Bear spotting weekend in Sonfjället National Park (14 – 17 September)

Description

This tour is for those who want the opportunity of spotting the European brown bear in his natural habitat and aren’t too afraid to be out and about in bear territory during the month that has most bear activity!

We will set up our basecamp in Sonfjället National Park which is believed to have the highest bear concentration in Sweden. During these days we will hike from basecamp to a location where we will have good views of the rocky mountain slopes and swamp areas where the bear like to search for food. During our hikes we will of course be on the lookout for any signs of bears such as claw marking, feces and hairs of the bears fur left on trees.

Although the main prize would absolutely be to spot one of these majestic animals we will have the possibility to see other magnificent animals such as golden eagles, buzzards, marters and moose.

Accommodation

Our main stay will be our basecamp cabin inside the national park. A very simple forest cabin with two bunk beds, a wood stove and a simple kitchenette. There is a stream running near the cabin where we can stock up on drinking water and wash ourselves. There is a toilet (Swedish outhouse style) available outside the cabin.

On our first evening we will be staying in a fully furnished cabin with bathroom and shower at Dalsvallen, an old forest workers settlement that now rents out cabins near the National Park.

Program/schedule

Day 1

17:00 – Arrival and dinner at Dalsvallen. During this evening we get to know each other during an authentic dinner prepared by our hosts at Dalsvallen. We spend the night in of the fully furnished cabins.

After dinner we can enjoy sitting around the campfire.

20:00/21:00 Bedtime!

Day 2

8:00 – Breakfast at Dalsvallen. Everyone will have packed their backpacks so that we can set out on our hike to basecamp after breakfast.

9:30 – We set out on our adventure into the National Park! Once we arrive at our cabin we can set up camp there and leave everything we have no need of during our spotting trips.

11:00/11:30 – Lunch at basecamp

12:00 – Hike to our lookout spot for the day

14:00 – Arrival at our lookout spot where we will stay most of the day. We can also enjoy a simple, campstyle meal here.

18:00/19:00 – We start on our hike back to basecamp. We want to be back before it’s too dark to be out hiking in the wilderness. After dinner you’ll have the option to explore a little around basecamp if you like.

21:00/22:00 – Bedtime!

Day 3

8:00 – Breakfast at basecamp. Everyone will have packed their backpacks so that we can set out on our hike to basecamp after breakfast.

9:30 – We set out on our hike to our lookout spot for the day

11:30/11:30 – Arrival at out lookout spot. We will be having our simple, outdoor lunch on location

18:00/19:00 – We start on our hike back to basecamp. We want to be back before it’s too dark to be out hiking in the wilderness.

20:00/21:00 – Arrival at basecamp where we will enjoy our last dinner with each other.

21:00/22:00 – Bedtime!

Day 4

8:30 – Breakfast at basecamp

9:30/10:00 Pack our bags and leave basecamp the way we found it.

10:00/10:30 Hike back to Dalsvallen

11:30/12:00 Say our goodbyes and departure

Starting point

Difficulty

Medium to rough. We will be hiking in rougher terrain and we will also try to get to good vantage points higher up which means we will have to climb as well. We won’t need climbing equipment though, just good sense and maybe a helping hand from another participant from time to time. A level of decent physical fitness is required. Hiking experience in rougher terrain (rocky slopes, dense forest) can come in handy but is not required.