More than a hiking route

Actually, this applies to every trail, but the Hallandsleden in Sweden was much more than just a hiking route for me. It was a trail of extremes: from days when I barely felt like walking to days when I wandered through a magical landscape and forgot that I actually had to cover kilometers. From a shelter where I wasn’t welcome and a night full of itching, rain, and grumpiness to unexpectedly warm encounters with people who, like me, have reshaped their lives.

The common thread

The landscape changed constantly: forests, lakes, marshes, purple heather, rocks, waterfalls, gravel roads, and eventually also asphalt, industry, and hustle. Sometimes beautiful, sometimes downright ugly. And it seems that this variety was important. But perhaps the most significant common thread is my relationship with ‘having to’.

More awareness

I started the Hallandsleden when I was actually tired and had no desire for anything. I didn’t feel like hiking; I didn’t feel like writing. And those are precisely the two passions that I have united in my current life… I discovered that I don’t always have to push through. I became even more aware that it’s okay to stay in bed for a day. That you can shorten a route. That you can change plans. And that ‘not pushing through’ is sometimes the wisest form of perseverance.

A lot happened

And in the meantime, a lot happened: I passed the 10,000 kilometers walked since my sixties, I slept on a small island, I swam in countless lakes, I got lost multiple times, I was sandblasted, I fought with haddocks and mosquitoes, I discovered Viking burial sites and Swedish farming villages, I met cyclists, hikers, families, young people, and other free spirits.

Being on the way doesn’t always mean you have to move forward

If I had to sum it up in one sentence: the Hallandsleden was a trail of forests and lakes, but most importantly, it was a trail where I rediscovered that being on the road doesn’t always mean you have to move forward. Yet, it remains a stubborn challenge. I still find it difficult to slow down and often feel like I’m not ‘doing’ enough and that I have too much left to ‘do.’ The struggle between mind and heart continues, although it is calming down more and more. Because intellectually, I do know: nothing is obligatory anymore. I am the one who makes it harder for myself than necessary.