Today was definitely the most challenging stage so far.

I slept in and enjoyed the luxury of my cabin. Just after 10am Göran, the incredibly sweet man who lives just behind the hut and who brought me firewood last night, came and asked if everything was well and if I had slept well. And if the benches weren’t too hard to sleep on? The beds could no longer be used because the load-bearing parts had ended up in the fire. I slept brilliantly. My sleeping mat is so good. I was almost packed up anyway and a few minutes later I walked up to his house to say thank you and say hello to his wife Lena. We chatted for a moment longer and then I was on my way. With dry shoes and clean socks!

Unfortunately, it didn’t last long. In fact, they were wet again five minutes after I left. The whole next 10km was more bog than path. It was very slow, very strenuous and required a lot of concentration. Every step had to be considered. I was ankle-deep in water most of the time and twice I sank down to above the knee. It’s a bit anxiety-provoking, but luckily I got my leg up again, shoes and socks and all. The bog is otherwise holding on well.

I’ve made a conscious decision to wear shoes that aren’t waterproof. If I was walking today’s stage as a day trip, I would probably have worn wellies or other waterproof shoes. But when you’re on a long hike, all shoes get wet sooner or later, and the so-called waterproof shoes take 100 years to dry again.

When I had completed the 10km, which took over 4 hours, I took a lunch break. I took off my shoes and socks, wrung out most of the water and left them to dry in the sun.

The rest of the day was easy walking and by the time I finished, the shoes were almost dry again. So that was fine.

Even though I only walked half of what I walked yesterday I’m more tired. Tomorrow it’s supposed to rain and I have to go through a small town to shop and eat pizza.