Road trip to the north of Scandinavia

[Sebastian S]

Well, I guess a short introduction of myself and the vehicle should be in order to start with.

I'm 23, living on the west coast of Sweden (not far from Halmstad). I spend as much of my spare time as I can on traveling and photography.
I got into T3's a few years back and have since owned three. My first one, a 2wd Caravelle GL, me and some friends took down to Romania for two months of hiking and photography. During that trip I realized I had to get a Syncro, and soon enough I found myself with a TriStar Syncro, which unfortunately was quite rusty.

So last year I stumbled (almost literally) on a 14" Doka Syncro -91 with a DJ engine. It's a ex fire truck (I'm the first private owner) from the north of Sweden. When I got it it had 34000km (!) on the clock, and it's now at 48000km. Except for a few small marks and dents (as you would expect from a 20 year old work truck) it's in excellent condition and drives pretty much like new.
Since I got it i've done the following modifications:
Tristar interior incl extra sound proofing
Complete Dinitrol rustproof treatment
Heated truck mirrors
Mefro 15" rims with 215/70r15c road tires
Second battery
Some (not very fancy) shelves etc for storage in the Vindic canopy
And a few other odds and ends.

This summer I decided it was time to make a solo trip with the syncro. I wanted to see some of the northern parts of Sweden which I hadn't yet visited as well as some parts of Norway which I've always dreamt of travelling.

I'll mostly let the images do the talking (my english isn't all that good anyway ).

[Sebastian S]

The route


I started out at my home in southern Sweden and headed for Jämtland in the middle of Sweden, then into Norway. Followed the coast from Mo-i-Rana to Bodö from where I took the ferry to Moskenes in Lofoten. Drove through Lofoten over to Sweden again and the mountains around Abisko and Kiruna. Went back to Norway and north to Signal valley and Skibotn valley. Visited the Norway/Sweden/Finland tripoint, and followed the border of Sweden and Finland on the finnish side down to Haparanda/Tornio, and then followed the Swedish east coast south again.

[Sebastian S]

Part 1 - first 4 days


Packing and last minute preperations


First camp site, somewhere between Mora and Sveg.
I've seen a few who sleeps in the back of Dokas, I prefer my tent. Will get a roof tent for the next trip though!


The kitchen


Nice gravel roads up north..


The first real stop was Skäckerfjällen, a mountain in Jämtland in the middle of Sweden, not far from the norwegian border. There I had planned for a few days hiking. However the weather was very wet and I ended up spending only one night up in the mountains before I headed back down to the Syncro again.



Two more from the hike.


A room with a view


Back at the car the next day some one had left me a message.. trying to tell me something?


The mountains in which I hiked is under that cloud..


Met this little fella.


Found a nice road



A water fall called Tännforsen, not far from Åre, a well known ski resort.


I then headed over the border to Norway




Found a nice camp site which unfortunately was closed for the season (this was late august). However a neighbor of the camping (and a fellow T3-enthusiast!) told me it was ok to camp there anyway.

[..lee..]

cool pics. looks like a wicked trip although i`d be thinking twice about the tent. . it my age see.

[Sebastian S]

Haha, yeah.. If I only could find a nice syncro camper which I could afford without losing the doka I would too

[jed the spread]

Haha, yeah.. If I only could find a nice syncro camper which I could afford without losing the doka I would too

R&R bed in the back with two westfalia swivel base"s is the way to go, here is mine. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7JOSQnv3nM

jed

[taigagreen]

Haha, yeah.. If I only could find a nice syncro camper which I could afford without losing the doka I would too

Or find a Tischer campercab. I´ve seen a few for sale in Sweden in the last three years, so they do exist.

Next time you should give me a heads up. I live just south of Mo i Rana

PS: like what you´ve done inside the Vindic!

[syncropaddy]

A roof tent is what you need. Campers are for pussies .....

[syncrosimon]

That is a fantastic trip, would love to hike through those pines.

Thanks for posting.

[Sebastian S]

I see you got a roof tent as well Jed, is the rock n roll bed that much better?

Or find a Tischer campercab. I´ve seen a few for sale in Sweden in the last three years, so they do exist.

Next time you should give me a heads up. I live just south of Mo i Rana

PS: like what you´ve done inside the Vindic!

Yeah, I've thought of a Tischer as well, think they are a bit too big and bulky for my needs though.
I've seen some other smaller slide-on campers which could work, among them a Sun-Lite camper on a german doka which looked perfect. Smaller, and with a pop-up roof instead. Kinda hard to find one of those in good shape unfortunately..

Ah, too bad I didn't know! Next time!

Thanks, I have to give the firefighters some credit for the "wall" as that came with the car.

[Sebastian S]

Part 2 - day 5-8


Continued up north on the E6 through Norway. Met this lady, she was a bit shy at first...




Love the topography in Norway


From Mo-I-Rana i followed the coast. The scenery was incredible.






Crossing the Arctic Circle by ferry


And another ferry.


View of the glacier Svartisen


My first view of Lofoten, from the ferry (third ferry that day) between Bodö and Moskenes


Lofoten is a amazing place, to say the least! This is the village named Å.








On Iceland there's a saying that the grass is always greenest in the middle of the road. Appears to be true in Norway as well.




A little sightseeing on a little used road I found. Unfortunately my luck with the weather came after me again...

[syncrosimon]

Amazing photo's

It's just like Scotland only further away!

[Sebastian S]

Think I have to go to Scotland next time

[syncrosimon]

The Lofotens have been on my list of places to go for many years, a very special place I reckon. I hope one day I will have the time to drive up there in the Syncro.

[taigagreen]

From Mo-I-Rana i followed the coast. The scenery was incredible.

This is the island Tomma. Only 20 minutes from the spot where the Arctic Circle Bus Meet of 2011 will be. Scenery, sightseeing and syncro challenges guaranteed

These pics are from Aldersundet, a place that actually is the wettest in Norway. When it rains it pours here... On that peak you can see a small concrete block. It used to be an Omega station during the cold war. Amazing view to be found up there, but very steep climb