Hiking mistakes I won't repeat, with co-founder Maria Paulsson Rönnbäck

This guide is written by our co-founder Maria, sharing her experiences from her hiking trip to Swedish Lapland.

The other week I did my first actual long hike. Strangely enough, it hasn’t happened yet, I guess because I’ve been thinking that “packing light, sleeping in a tent, AND walking for many days” just isn’t my cup of tea.

Day hikes have been my thing. But now it was for sure time to hike the classic Kings trail in Swedish Lapland. Not the whole trail of course but the first part, from Abisko to Nikkaloukta which is about 100 kilometers.

It was an incredible experience, but I’m gonna be completely honest with you. The trip did absolutely not turn out the way I expected, it was so much more demanding than I ever could have imagined. I cried from pain and being tired, got angry with my hike buddies and all I could think about was “when.do.I.reach.the.end.”  

Since it’s easy to be wise with hindsight, here are how my beginner mistakes – and advice to you, who are going hiking for the first time. It’s not so much about what to pack (that you can read about here and here) but I hope it makes your first hike a bit more enjoyable :) 

 Don’t walk too far

We had a very ambitious target to walk the whole distance in 5 days, so about 20 kilometers per day, some days up to 25. That was a lot, at least to me, it turned out. Going to the gym 3 times a week doesn’t make you an experienced hiker and with a heavy backpack (see my next advice), 20 kilometers per day in a stone-covered mountain landscape felt like a harsh military camp. We walked from breakfast to late evening and woke up with stiff bodies and aching feet. But there wasn’t an alternative to take a day to just chill, we had to catch our flight home, so we just had to continue walking.

So, for my next hike, I’ll walk a maximum of 15 kilometers per day and add some slack in the schedule so there’s time to rest. How much you are able to walk is of course very individual, so read on the internet about walking speed, and as mentioned, do yourself a favor and plan for some downtime so you can ENJOY it as well.

Mai-Li is wearing Ingrid Long Janes in black size Small and Ingrid Short Sleeve in black, Size Medium.  

Don’t bring unnecessary stuff

I really thought I aced my packing, but no, I had some unnecessary stuff with me, like an extra set of dishing supplies, a large tube of toothpaste, and five large trash bags in addition to the smaller (because you never know when you need those).

I clearly didn’t get the idea of chasing grams hehe. Next time I’ll let my friends closely review my packing BEFORE we leave and let them decide what should stay at home. The thing is, there’s really no way to get rid of things along the trail besides eating them, so I had to carry those trash bags with me.

Maria is wearing a Minna Minimalist wool fleece in Burgundy in size Medium and Amelia Hiking Pants in size 38 / Regular. 

Accept help from others

“One should be able to carry her own bag,” I said, crying somewhere between Alesjaure och Sälka. My back and feet were in such pain, and my self-esteem was at its lowest point. When my kind friend asked if he should carry my bag, I said absolutely not. I mean, I spend so much time outdoors, I’ve been camping in the Nevada desert for weeks, and I even run my own outdoor company. I should be able to manage a 5-day hike on my own. 

My wise friend reminded me that no chain is stronger than its weakest link and got me to realize that everyone has their own speed, and in a team, everyone contributes with different things. Said and done, my superhero friend carried my bag for a while, and I got that much-needed break that enabled me to continue.

Besides bringing incredible friends on your hike, a piece of good advice is to take all shortcuts there are to shorten the hike if you feel like you need to. For example that nice boat ride.

 Eat as much as you can

Your normal diet doesn’t apply when hiking. Walking several kilometers with a heavy bag makes you burn so much more than you think, so you also need to eat a lot more than at home. Which I didn’t do and made me even more tired. Don’t forget to drink lots of water also. I’m still not sure if the wine I brought with me was a case of “unnecessary stuff” or not hehe.

Learn how to care for your feet

I’m not an expert at this myself so I can’t give any advice BUT please do learn how to tape and take care of your feet during a hike, like for example changing socks many times. My friend who’s apparently a “feet expert” didn’t have one single blister after five days. Me, I never had that many blisters in my whole life. 

Rest when you’re done

Contrary to what I had expected, there were no big ideas or insights that popped into my head during the hike. Probably because I was so focused on “do not fall, ouch my feet hurt so much, when do we eat the next time, and are we there yet?”. I have never been so (painfully) present as during these five days. It wasn’t until we were on the transfer bus on the way home that thoughts, ideas, and feelings started to burst. Since our flight home was delayed, it felt like I went straight from the hike back to work. Next time, I’ll plan for at least one “decompression day” for reflections, resting, and taking care of sore body parts. Preferably in a nice mountain setting.

Maria is wearing the Ester Outdoor Shorts in size 38 and a swim top from the Swedish swimwear brand DeMadly. 

With that said, even though this was one of the toughest things I’ve done, it was also one of the most incredible experiences and I’m so proud of myself for doing it and thankful for my body that lasted. I grew as a person and came back with an even deeper respect, love, and appreciation for nature and the mountains.

Currently, the only thing on my mind is “When do we do this again?”

Love,
Maria

If you enjoyed reading this, we recommend checking out this blog post - Nordic Hiking Tips with Sofia Zetterkvist!