The Kungsleden - Day 1 - Abisko to Abiskojaure

Distance: 19.6km (12.17 miles)

Climbing Elevation: 832m (2,729 ft)

Maximum Elevation: 536m (1,758 ft)

As if the hiking the full Kungsleden route wasn't challenging enough for a novice thru-hiker, I had committed to wild camp as much as possible along the trail, instead of staying in the huts and shelters. I planned only to use the Fjallstations (STF), cabins and windshelters to escape any severe weather, and to rest whilst collecting my food parcels. Therefore, my first destination was to walk through the Abisko National Park and camp by the river at the edge of the woodland area, approximately 16km (10 miles).

When I left the train platform, I realised that I was about 3km (2 miles) away from the start point of the hike, increasing the day's target from 16km to 19km. I had assumed that we would be dropped off near the Abisko Turiststation, directly opposite the start of the trail. I was excited to be going on this adventure, but the combination of the apprehension and intimidation of the scale of the task ahead had been throwing negative thoughts into my mind from all directions and I wasn't focussing properly. I gave myself a little talking to, pulled myself together and walked down to the local store to see if I could pick up something tasty for breakfast. It was time to put myself back on track, to smile, to lift my shoulders and truly embrace the challenge.

The shelves in the store were virtually empty, following the Fjällräven Classic event that had concluded the day before. I ended up leaving the store with a bar of chocolate, a tube of pringles and a pack of noodles under my arm. Completely random, and not what I had anticipated for breakfast but, nonetheless, it would still help get me through the first stretch of the trail. I checked the signposts and proceeded to walk along the side of the track whilst munching on the chocolate bar. Just above me the train moved out of the station on its way further north.

Before long I arrived at the Abisko STF and walked up to the start point of the trail. This provided a taste of comfort and familiarity. Over the previous few months, I had watched countless YouTube videos of hikers embarking on the Kungsleden trail, starting at that exact location. It felt quite surreal that I was finally standing there. The start point is a wooden structure that has the route engraved on its posts, leading you from Abisko through to Hemavan, with the mountain ranges, rivers and lakes depicted throughout the structure. My phone beeped... I still had a little bit of signal, so I photographed the entrance and posted "The point of no return.... See you on the other side" on my facebook page, and then switched the phone off. As I walked through the structure, any fears that still lingered transformed into determination and intrigue.

Shortly after leaving the entrance, I arrived a tunnel with walls adorned with Scandinavian artwork, whilst instrumental music played through secluded speakers. Looking beyond the tunnel I could see and hear the river flowing through the ravine. I was finally on the trail. The adventure really had begun.

The next few hours took me along the side of the ravine and deeper into the national reserve. The ground was reasonably stable, I was coping with the backpack, and my spirits were lifted. Every so often I would pause to take photographs or to fill my water bottle up with fresh, ice cold water from the river. Normally you would have to boil or filter river water before drinking, but here in the north of Sweden the water is so fresh that it can be consumed straight from the source, as long as the source is fast flowing and more than 50cm (20 inches) wide. Each step provided a combination of new scenes, new experiences, energising moments and, of course, a few small ascents. This was already how I had ho-Ed te trail would be, plus a whole lot more.

As the day progressed the impact of morning anxieties and the overall apprehension of the first day began to show. My legs began to tire, my steps slowed, and the rainclouds rolled in. As the miles progressed, I used each viewpoint as an opportunity to pause and gaze over to the mountains in the distance. In the back of my mind I knew I would be heading up over that region the next morning, but for now my focus was simply on reaching my camping spot.

I walked past the cabin at Abiskojaure, crossed the river and arrived at a signpost indicating that I had reached the boundary of the national park. My first significant milestone on the trail. This meant that I was almost at the first camping spot. By this point I was exhausted, so perched myself on a rock nearby and pondered on summoning up the energy to do the final part of this section. I kept reminding myself "You can't move forward by standing still", a mantra that would be repeated almost religiously throughout the next few weeks. After a few minutes of rest, two walked past and greeted me with what I soon discovered to be the standard Swedish phrase "Hej' (Pronounced "Hai"). The generous smiles on their faces were enough to encourage me to stand back up, pick up my backpack and march onward to the camping point.

Half an hour later I arrived at the forest section where I would camp. A rule of thumb on a thru-hike is to always camp near a water source. It serves as a bath, water for drinking and cooking, washing clothes and, most importantly, soaking sore feet. Finding the water source here was easy as you could hear the water crashing against the rocks and feel the ground vibrate from some distance away. Once I had reached the water source, I then found a quiet place to pitch my tent. The rain was getting heavier, so I quickly put up the tent, climbed inside and changed into my tent clothes. My first day of hiking was over. I did it! I really did it! This was the time to sit back and focus on what I had achieved that day, to embrace the feeling of being on a real adventure, to savour the sense of pride that I was doing this on my own, and that I had raised a significant amount of money for the Swindon Prospect Hospice. I reminded myself that this was only day 1 of a truly lifechanging experience.

It was now 20:00 and the rain was getting heavier outside. I lit my little gas stove and boiled some water and opened my first expedition meal from my ration pack. I decided that I would treat myself to a dehydrated chicken tikka masala. Whilst waiting for the meal to reydrate, I slipped into my sleeping bag. Time to get comfortable in readiness for the well needed feast. I had a few mouthfuls of the tikka masala... it was heavenly. I was so tired, and it tasted oh soooooo good. Within what seemed like a few seconds, I woke up in the dark with my fork still in my mouth and a packet of cold chicken tikka masala in my hand. I switched on my torch and looked at my watch. It was 23.30, I had fallen asleep for nearly 3 hours. I finished my now-cold meal, cleaned my teeth and then went back to sleep. Day 1 was officially over, and what a truly amazing day it was!