This park lies in Härjedalen in the middle of Sweden . It's a real fjäll aerea far from the other fjällets .(a fjället is a mountain aerea) Most of the fjällets are in the western and northern parts of Sweden , mainly in Lapland . You don't expect a fjället this far to the south and far from the Norwegian border . The mountain tops ( highest top is 1277m ) are visible in a large aerea because they are surrounded by lower terrain with woods . in the nearby villiges Hede and Hedeviken are camping sites not far from the national park . From these camping sites you have a beatyfull view of the mountains and at sunset they turn pink ! a really special sight . The local people claim that they can see on the colour of the mountain what the wether is going to be . Another reason wich makes this park specail is that the largest population of bears are living here , and two wolves .
The first year i was in Sweden i came through Sveg and saw mountain tops covered with snow for the first time in my live . This made such an big impression on me that i drove into that direktion and came in Hede . At the local tourist office i bought a map (gröna kartan 173A Sånfjället 1:50.000) and got some brochures about bears . Now i was even more looking foreward to go on the mountains and the next day i went to the park through the western entrance . That day i klimbed the northwestern slope untill i was above the treeline and there i had a magnificant view of the mountains on the border with Norway almost 100km to the west . That night i slept on the campsite at Hedeviken where i was the first guest for Bosse and Lilly . The campsite was'nt officialy opend yet but still i was welkom . Every year i come back and visit them at Hedevikens fiskecamp . The next morning i drove to Nyfallen where the road ends and it was dead quiet there . There were some houses but i did'nt see enyone , exept for some german tourists , but they drove back sortly after i arrived . There i was all alone on a parking place with my little rucksack with some sandwiches , a bottle of lemonade , my map , kompas and binoculars . I set off on a trail wich was marked by poles with red paint and trees with red paint or a red ribbon on them so i could'nt get lost . On the trail i saw several traces of bears and elk . The trail climbed more and more and soon i was above the treeline . Because it was the beginning of june i had to cross several little snowfields and the first ones were easy , i could walk over them . Due to the rising temperature the snow was melting faster and when i was crossing a big snowfield i fell through the top layer till my waist . After this one the other snowfields were'nt easy either . After the struggle with the snow i came to a junction with signs and saw i had walked for seven km. There i took the trail to the left and came at a wind shelter with a magnificant view over the lower forests and the lake . Here i rested for a while . The trail continued over some small hills untill i came to another junction and there i took the trail to the left wich led back to Nyfallen . After a while the trail seemed to disappear and i stood at the shore of a lake . I went a little back where the trail was visable and back to the lake . I knew i was heading to the right direction but could'nt find the trail . Than i got my binocular and saw a red ribbon on a tree in the water straight ahead . Due to the melting snow the little lake became a big one so i had to walk around it to find the trail back . Now the trail was going down and i walked in the forest and the next obstacle was a stream . On the higher part of the trail , above the treeline , i crossed the same stream but then it was tiny , now it was to big to jump over it in one time . Luckily there were some bolders in it so i could cross it without getting my feet wet . Here i filled my bottle again because in the woods the temperature was higher and i drank more , i did'nt thought that i needed so much water at first . After this one i had to cross three more streams . I was getting more and more tired and by the time i was back in Nyfallen i was exhausted . I had to sit on a rock for half an hour even though my car was only 50 meters away .
I was'nt trained for this and because i was not used to hiking in mountain aerea and walking in deep snow and did'nt take my time i was exhausted at the end . Still i am glad i did it , it is an experiance i never forget . As an dutchman i am also not used to be on higher ground . After this day i took it easy the rest of my holliday . Sånfjället is not a spectaculair park and is'nt big but you will find beautifull views . Early in the season you can find snowfields on the higher parts of the trail , and you will probably never see someone there .
On my way back at the end of my vacation i visited Hedevikens fiskekamp again and Bosse told me that the day after i was on the mountain a bear had killed an elk .
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