like this just to mess with our minds. I still feel very fresh flying through the village and do not get tempted to run straight to bed just yet.

Höga Kusten Trail finish line at the Skuleberget mountain top

Only a few kilometres left but still a steep climb. A gravel path alongside of the ski slope should take us three hundred meters up to the finish line. No matter how fresh you feel starting this climb, you will never feel fresh finishing this race. There is no running this hill and I try to hike as fast as I can. I place my hands on my thighs, my eyes to the ground, and tell myself to grind through this last section of the race.

Meanwhile some fast runners have already finished the race and are hiking down while shouting undoubtedly encouraging words in Swedish to me. I do not respond but I appreciate the support. It is nice to get cheered on by people who know what you are going through.

THIS IS IT!

I can spot the blue sky through the trees. This means the top of the mountain and therefore the finish line are near. I hear the cow bells ringing, people chatting and cheering, I feel my heart and the adrenaline pumping and wonder if I can get myself to run, just these final hundred meters. We are now off the gravel path and onto the granite rock, where I can see the finish line flags.

Jerry Engström high-fiving finishers at the top of Skuleberget mountain

One last push, I run, an elbow high five, and across the time registration matt. My watch says 6.07hr. Not the sub six I was going for, but still one hour faster than in 2018. I am more than happy with the result. Afterwards on Strava, I see I made it into the top ten on the ‘E4 climb’. I guess I did have energy left at the end… Which makes me wonder: "Can I go faster next year?"

“a race can take it all out of you and give so much more back”

I stick around to see other runners finish and to enjoy the ambiance at the finish line. Everyone who is up here has achieved something. There is a sense of relief, pride and joy in the fresh mountain air. It is interesting to see the different emotions of all finishers. Some are happy, ecstatic even and some remain pretty cool. I observe runners screaming at the top of their lungs, voicing some sort of primal force. Others cry and fall to their knees in total exhaustion. It is beautiful to experience how a race can take it all out of you and give so much more back at the same time. These emotions can be overwhelming, yet beautiful.

My legs still feel good, so I run back down to FrilufsByn. After a nice warm shower, I am ready to celebrate the accomplishment of the day. Daniel Söderberg, former Swedish Idols candidate, is singing live on stage. We sit around the fire with a Höga Kusten beer in our hands, sharing our victory stories of today’s race.

MORE TO DO AROUND THE HIGH COAST

The day after the race, I take it slow. I hang around the village, sit by the lake and write down my thought and feelings from past days’ events. Most guests are leaving and the centre turns back to a calm quiet campsite in the middle of the beautiful Swedish High Coast. Still there is plenty left to do around here. This world heritage side offers beautiful scenery, small fishermen villages, walking trails along the ocean and hiking trails throughout. It is worth driving around, with the occasional stop for ‘fika’; a cup of filter coffee and cinnamon bun, or other pastry as you prefer. For adventure lovers there is also enough excitement to be found. The FriluftsByn staff suggests to try kayaking or Via Ferrata. I decide to try both.

KAYAKING AT SUNSET

We head out around eight o’clock in the evening. About an hour before the sun starts to set around this time of year. After a quick explanation on how the paddles at my feet should help me steer the kayak and how my arms should move as if I am boxing, I am ’hooking’ my way left and right while the boat slide smoothly through the water. As the semi-athlete I am, I analyse my movements. My arms are getting tired quickly. I am sure I should use my core-strength more. Sitting more upright and finding my rhythm, I come into the flow, which is nice as I almost forget to relax and enjoy this experience.

It is beautiful out here. I see cliffs and trees and the occasional wooden house. The lights in the houses are switched on, as it is turning dark outside. The water is calm and when I stop paddling, I hear no sound at all. Such a nice escape from city life. We continue to paddle for about five kilometres (for about an hour) to the end of the rocks, where the ocean gets wider and we get more exposed to the elements. When we turn around the corner, I can feel the fresh autumn breeze on my face. It gently rocks the boat. The air is a bit chilly, but I love this feeling.

“Who needs Netflix when you can experience real life magic?”

I am not sure whether it is the silence, the darkness of the sky that makes me feel somewhat invisible, the magnitude of the ocean that creates this wide open space, but something out here makes me feel calm. Nature has that power to clear your mind, forget your worries, or at least make them insignificant. In nature we are just a small part of the bigger scheme. We are not in charge out here. We follow the rules of this unpredictable force. Here we learn to accept, adapt and be in the moment.

On our way back, we see one of the mountains on our right being lit up from behind. This light source had not been here an hour ago. When we paddle on, the light gets brighter and brighter until we are looking at the biggest, brightest orange moon I have ever seen. I can hardly believe that I am staring a moon this size. It seems surreal. Nature is truly putting up a great performance tonight. Who needs Netflix when you can experience real life magic?

VIA FERRATA

Another day, another adventure. I am excited about doing the Via Ferrata. Via Ferrata, Italian for 'iron path' is a protected climbing route built with a steel cable rail fixed to the rock. For me, this is the first time doing this. I like trying out new things, especially when adrenaline comes into play. There are four routes you can take; white, yellow, red and black. Varying from easy to do with the family, to more advanced with steeper climbs and smaller ridges. I have got some experience climbing, but it is still my first time. I decide on the red route. This is also known as the most scenic route.

I receive a harness and helmet and buy a pair of recommended rubber gloves in the shop. I read and agree with the pamphlet that tells me my risks and I am on my way. A small hiking trail leads us up to the start of the Via Ferrata. We click both karabiners on to the cables that are attached to the wall that should lead us our way up the mountain. On the first section I wonder if I actually need to be clipped in for this, as it still seems quite easy to me and well hike-able.

"I am happy I don’t know the ‘rules’"

Then we get to an intersection where the route separates. A sign says to go right for the red route. We walk over ridges and climb across the wall. I am not sure if I am supposed to pull myself up on the cable or to use my hands and feet on the rock, as I do climbing. The latter is actually a great way to practice climbing technique, I find. At some parts I am happy I don’t know the ‘rules’ and I am ‘allowed’ to pull myself up using the cable.

As always, with any activity in the outdoors, I have to remind myself to look up and check out the views, instead of being solely focused on ‘completing my mission’ as quick as possible. We are the only ones hanging out on this side of the mountain today, so we are not in the way of anyone when we take a break. Having a piece of chocolate in the sunshine seems to be the perfect excuse for me to take in the view. I never get enough of seeing mountains, tree lines, and that blue ocean in the background.

The route is not too straining and I find it to be the perfect post-race activity. Especially when you take your time. After the climb, we hike around the national park. When Toppstugan, the cabin on the top of Skuleberget mountain is open, you can enjoy some nice refreshments there. At the end of the day, we take a small trail back down through the forest, that leads us back to the Via Ferrata centre and car park.

THANK YOU!

I thoroughly enjoy spending my time at the High Coast and getting to know the area better. I have been fortunate enough to have experienced a variety of the great events organised by FriluftsByn throughout different seasons. Besides the adventures, hikes and trail runs, beautiful nature and all it has to offer, I keep coming back for the atmosphere that is created by the passionate people in this outdoor village called FriluftsByn. A huge thank you to everyone that has made me, and I am sure many others, feel so incredibly welcome. See you back soon!

For more information check out the links below:

Travel by train: https://www.sj.se/en/home.html#/

Travel by bus: https://www.ybuss.se/

Staying at FriluftsByn: https://friluftsbyn.se/boende-hoga-kusten/

Höga kusten Trail runs: https://hogakustentrail.se/loppen/

Kayak: https://friluftsbyn.se/kajak-i-hoga-kusten/

Via Ferrata: http://www.viaferrata.se/english

Read about Manon’s experience of the High Coast Winter Trail here

More information about the Höga Kusten Winter Trail 2021, via this link