• When: April 17th - 20th, 2025
• Where: Finnskogen, Norway

The Plan

The idea looked easy on the map: five days hiking solo, looping through the deep forests of Finnskogen over Easter. A proper challenge, starting and ending at Skasenden Villmarkssenter. My pack felt heavy from just looking at all the stuff in my livingroom before I put it in the backpack. At 28 kg without water (almost 60 lbs), it was heavy. It held everything for five days though, plus my beast of an analog camera, a Mamiya RB67, snug in its shockproof, waterproof hardcase. Had some rolls of Velvia 100F film I'd found used on Finn.no (expired in 2006 - but turned out great!). I ditched the fishing gear last minute; every little bit of weight saved counts I read somewhere :D

Local reports and even satellite images were surprisingly optimistic about the snow – mostly bare ground predicted, which was amazing for mid-April. Still, heading out alone, knowing the distance I was "spent" (excited and nervous). This forest trek felt different from my usual mountain hikes. Not quite as isolated as Børgefjell though; had phone coverage most places, but it still felt remote and mysterious. Probably because due to the history of the Finnskogen area.

The map below shows the route. The blue dot is where I parked the car, contact Finnskogen Turist og Villmarksenter and you can pay 100nok a day for parking. At least then you are sure that the car is still there when you return. The red dots shows the camping spots for the original route with a start towards the south, while the purple ones shows where I actually slept.

Day 1: Maundy Thursday - Up 'Finnevegen' (~25 km)

I off from Skasenden in nice weather and ground thankfully dry for the most part. Climbed up the old "Finnevegen" which is a historic route the Forest Finns used. Over Skasberget and down past the ruins of Skyttersetra (an old shieling active till around 1900) and farms, eventually hitting the settlement of Svullrya. In Finnskogen, this is like a pretty large town haha. Picked up the old postal route climbing over Furuberget with some more hills. Passed near Rya and Østberget just a lot of old settlements, where some of them are still inhabitated. It's fascinating passing these places, imagining the tough lives lived here centuries ago, maybe even thinking about local legends like Rie-eksten, the 'troll-master' said to have lived near Rya.

Walking through a quiet stretch of forest, the only sound was a woodpecker hammering away somewhere nearby. I turned my head in the direction of the sound and then, suddenly, I froze. Not fifty meters off the path stood two moose, perfectly still, just staring straight at me. Massive creatures. Their big ears were swiveling, trying to figure me out. It looked like a cow with her calf from last year. Yearlings often stick with their mothers until the new calves are born in late spring. We just looked at each other for what felt like ages before I continued walking. Of course, my beast of an RB67 camera was tucked safely away in its case in the bottom of my pack... kicking myself for not even trying to get a shot, but the moment itself was pretty amazing. I try to say to myself that the would probably have ran.

Late in the day, I felt it. That damn friction starting on my heel. Found a 10/10 camping spot by the outlet of Kjerkesjøen Lake after my watch clocked about 24-25km. Slapped on some blister bandaid I had (not Compeed which was a mistake!), pitched the tent. Tired, but Day 1 was in the bag.

Day 2: Good Friday - To Nordre Baksjøen (~39km)

Amazingly, I had a really good night's sleep and woke up feeling pretty amazing. The original goal for the day was the Røgden area. Started off past a deserted, foggy, strangely mysterious Askosberget which felt like stepping back in time. I had only met one other hiker the day before, and today the trail was completely mine! Seeing the small cabins and Finn crofts dotted around while being totally alone in the forest was pretty cool, actually. It makes you think about the people living here hundreds of years ago. Must have been a hard life compared to our luxury today.

Followed the well-marked Finnskogleden trail, which eventually dipped into Sweden past Nøklevatnet. A bit boring part this was, with a lot of old logging areas. From the parts I walked, it seems like the Norwegians are doing a better job of maintaining the trails than the Sweeds do (not biased). I passed signs of more abandoned places: Jonstorp, Jakobs-Ola, and Skraltbråten. Like many places here it was just faint traces left. But Skraltbråten holds a particularly poignant story. It was home to a young woman who felt a calling and travelled all the way to China as a missionary. Her journey ended tragically during the Boxer Rebellion in 1900, when she was stoned to death at only 33 years old. I passed Fjolperstorp just before the final steep drop towards Røgden lake. This last slope went past the remnants of Knossi torp, nestled under Knossiberget hill – it really was a beautiful spot, apparently known for its surprisingly rich plant life due to different bedrock. Although it might be better a different time in the year than April. The views down towards the lake started opening up here.

Besides the ghosts of old farms, there were other signs of life out here. Found some pretty unmistakable wolf scat right on the trail today. It’s a stark reminder that Finnskogen is proper wilderness, lying right in the heart of the Scandinavian wolf zone. You're sharing these vast forests not just with moose and woodpeckers, but with the big predators too like lynx and even brown bear.

But as I neared the Røgden shore later that day, realizing daylight wouldn't last forever I had a choice. The original plan had a really long Day 4 looming. The weather now was good. Maybe just tackle that distance now, get it over with while conditions were favourable? Seemed logical at the time. Maybe I was just feeling good after the long nights sleep? I decided to just push past Røgden. But instead of following Finnskogleden's slower and longer trail north, I jumped onto the network of forest roads heading towards Løvhaugen. Much faster walking, but the kilometres just vaporized behind me. I finally stopped and pitched the tent right on the shore of Nordre Baksjøen lake and hit another 9/10 tent spot. The result was 39 km. My feet were screaming. The cheap bandaid was a distant, disintegrated memory (TAPE! Always use tape over man!). I was running on fumes, completely drained. I quickly used the last bit of momentum to get some dinner and fire going.

I got lucky with another couple camping nearby! A guessing game about countries starting with H, and as prize they gifted me two Compeed Extreme bandaids. I decided to let my feet breathe overnight and put them on properly the next morning. The exhaustion was real, but sitting there by the lake as dusk fell, with a small, carefully managed fire reflecting in the water was really nice. I kind of regretted not being able to see the Finnskogleden trail between Røjden and Løvhugen though. As the momentum slowed, the aches set in. Everything started getting stiff. I just hoped my body would recover overnight like it did after Day 1. In retrospect it was quite nice to find the couple with compeed, which I wouldn't have done if I arrived in Baksjøen the next day. I am pretty sure I would have gotten bad blisters even without the 39km hike in one go.

Day 3: Holy Saturday - Beelining it (~16 km)

The night was suboptimal. Everything ached. Just shifting position in my sleeping bag hurt pretty bad. I woke up knowing there was a chance I could not tackle the original return route over the hills. Did some quick risk management in my head: pushing on with bad blisters and an exhausted body was asking for trouble, way too high risk of not making it back in time or needing help in a remote area. There was also some rivers that needed crossing without a bridge, which does not go well with no compeed to spare. Damage control and mitigation needed. Plan B: shorter day, easier terrain. I followed forest roads southwest, aiming for the tarn Sætertjennet. A manageable 15-16 km. Easy walking, mostly flat gravel. But the price for yesterday's marathon came due in the afternoon. It was like hitting a wall. Legs turned to lead, hands got freezing cold for a while, energy just vanished. Felt completely empty, but I had to force myself the last stretch to reach my goal for the day, Sætertjennet. Getting the tent up there and crawling into my sleeping bag felt like I did the right choice. I just laid there in my sleeping bag, listening to the rain and eating a lot of food. Pretty certain I was running on a serious calorie and fluid deficit after the day before. Felt pretty low and unsure about everything right then.

Day 4: Easter Sunday - Last stretch home (~18-20 km)

Sleep was crap. Rain hammered down on the tent all night long. Woke early, 5 or 6 AM, feeling rough but with one clear thought: get home. Breaking camp right after the rain finally stopped early in the morning, feeling heavy and sore which was a tough start mentally and physically. But the route was straightforward: Forest roads from Sætertjennet the 7km or so back to Svullrya. Walking through the settlement this early in the morning felt a bit like being in a zombie movie. I was completely alone in the town. Then, just retracing my steps from Day 1: back up Finnevegen over Skasberget, followed by a forest road down the slope the last bit to Skasenden. Around 18-20km total. Felt okay once I got walking actually. Seeing my car appear in the distance, was a great feeling.

Afterthoughts

So, around 100 km in 4 days and that 28kg pack was a beast. Really, really hope those RB67 Velvia shots were worth lugging it around (in retrospect, kind of boring images except two of them). There wasn't much inspiration for photos the last two days, but I did end up shooting six frames total during the trip. Big lessons learned about listening to my body, adapting plans, and respecting pack weight.

And blisters? Compeed Extreme + sports tape. Non-negotiable from now on. My regular sock-changing routine – drying one pair on the pack while wearing the other was definitely crucial for keeping my feet somewhat functional, though.

But despite the pain and exhaustion? What a trip. Being completely alone out there (met only one other person on the trails the whole time!) in the depth of Finnskogen is powerful. Seeing the old farms, feeling the history and the immense quiet. It is a world away from the dramatic peaks of the high mountains. The forest has its own deep, quiet magic, especially in spring and the history of the old settlements. And hey, at least there were no insects! A definite plus for an early season trip. We're incredibly lucky in Norway, having this kind of wilderness accessible. Now for some serious rest. Still tired, eyes still sore. (Need to figure out a better system for the contact lenses on future trips). But hey, I did it!

Even though I was tired during and after the hike, I really wihsh I had gotten to see more of the small Finn settlements between Røgden and Løvhaugen on the original Finnskogleden trail. Might just drive up there one weekend to walk that part and stay one night instead of a massive 100km round trip!