I felt a great need for hiking. Not least because I got myself new hiking boots (and this time they are waterproof for sure, unlike all my previous supposedly waterproof boots which have greatly reduced my faith in Gore-Tex), but I just somehow I wanted to be out using my feet. I haven’t found any nice hikes in Föne so I drove to the Hamra National Park, my old hunting grounds in Loos.
I made a small detour on the way and stopped by a nice spot along the Ljusnan river to get some pictures of the morning mist. The water level is quite low again which allowed the nice shoreline features to come out, but I didn’t want to spend so much time here when I had a date with the national park.
I mentioned a few weeks ago that good photo opportunities really are about being in the right place at the right time. And today I managed to do just that – the sun came out for about five minutes, and right at that moment I was standing by this small tarn with really nice features to give me foreground to match the sky above. I took a lot of pictures and made the most of the light, because I knew that the wind would pick up soon and the light would be gone. Sure enough, just a few minutes after I left the spot, I felt the breeze and the light was so dull that the rest of the hike was just a straight march back to the car.
But I wasn’t done with hiking yet. The lack of sun meant that I would have a good chance to shoot some waterfalls, so I drove to the Svartån entrance and hiked up the creek to those nice spots that I’ve never really fully explored. But this time the light was right and I had all the time in the world, so I was happy to shoot long exposures and leave the place knowing that I’ve finally taken those pictures I always wanted to take here.
What a great day. I think I know why I needed to go hiking… it’s the backpack. I think I’ve experienced the best things in my life with a backpack on my back, so I associate it with positive feelings. Just strapping it on makes me feel good!
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I had to check the etymology of ”wanderlust”. The term as I’ve learned it means the desire to travel and explore, and that’s correct, but the word originates from German and actually refers to hiking rather than travelling. So today I use it with meaning ”enjoyment of hiking”.