An Adventure through Skuleskogen National Park ~ Cadence of Company

So much for consistent internet! After a thunderstorm a few days ago, we finally have internet again.

After our extended stop in Ornskoldsvik, we continued south, entering the High Coast region. The start of this area was certainly noticeable to us cyclists, as our consistently flat coastal terrain suddenly turned into rolling hills! It was a welcome change though, as the crest of each climb afforded a beautiful view of the sea and the surrounding fields, followed by an immediate descent.

Our next destination was Skuleskogen National Park, a hotspot of various geological formations resulting from the last ice age at the northern end of the High Coast. We were hoping to have a chance to get off our bikes and explore for a little while. Our only concern was that the only roads near the park stopped at the north and south ends, so, unless there was a way to bring our bikes through, we would have to go to the park, then backtrack and take a long detour inland to continue heading south. Given that the park is only about seven kilometers long, we assumed that if there was a bike-able path through, that would be much easier.
And as luck would have it, there was! We reached the entrance area and discovered that cycling was only allowed on one path, that which ran from the north to the south entrance. So we enthusiastically headed in, expecting to spend a lovely night on a little island, with some enjoyable hiking to boot.

Well, this enthusiasm did not get us far. After an easy few minutes through the woods, we soon came to the coast, where the path ran along a bank above the shore. Here, are smoothly graded trail turned into a boulder field, with massive roots and rocks barring our way. Being the adventurous lunatics that we are, we plunged ahead, expecting the section to end quickly. As it were, the conditions only deteriorated, forcing us to push and carry our fully-loaded bikes over and around the impediments. To make matters worse, Lucy stumbled at one point and fell over onto her bike, gouging her ankle on her large chain ring. At this, we decided to leave the bikes and walk a bit to see if it the going was ever to get easier.

Luckily, we found that it did, the trail evening out to a more walkable/bikeable surface. Of course we had no idea what the rest of the park would bring, but given the misery of trekking through the previous section, we were loathe to do it again. So after a quick grapefruit snack, we continued on, eventually reaching the slightly easier stretch. There was still a steep, rocky ascent to conquer, but at last we made it to the turnoff to the island, where we abandoned our bicycles for the night.

Trudging back down to sea level with our panniers over our shoulders was no easy hike either, and we both realized that we'd be doing no further exploring that evening. But we did enjoy a pleasant dinner on the beach, complete with grilled halloumi, our favorite touring appetizer!

Exhausted after trudging with our panners. This photo annoyingly refuses to be rotated.

View from the island.

After a less-than-perfect night (we tried to cowboy camp only to have bugs and rain force us to sleepily set up the tents after an hour), we got going at five to try to make it to the south end before other people were on the trail. Four miserable kilometers later, we passed the last campsite and found that the remaining trail turned into evenly-graded dirt! We were overjoyed, and celebrated with a dip in the sea, then a hike up to the rock canyon feature that is one of the highlights of the park. Then we dined on pre-boiled beets and feta before completing the final trail section and reaching our beloved pavement at last.