Family hike 1970 – Storulvån-Blåhammaren-Sylarna-Storulvån.

Tomas and Maria had experienced mountain hikes before, and we decided that now that Katarina was 7 years old, we would take a shorter mountain trip and bring her along. A suitable trip could be done in Jämtland – the mountains there are not very different from those in Lapland. We would walk the "Pensionärsstigen" – the route Storulvån – Blåhammaren – Sylarna – Storulvån. Katarina was eager too; she wanted her own backpack, and I arranged that by buying an American surplus bread bag at the Överskottslagret in Stockholm.

We drove to Storulvån in Jämtland, parked the car at the tourist station, and started the first leg – 12 km – to Blåhammaren.

Katarina wanted her own backpack, and I arranged an American bread bag for this purpose. She would have her own food, etc., in it, but it didn't take many kilometers before she started complaining that it was too heavy, and I had to take over her burden. Children of that age are not particularly interested in hiking, and we had some trouble with her reluctance. Small children need a goal to march toward; an ordinary hike seems somewhat monotonous to them, and we had to stop at regular intervals and entice her with raisins, chocolate, and nuts.

The hike was a failure. At Blåhammaren, it went reasonably well with the overnight stay, but when we arrived at Sylarna, the station was invaded by a number of people who did not fit into the mountain environment. It was becoming popular to go to the mountain world and engage in partying. There were quite a lot of people, and we had difficulty finding sleeping places; moreover, things were quite lively in some groups.

The entire hike left a dreary impression, and since then we have not been to any Jämtland mountain station.