Day 22 – to Balesudden Nature Reserve

A coastal mist hung around for most of the morning. After coffee and a chat with neighbour Bob I drove the 25 kilometres back to the shoreline through the village of Bäck to the parking area for Balesudden Nature Reserve. Almost all the houses around here are holiday homes, with quite a few new builds also.

The Nature Reserve is the low lying area of red granite between surrounding hills. It was beneath the sea until after the Ice Age, and it could well be again in a few decades. Because of its particular circumstances it is home for rare moss and lichen. I hiked the 5 kilometres to a lonely tarn on a peninsula stuck out in the sea, Balestjarnen, known for it water so clear and clean the thirsty hiker can drink directly from it.

The route is a section of the Höga Kustenleden, or High Coast Trail, a 129 kilometre long distance footpath in 13 sections. I came across a few people walking it all, and staying in the huts, and walked for 15 minutes or so with a father and son pair laden with what seemed huge backpacks.

Back at the parking the sun had burned through the mist and it seemed an ideal place to stopover. There was an older German couple in an old converted fire engine as my only neighbours. I’ve come across a few of these huge converted vehicles, hardly environmentally friendly, and must burn some fuel. They also have hardly any windows so must be a but dark and dismal inside.

I was outside reading just before mosquito hour, when a family of four emerged from the path, parents with two teenage daughters from Netherlands who had run out of water a while back, and were struggling, having already walked 20 kilometres. Though I was their saviour as regards water, they had clearly planned badly, as had hoped to catch a bus back to their car, but the bus stop was still six kilometres away, and they would miss the last bus of the day. They had decided to call for a taxi, but the nearest such facility may well be a long way away. Unable to help in this regard I sent them to the nearest holiday home to make further enquiries.. The teenage girls didn’t look happy, to say the least.