"long term" bushcraft in Sweden

[Elenias]

Hey guys, I have decided I would spend a big part of my gap year living in the forests of Sweden and I wanted to know if you could give me some tips that would make my stay more comfortable/hygienical.
I will need to wash my clothes at field but I do not desire to take soap or anything with me so I need some crafty ideas to keep my socks and other undies as clean as possible. XD
I have heard it was legal to live in most forests of Sweden as they dont belong to anyone, is this true?

Thanks
x

 

[Shewie]

I'd go for silk undies as they'll stay "fresher" for longer.

For the little it weighs, I'd pack a bar of biodegradeable soap aswell.

Not sure about the legalities of an extended stay in the forest in Sweden but there are plenty of guys on here also from your land.

 

[steve a]

I have heard it was legal to live in most forests of Sweden as they dont belong to anyone, is this true?
Thanks
x[/QUOTE

Not quite, you need to look up Allmansrätten, which roughly means all mans rights, it really is a right to roam. There are restrictions and most of the forests are owned.

 

[Elenias]

Oh I see, thanks Steve.
The thing is that so far I hardly know anything about anything, my gap year would start in about 18 months so I think it's time I start thinking about all the practicalities.
What I am really looking for is a place in the wild (by a crystal clear lake if possible ) where I can live for a few months.
Of course I do not want to break the laws nor do I want to be a pain in anyone's bum nor do I want to destroy the environment in which I would live...
Seems like it's gonna be hard to find something...

 

[Shewie]

I thought the whole Swedish culture and upbringing was focused largely on nature and living alongside it ? You've certainly got more scope for enjoyment than many places.

 

[Husky]

"Allemansrätten - The right of public access"
http://www.naturvardsverket.se/en/In-English/Menu/Enjoying-nature/The-right-of-public-access/
gives you the right to be on other peoples land and to some extent forage and camp but it also has limitations. Learn these limitations intimately and you are pretty safe doing anything else.
For a longer stay in one place or for cutting livingt trees, branches, fishing and so on you need the landowners permission.
You could look into renting a small cottage or making a longterm stay in an organized campingsite and do overnight trips from there. It might make it easier to ask the landowners for permission to do what ever you want to do if they know where you are staying.

 

[Elenias]

shewie, it looks like you are assuming I am swedish heh.
I am french but I am currently living in the UK.
I love nature so much and I feel like such a failure for being so urban (I know I'm a bit hard on myself)

Also thank you Husky, I did read what the restrictions are, the thing is I cannot really afford staying in a hotel too long until I find a good land to live on owned by someone who would allow me to live in it.
I find it hard to phrase my concerns but what I mean is that I might end up in a pretty precarious situation

 

[Shewie]

shewie, it looks like you are assuming I am swedish heh.
I am french but I am currently living in the UK.

Yeah sorry, I guess I put 2 and 2 together and got 5

Welcome to the forum by the way

How about putting a post in the introductions

 

[forestwalker]

Most of the forest does belong to somebody in the sense of an individual or corporate landowner (mostly individual), a little is plain goverment owned.

You may stay one night, with some restriction (main ones; no damage, outside restricted areas, not too close to a home). http://www.naturvardsverket.se/en/In-English/Menu/Enjoying-nature/The-right-of-public-access/ gives a goods summary.

Your options are basically threefold:

1. Be a migrant, never more than one night in one place

2. Get permission, be it from a landowner or by paying your way on a public campground.

3. Break the rules.

Owning some forest myself I'd say avoid the last option unless you're good enough that noboby will ever know you are there, even when they hunt those same woods reguarily, with free running dogs. Permission can be tricky (but might be doable), what you might find is a small cabin in a very much unimproved state that you can rent cheaply for a year. Buy firewood (or pay the owner for the right to cut your own). Look in "alternative" circles for landowners more likely to be positive to your needs.

And no, my property is not suitable for what you are asking.

 

[Elenias]

Thanks forestwalker, I know what you mean I did see it coming...
The problem is I will need to stay somewhere in Sweden in order to find a suitable place in which I can legally live in, I can't really do it from the UK, and since it may take a fairly long time I am scared it might end up being quite expensive...
I am not the richest man on earth =p

 

[Mastino]

And if you need some of the comforts of civilisation once in a while I can reccomend this organisation. They provide in good & affordable accomodations: http://www.svenskaturistforeningen.se/en/

 

[moved on agiles10]

I need some crafty ideas to keep my socks and other undies as clean as possible. XD


with your undies go for the 'normal way round', 'back to front', 'inside out', 'inside out back to front' you get four days wear out of one pair of undies. Lol.

 

[Emile]

hey tristan,
I know where you're coming from, when I finished school I got my kit and went to Norway, I slept somewhere else (in my tent) every night for two months. I had the time of my life but eventually called it a day because winter came round and it was too wet and cold to really sustain for long. It sounds like you intend to have a permanent shelter and stay in one area, which means you'll hopefully be dry and not have to carry wet gear everywhere, and be wet and cold the whole time. It also means you can boil your cottons to clean them, its straightforward and it works, no soap, but things like the elastic in underwear might wear quicker. (on that note, anyone know if Ventile can be boiled safely?)

My advice would be to get as much experience relevant to your trip first, there's a lot of things you want to learn before you go, rather than when you're there.

Of course you can't know everything you need to know before you go, part of the enjoyment is learning as you go along; but you say you're inexperienced in your intro, in which case I'd say cram as much experience between now and when you go. You'll be living through all manner of circumstances, so I'd suggest when ' practicing ' not only to head off when the sun is shining and berries are in season etc., (but of course, dont put yourself at risk.)

what type of circumstances you intend to live, as in, are you looking to live in an existing structure or build you own, do you intend to hunt? fish? (legally?) or are you going to head into civilization to resupply?

Lastly, I'd say don't rush anything... (ever?)

quite a mouthful for my second post on BCUK

 

[firecrest]

I think you need to consider travelling round, after all, why stay in one place? The benefits of a permenent camp is that its more like `home` and no need to travel so light, but that may cause problems with regards to laws. Also are you planning on staying in a tent or a natural shelter? if you are taking a tent then I see no reason why you cannot camp indifferent places every few nights, even if you are not travelling far.

 

[Elenias]

Thanks a lot all this stuff is brilliant.

Also thank you Emile, yes I do plan to learn as much as I can before I leave, ultimately it would be nice to attend some bushcraft courses but I'm afraid I cant afford them.
(I was thinking, would it be a good idea to take bushcraft books with me? I am intending to travel as lightly as possible but I was thinking it might be worth the extra weight.)

Ideally, I would like to settle somewhere and be able to fish and hunt (I could get over not being able to hunt but it is important I can fish) and LEGALLY.
Now I know it is a lot to ask but I really hope I can find a place like this.
If I cannot find a landowner that would let me stay at the same place then yes I will move to different places every so often but I would rather not.
As I said I would like to "expend" my "camp" and make it a reasonably comfortable place to live in (hence why I would rather stay in the same place)

I was thinking of taking a small tent and a sleeping bag with me and improve my shelter/camp with what I find on the spot.

 

[Chinkapin]

Elenias: There are many plants that contain saponins that when boiled, make a frothy lather that has the properties of soap. All of the following plants are native to Europe and contain saponins. soapwort, ragged robin, campions, bracken rhizomes, horse chestnut. Find photographs of these plants and then locate them in the woods. Make your own soap. If you accidently get the wrong plant, no big deal you are not eating it.

 

[Chinkapin]

By the way, making homemade soap is very easy. My mother used to make it all the time. You only need three ingredients: water, grease, lye (sodium hydroxide) boil these up together, pour into a wooden flat. Let cool, cut out the bars. I'm sure the web has a million receipts for soap. pick the simplest. Oh, yes, I forgot to mention that you can buy sodium hydroxide in some grocery stores or hardware stores here but all you need to do is collect your ashes from your campfire, pour boiling water through them. Catch the water as it runs out of the ashes and you have just made sodium hydroxide. Keep those "undies" clean!!!

 

[forestwalker]

Thanks forestwalker, I know what you mean I did see it coming...
The problem is I will need to stay somewhere in Sweden in order to find a suitable place in which I can legally live in, I can't really do it from the UK, and since it may take a fairly long time I am scared it might end up being quite expensive...
I am not the richest man on earth =p

Find one or more of the alternative web fora, pick up enough Swedish to find out where to ask your question. Ask there if anyone has a spot you can camp in. One place to start might be http://www.alternativ.nu, but I think there are others.

While most Swedes under 50 have enough English to get by, the level of fluency varies, in particular with somewhat older people and outside the urban areas; you really need to pick up a bit of Swedish.

Hunting: not really feasible, it is tied to land ownership for the most part.

For fishing you need to buy a fishing licence for most lake systems (not too expensive, there is generally both day, week and annual licences available, where the latter generally gives better value for the money). In coastal waters you can fish freely with a rod (etc) unless the rules have changed since last I checked. There might be some inland water where fishing is free; I'm not sure.

Do you have any idea where in Sweden you want to set up your camp?

 

[Husky]

I would also suggest that you consider moving about. How about biking or canouing?
Once every other week you kan spend a night at an organised shelter or campingground and sort any problems you may have run into.

About camping, the right of public access is not really clear but doesnt actually say you can only stay ONE night in each place but rather stay occasionally in one place wich translates that two nights can be ok.

On hunting, forget it. Its heavily regulated and priced.

On fishing, for the govenment owned land you can get a fishinglicens for over 1000 lakes all over sweden for 600SEK/year.
http://www.sveaskog.se/Jakt-fiske-och-friluftsliv/Fiske-och-fiskeforvaltning/Sverigefiskekortet/
I can´t find it in english but on the website you have pdf maps of the areas included.

 

[Karl5]

If you're planning to be as long as a full year in Sweden, you'll also have to get a residence permit.
You can find a first useful information about that here.

/ Karl