Issue# 80 The Fjällräven Classic UK
Finding camaraderie and affirmation along the trail.
There is a collective nervous energy that cuts through the mist as we mill around the start point, grabbing pastries and coffee whilst we can. For the next three days we will be eating dehydrated food from pouches and good coffee will be a distant memory. People are checking their packs and adjusting straps, wondering whether they should have packed a little lighter. Carrying a 65 litre pack with food, clothing and sleeping gear for three days over and through the mountains is going to hurt a little. For some, this is their first experience of multi-day trekking. You can tell by the way rucksacks are packed - tents and even sleeping bags lashed to the outside, weight distributed unevenly with bits and pieces dangling and flopping with each stride. Others have done this many times; their packs are adorned with patches marking their achievements, countries visited, trails completed. People are keen to get going and wait impatiently for the official opening of the trail. Finally we are off.
We are transported back to the first time we did anything like this. Sweden, 2011. We were the ones with badly packed rucksacks back then. We were green but keen, excited at the prospect of marching off into the wild with everything we needed on our backs for 5 days. As we stood waiting to depart, I think we knew that perhaps we were little out of our depth. What we didn’t know, was that by the end of our hike we would be changed forever.
This was the hike that set us on a new course - we had discovered a new way of living and being and we wanted more of it. Not just occasionally, on trips when we could afford them, but for our whole lives to be centred around Nature.
This time was different in a few ways. First, we were hiking through familiar territory, our own back yard. On the last day we would be literally walking home. We knew most parts of the route well, in contrast to the Swedish wilderness which filled us with awe and a touch of fear at its vastness combined with our lack of knowledge.
Secondly, we are a lot further along our journey as outdoors people. Here we were, invited on the trek by Fjällräven after having been part of the recce for the route last year, being asked to give a couple of talks on the local flora and fauna trekkers might encounter on the trail - it feels something like validation for how far we have come. We did not get rich doing it, but we succeeded in completely changing our lives around, making Nature and adventure central to everything we do.
And third, we would be joined on the last day of our hike by our son Benji. Ever since he was born he has been on our adventures with us, big and small, and we have often dreamed of the day that he would accompany us on an event like this. We couldn’t get the time off school for him to do the whole hike (the system sucks!) but to have him hike the last 20kms with us, watching him chatting and hanging out with adventurous folks from all over the world and to see his face light up as we were cheered across the finish line was something magical to behold.
The route took us from Great Langdale, up into the fells via stake pass and down the Langstrath valley to our first campsite in on the edge of the temperate rainforests of Borrowdale. Then up again to Styhead Tarn and into Wasdale and our second campsite, right on the shore of the deepest lake in England, Wastwater. Finally we headed over Eskdale moor past Burnmoor Tarn and down into Eskdale for the last leg along the river all the way to the finish line at Muncaster Castle. There were a great many highlights - typically for us these were the quiet moments sat by waterfalls or swimming in deep pools, feeling the warm late summer sun on our bodies as we reclined on the grass. After a cold wet summer, the way in which a glorious few days of golden light and warmth coincided with the opportunity to spend so much time outside felt like a gift from the universe.
It’s funny, we usually go out of our way to avoid hiking with crowds - we get up super early or head to obscure places or hike in bad weather so we can enjoy the mountains in peace. But one of the joys of this event was hiking with so many other people from all over the world. There is a sense of camaraderie that develops over the days that we hike together on the trail, we start to recognise faces along the way, we look out for each other and root people on if they look like they’re struggling. We are united by the collective challenge and a love of hiking in Nature. There is time to talk on the trail, to get deep. I will remember some of the conversations for a long time - particularly one with two guys from The Netherlands who asked “are you satisfied with your life?”.
As mentioned above, the day before the hike, we gave two talks on the flora and fauna of the Lake District and the kinds of habitats we’d be walking through. It was a joy to be stopped by folks along the trail to be asked follow up questions, or to be shown photos of plants and creatures they had seen along the way. One of our goals is to encourage curiosity, to get people to notice Nature as they engage in outdoor activities, to slow down and enjoy the landscape; to have helped facilitate this for hikers on The Classic was a real highlight and we’re thankful for the opportunity to act as Nature guides along the way.
At around 16 km a day, it was not as hard as the Swedish Classic (nor as hard as the recce of the original route) but it was challenging enough to make it feel like we’d accomplished something significant when we crossed the finish line. The heavy load and hot weather conspired to add to the challenge and it was a relief to drop our packs for the final time, take off our boots and wriggle our toes. I couldn’t help but wonder - would this experience set any of our fellow hikers off on the start of their journey to a new way of living? I hope so.
Although we didn't experience any epiphanies or revelations as such this time, we did find a sense of affirmation that we were on the right path.
With massive thanks to Fjällräven for inviting us to take part, for their support and for putting on such an amazingly well run event, to all the people we met along the way, new friends and old for making this an amazing experience, and to the September sunshine for pulling through just when it mattered most.
Well, that’s all for this week. In case you missed it, you can also watch a short film we made of our hike. Have you ever done anything like this? We’d love to hear from you if so. And, if you like this post and what we do please do pass it on…
With warmest wishes,
Andrew, Emma and Benji
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Lovely account. Heard great things about this event.
Excellent adventure! I'm so glad to read about the good weather, given how the earlier part of summer went for you guys!