Lapplandsleden, Day 1

This morning, the sky is covered in clouds, and everything outside is wet. There's a great breakfast at my accommodation, which I take advantage of before leaving at 8:15 a.m. I enjoy the walk—a lot. Yes, the ground is wet and sometimes muddy, but I feel good. I love the energy I feel here. I feel grounded. The energy of this nature is strong, calm, and tranquil. The air is fresh and clean. I'm glad to be back in Lapland.

I walk up and down, below the tree line, above the tree line, and so on. There are beautiful views, and I can see Norwegian mountains still covered in snow. I pass many lakes and small streams and am glad that there is no river crossing today. I also see the first reindeer. They were I'll be around every day now.

The ground is soft and often swampy, but no mosquitoes are around to bother me. The only challenge is finding a spot suitable for setting up my tent. I haven't found one yet, but I want to take it easy and not walk much more than 20 km today. At 21.43 km, I find a small spot next to the trail. It's not completely flat, but it will work, and a river is close by. It's still early, only 2:40 p.m., but as usual, it takes me 2.5 hours to set everything up, have dinner, etc.