To witness the seasons change
The skies are blue and the sun shines upon me as I enter Fulufjällets National Park with my friends Helena, Katarina, Katta and Daniel. It’s a beautiful day in October 2017 and this park is new territory for me. I remember feeling very excited to enjoy the nature here and to hike and photograph with my friends and colleagues.
The fact that this National Park houses Njupeskär, Sweden’s largest waterfall did not lower my expectations.
“Fulufjället National Park is a national park in central Sweden. Its total area is 385 km2 (149 sq mi), located entirely within Älvdalen Municipality in the province of Dalarna. It is named after the mountain Fulufjället, 1,044 m (3,425 ft) high. It covers the Swedish part of the Fulufjället massif, which is the southernmost part of the Scandes in Sweden.”
– Wikipedia
There are a lot of different hikes to do here, and the signs are clear and
I found the park to be very accessible and easy to get around in.
It’s a beautiful autumn day and the colors are simply baffling. We start of by hiking through a mire, there’s water on both sides of the footbridge and the landscape is quite gorgeous.
» Read more about the National Park here
Siberian jays are the symbol of this national park and they curiously watch us from above while we stop to take some photos.
After these open mires we reach a dense forest with lush greenery and rivers. The change in nature is quite prominent, and I definitely feel more at home inside a forest than out on an open field.
The path in the forest start to incline and we continue up and onwards to finally reach the top of a mountain before going down into the valley carved out by the strong forces of water.
The fall is roaring powerfully and it’s hard to hear one another. Down here it’s wet and cold but when I experience the forces of nature like this I feel so alive. It’s an amazing feeling and definitely why I spend so much time outside in the first place.
We hike back up from the valley and sit down around a fire to warm our selves after spending some time down by the cold, wet rocks. We also ate the lunch we brought followed by some coffee.
Then all of a sudden, as if going from a sunny autumn day to see clouds roll in as we went to the cold, damp valley of Fulufjället wasn’t enough of a contrast – suddenly we got to witness the first snowfall of the year. Big flakes fell slowly from the sky as if we were characters in a Disney movie.
I’ve never witnessed the change of seasons so profoundly before.
We found it quite funny that the two Katarinas had almost identical rain coats!
Reaching the entrance to the park again, the curious Siberian Jays came to watch us, maybe say goodbye? With some of Katarinas crackers we managed to get closer to them. A lot closer.
Now, since this I’ve learned that ducks can’t digest bread, and birds don’t get any nutrients from bread or crackers so it just fills up their bellies for nothing.v So, I am of course not feeding them with stuff like this again and hopefully informing you guys will help as well – did you know this was the case?
» Katarina got the most amazing shot of one of the birds which you can see further down in her post.
Having a wild bird in my hand was quite the experience and one that will stay with me for a very long time. As will this entire trip to Fulufjällets National Park. I’m getting a patch from the park to put on my pack, a patch that of course has the Siberian jay on it.
I had a great time here and it was a very beautiful place, one I would gladly visit again.
It was an amazing day – and you capture the details so beautifully <3 Maybe I'll be able to time a visit for the first snow fall this year as well :D
It truly was, I really enjoyed all the days spent at your place and the spots you showed us! Thank you :) Oh I hope you do, it was quite the magical moment!!