The Quiet Picture

I was supposed to have vacation the whole week, but I couldn’t come up with anything to do so I shortened it to two days.

I had done some research and found a waterfall south-west from Sonfjället, Lillråndafallet. From Rånddalen, there’s a forest road towards the canyon where the Lill-Rånden creek falls. The road wasn’t very good to start with, and soon it got worse – much worse. All the raining in the past days had left a big puddle across the whole road so I stopped the car to take a closer look. It wasn’t the water that worried me – it was the muddy bottom. I poked at it and it felt soft, so I didn’t dare to drive through it. If I couldn’t go forward, then the only was back. Except that there was no place to turn. The closest turnaround was 5-600 metres behind me. On that rough road that was bumpy enough driving forward when I could see the obstacles. Oh dear me… And then of course, since I couldn’t drive to the trailhead I had to walk instead, I figured I had stopped about 2 km short. But now I got a little bit lucky, after reversing only about a 100 metres I came to a wider section of the road, not possible to turn the car around but certainly possible to park it without blocking the road. Ironically, just after the mudhole the road got better, no big rocks to drive around like it was before it.

From the trailhead, the sign said it’s 2.5 km to the falls. The trail follows the east side of the canyon and the sound of the falling water could be heard somewhere beneath all the way to the actual falls. When I got down to my photo shoot, I heard a thunder rumble right after I had taken the first picture! Very lucky that there’s a shelter next to the falls, so I quickly made my way to it because it had also started raining – a lot. While I was sitting there and waiting for the rain to pass, I was trying to figure out why I was feeling so uneasy. Although I really liked the place, I wasn’t as eager to photograph it as I should’ve been. Something was nagging my mind… the car. I was worrying about having to reverse 500m on that rocky road, and I was worrying about the tyres for all the punishment they’ve been getting today, first the Fågelsjö road which is under construction… then the gravel road from Linsell to Rånddalen… and finally the rocky road towards the trailhead. Having something like that nagging my mind prevents me from being inspired to photograph. But it’s not all bad. Having to worry about flat tyres, mudholes and thunderstorms takes the mind off work, very quickly! Instant vacation mode.

When the sun came out, my mood improved. I just tried to be positive; I can drive in reverse, it’s never been a problem for me, so what if the road is bad, I’ll just take it slow! I took some more pictures but I kept feeling that I had not made the most of my visit. It’s like I just wanted to get done with the car and get out of there. It’s a real shame though, because the place definitely deserves more attention, the big fall itself is un-photographable as it falls in the ravine, but the falls upstream and the side-falls are fine. I think this is the part where it sucks to be alone. You get too trapped in your own thoughts and can’t find a way out so your worries take the better of you. So I don’t think that I’ll ever go back there, not alone. Consider this an invitation – if you want to see the Lillrändåfallet falls, just drop me a line. I know the way!

On the way back, I saw two guys standing a way down from the trail. They asked me if there’s a shelter, I said yes… just follow the trail. “What trail?” Huh? How did they get here? “The trail I’m standing on…” They happily made their way up to the trail and continued towards the falls. When I got to the trailhead, I found a car there. Those guys had driven a car – a normal car, with ground clearance no bigger than in my little Yaris! If they had made it through the mudhole, then for sure I can do that, too. That would certainly spare me all the reversing. When I passed the mudhole, I took a stick and poked at the mud all the way through. And for sure, it didn’t feel as bad as it had done at first, most of the bottom was hard and the softer mud only covered small areas, not big enough for a tyre to sink in. So I drove through, no problems!

When I was back at the tarmac road, it was such a relief! And it wasn’t just the joy of a proper road, but I also found out that the summer cafe at Nysätern was still open, so I could go there and have a cup of coffee and a waffle. All I had eaten since breakfast was a few peanut M&M’s… I was starving! I had a sandwich with me but I hadn’t felt like eating with what all the worrying I was doing instead. Stupid I know, but it’s a very hard habit to break. Anyway, the crispy waffle, whipped cream and cloudberry jam hardly fulfills the nutrional requirements of a meal, but I couldn’t care less. When I was back on the road, I was euphoric. No worries! I couldn’t stop smiling, it was such a great feeling that everything had turned out ok. Yes!

I checked in at the hostel and then drove to Ljusnedal to photograph the Tevåfallet waterfall. It’s not a big waterfall by any means, but it’s the way there that’s nice. Small falls all the time, so it was just stop shoot and go. And the best part – no hiking required to get there. If you take the “back door”, it’s something like 50m to the bridge and you can start shooting right there. And then follow upstream as far as you feel like.

I took a lot of pictures today, but nothing that feels special. The special feeling I have from the today is my car surviving the ordeal unscathed… well, unless I have a slow puncture and a flat tyre in the morning…

[This (very long) story starts on Saturday 7 February]

It’s full moon on Monday and the moonset/moonrise co-incides with sunrise/sunset. It can only mean one thing – I have a day off and I’m heading to the mountains. I’ve booked myself to the Messlingen hostel and it’s snowing, so it’s almost a repeat of my trip from last year. Although a year ago the skies cleared for the D-day, we’ll see if I can get lucky twice.

Saturday

On the way to Funäsdalen, there’s one photo-op just before Hede, I’ve driven past it too many times without stopping. Now I remedied that and took my pictures. When I started the car, I found out that the right rear wheel had locked. I got it running again after reversing a little, then forward and reverse a bit more. After a fuel stop in Funäsdalen it almost did it again, this time only with the warning lights though and the same trick fixed it again.

It was still only noon, so plenty of time for a hike. I had initially planned to do scouting, but the snowfall made it impossible, there’s just simply no views to look at in any direction. But I wasn’t discouraged, I can work with mountains and I can work with snowfall so I was bound to find something. And indeed I did, lovely mountain birches at the treeline, and then just when I was wondering if I would dare to hike to the peak of the Ramundberget mountain despite the weather, I saw an avalanche warning sign so I prompty turned back.

When I got back to the car at Walles, I got a nasty surprise – both wheels were stuck and there was no amount of coaxing I could do to get the wheels spinning. Crap. Then I had a real stroke of luck and a guy in an SUV came by, I explained the problem to him and he towed me to the road, where we hoped that the wheels would be jolted to action. Alas, no, but there was a fully equipped garage just a few metres away so the good samaritan pulled my car to it so we could give the wheels some TLC with a heat gun and a sledgehammer. I was ever so happy to get the car working again… but as I was driving down, the anti-spin and ABS lights came back on. I got down ok though, and then once again I had to do some reversing and forwarding to get it all working again.

At that point I just wanted to get to Messlingen. There would’ve been some daylight left, but I wasn’t feeling like stopping anywhere in case the wheels would strike again. The hostel turned out to be very cozy indeed and I was the only guest so I had the place to myself, a pleasant surprise after all those nasties I had today.

Sunday

The snowfall continued, so there was still no point to try to do any scouting. I took the snowmobile trail from Messlingen towards Storsjö, because it was the shortest way to get above the treeline. Once I had hiked all the way up there, a snowmobiler stopped and asked if I needed a lift. Very kind of him, but a bit too late…

After lunch, I wanted to drive down to Funäsdalen and check out a few places. Except, both wheels were well and firmly frozen again. I was disgusted. And I promise you, I did not have handbrake on overnight if that’s what you’re thinking! I got a hammer from the reception but it wasn’t enough to release the wheels (note to self: buy a sledgehammer). After some thinking, I decided that my best option was to call road rescue and have the car towed to a warm garage in Funäsdalen, it will have to thaw out completely because otherwise the problem will just repeat itself like it has done. When I spoke with the people at the reception, and then with the car rescue guy, I found out that I’m not alone with this problem. Apparently a certain type of brake is more prone to these problems so when there is so much snow getting into the wheels, melting and freezing, you just get problems.

I hate my car. Ok fine, I don’t really hate my car. But I sure don’t like it either.

Monday

First thing after breakfast, I called a taxi to take me to Funäsdalen to get my car. The rear wheels were bare now – I can actually see inside, wow! But when I pulled out, the infernal beeping started again warning me about something (no warning lights were on), I guess the car didn’t appreciate all the beating it received yesterday. With every beep, I was missing that sledgehammer more and more… but as I persisted on driving along, the beeping finally stopped. I got to the hardware store and bought myself an axe (in lieu of a sledgehammer).

I seemed to be on a string of bad luck, because the snowing continued. Momentarily in the morning it had seemed like it would clear, but nix. And not only falling snow, but there was also a heavy wind whipping the trees, blowing a whole lot of snow in the air. Sometimes I can be a real optimist though, so I took the snowcat from Bruksvallarna to Kariknallen. When we got on top, I wondered if this was just another one of my stupid decisions – the wind was horrible, impossible to face it because the snow was just like small needles. Thankfully for the most of the way down the wind was on my back, so it wasn’t that bad. Lousy for pictures though, you can imagine the visibility under these conditions.

But let’s be positive for a moment. I don’t have any regrets for missing all the scouting, because the moonrise wasn’t anything to photograph anyway. Too many clouds, even if the sky was finally starting to clear.

By the evening, the sky really was clear apart from a few clouds in the horizon all around. Photographing the night sky with mountains inthe foreground had been one of my goals, but I didn’t feel like driving to a location now. Firstly, the wind was still stiff and if I felt it here among the trees, then it would be really bad in the open places where I’d need to go. I drove through snow drifts today and it wasn’t fun. Secondly, I have to re-build my trust relationship with my car. The prospect of getting stuck in the middle of the night in the middle of nowhere was not appealing!

However, after I saw Orion and Sirius from my room window, I just had to do something so I set out on foot. Finding suitable spots was hard though and I had second thoughts about driving somewhere better, but in the end I just didn’t dare. I’ve had enough mishaps for this trip already.

Tuesday

Officially, I’m at work today. But since it hasn’t been exactly relaxing when half my mind has been occupied with whether or not the car will move, I figured that this was my last chance to get anything out of my mini-vacation (I did get an ok from my boss!). But when it rains, it pours – they called from work last night. Nothing I could do, I’m really sorry, but in the morning I was probably more stressed than I would’ve been without this holiday.

The good news? The car was fine. All four wheels spinning, I think it’s a great feature in a car. And it was also clear skies, so I had a chance to see the moonset. I watched it go down, and then waited for the sun to come up, and I was freezing for all the standing still… but I finally felt at peace again. Might be hell to pay at work tomorrow, but today was heaven.

So, there we go. Winter. It started snowing after lunchtime and I soon realised that I was in trouble – it was going to snow more in Loos and I had 60km to drive with summer tyres on the car. I left work early and initially it was quite ok, some wet snow on the road but nothing I couldn’t manage. Then it was time to turn to the Loos road, there’s a small uphill right after the crossroads and that’s where the problems started. No more wet snow – now it was packed snow! The anti-spin was working like crazy and carefully, carefully I made my way up. The conditions didn’t improve and after another spell of spinning wheels, I decided to give up driving, turned back and drove to the garage in Korskrogen. Some frantic telephone calls ensued and a friend came to my rescue, so I got a ride home. Looking at the road conditions, it probably was the best decision I’ve ever made – there is no way I could’ve kept the car on the road even if I had driven at a crawling speed.

So now I’m at home and my car is in Korskrogen, somewhere between Loos and Ljusdal. The good news is that my friend took the winter tyres back with them so they are now with the car. If I’m really lucky, they will have time to change the tyres tomorrow at the garage, but I’m not counting on it – for some reason, this is very busy time for them… Otherwise, I’m just waiting for the snow to turn to rain so I can fetch the car.

*sigh* It seems like I cut it close every year with the tyre change… but this is the worst ever!

Would you believe that I got stopped by the police for the first time ever? And that with me sitting in a new car with a temporary vehicle tax sticker and no registration document in sight! Well, all was well, my alcohol level was zero (for a lifetime tee-totaller, I would’ve been nothing short of shocked had the meter even twitched) and the nice policeman was happy with both my English drivers license and the explanation that I just got the car yesterday.I am also starting to get in terms with the automatic gearbox. A few more days and I’m sure it will be like I never drove stick shift at all. LOL!

So, my new car arrived ahead of time and yes you’re right, I’m very very very happy! It was originally estimated to arrive in September so it was a nice surprise when I got a call from Toyota on Tuesday.I got the car armed to the teeth with extras and the coolest of them all is the multimode gearbox – i.e. automatic, but not quite. This is causing me a lot of headache because you have to help the gears with the break and gas pedals and I’m naturally only used to the clutch and manual shift. If you see a green Yaris stutter along in traffic, it’s not me. [looks innocent]

Buying the car was a learning experience.

1. Never take “medlemsbilkredit” (car loan via the union). It’s worth paying a percent or two extra just to skip the bureaucracy.
2. Read the documentation before you act. I had searched for all the documents I had concerning the old car, but couldn’t find the registration document. So I decided to order a new one just in case my second round of searching would turn out blanks also. But of course I did find the document later on, it was right where it should be but I just hadn’t realised that it was it. Which meant that when I presented the old registration document at Toyota when I left in my old car, it couldn’t be used – only the new, due to arrive to me on Monday, qualifies now. Duh!

It’s such a cool car! Small, but cool. Just need to learn the gear operation before I look entirely too much like I only got my drivers license yesterday. LOL!

* * *

This morning I noticed that Furuvägen had re-opened after the torrential rain had washed away the road earlier this week. I took a look in the evening and sure enough, they had already patched it up. I’m impressed – I thought it would take them weeks to get up to it because this road is surely not a priority.

It’s funny how those small things can make your day. Today was one of those days – a lot of small things happened.

It started with a doctor’s appointment. I’ve been hoping that my blood pressure has been low enough to try without the medication, and sure enough, it was. So now I’m officially in full health (but no, they didn’t check my head…)!

Then I took the car to the service and now I have winter tyres. It’s way too warm for the season, but I don’t want to be caught in winter conditions again so it’s better be safe than sorry. And during the same visit, I also had extra lights mounted on the car. The big beams sure make a difference, as I found out on my way home. It’s almost as good as driving in daylight… can’t believe I’ve waited this long! I got a big smile on my face every time the lights hit a traffic sign. The beams are so strong that sometimes it’s difficult to read the signs as the light gets reflected so bright. Cool! The big lamps probably look a bit funny on my small car, but who cares. It’s such a relief to drive without constantly feeling that it’s too dark.

And finally, although I got the router already yesterday, I’m still enjoying the novelty of wireless Internet. I’m writing this sitting comfortably in my lazy chair with the little PowerBook in my lap. Mobile computing… gotta love it!

P.S. Having mentioned the PowerBook. The text formatting options are not available on Safari so I can’t change the text alignment like I normally do (justified). But Safari support is apparently in the works, so I’ll keep patiently waiting.

I need studs… for my car tyres. Real bad. We got a bit more snow overnight, but since it now has been steadily below freezing, the snow is starting to pack on the roads. I was out walking today, through the snow covered forest (lovely!) to the skiing track and then to the road, where my boots started slipping and sliding quite seriously. Thankfully, I saw a snow plow in action but if there is any packed snow or ice left on the roads, it will be tricky driving with summer tyres. The worst part is that looking at the forecast, it’s going to keep cold so I’m starting to wonder when I’ll make it to Ljusdal to have the tyres changed!Hmm, how quickly the mood changes. From being concerned that we will have a bad winter to the delirium of new snow and now I’m worrying about not being able to get to work…