What if...

I'm not sure why my mind does this, but...

As I run along the side of the river, I look down at the inky-black water. It's -3 at the moment and I'm guessing that water isn't much different 🥶. I continue on, passing just one person out walking their dog...

As I turn the corner, I enter a heavily wooded area. It's at this point my brain starts an internal dialogue... (worth noting that the only 'dangerous' wildlife in Sweden are listed as Moose and Wolves... both of which area apparently pretty rare), Anyway...

My brain starts with... "what would you do if you suddenly heard the low rumble of a wolf. A hungry wolf, looking to feed its pups"... "Would you stand your ground, or would you take your chances in that icy cold water". Umm... good question! 😬

As I peer into the forest, it appears to go on for ever... just getting darker and darker as the undergrowth thickens. For some strange reason, my pace picked up a little.

I'm now starting to think the ice-cold water is probably the best of the two options.

Coming out of the forest, I'm greeted by a stunning view out across a lake.

And just up the road is the track which should loop me back towards the start. Except, it's got a big fat 'private' sign up at the entrance. Damn... taking a quick look at the map reveals that I'm surrounded by forest, rivers & lakes. The only way I can really go is back the way I've just come.

I get back to the lodge, and I've neither had to wrestle a hungry wolf OR take a plunge in an ice cold river. Result 😂

Sunset, Sunset

I take a late lunch and shoot out in the car. Driving for a few km rewards me some pretty spectacular views across lakes and rivers...

I'm thinking somewhere around here would be pretty amazing to live. It's fairly remote, loads of stunning scenery, but yet, it's only 15-20 minutes from the pretty large city of Karlstad.

Planning the next leg...

With only a couple of nights left here, it's time to start to look at where I'm gonna stay next.

A pretty intensive search on both booking.com and airbnb.com reveal that I've been pretty fortunate with the lodge I'm currently in.

However, I manage to find somewhere, fairly central. The plan will be to leave here on Friday and then drive the ~3 hours to Gothenburg.

Kinda looking forward to visiting somewhere new, but definitely gonna miss this place - it's been spot-on!!

Gothenburg, here we come...