Orlången nature reserve is in a neighbouring municipality, and we have raced on Orlången lake several times. Graham had done a gravel bike ride through there and recommended it as a short local hike since there is goat grazing on the open meadows of the nature reserve and the goats are friendly!
My back had been very sore after a week of coaching kayak kids, so I wasn’t sure I’d be able to do a long multi-day hike (and was a little nervous about needing to bailout halfway through a distant hike). So, we did a couple days test hiking out from our house to Orlången. The goat meadows really delivered!
Some little goats enjoying the view by our camping spot 
Goats chilling 
These are sloe plums, which the goats FRIGGIN LOVED. They climbed all over eahc other to reach the branches that still had leaves and carefully nibbled around the spikes. 
This is the goats’ park, so they feel very comfortable on top and beneath all the furniture 
The goats were on the other side of the meadow all night, but they did come to say hi in the morning. 
some of them were really friendly! 
This tiny one would not leave Graham alone – he tried to steal a spoon when Graham was doing the washing up! 
They were happy to be hand fed grass or scratched between their horns
Of course, there are lots of great views on Huddingeleden along the way – some logging roads, some ruins, some agriculture, and lots and lots of boreal forest.
Ruins of an old cottage 
Our rad lakeside camping spot 
Lots of forest views like this 
July is a nice crossover month for Chantarelles and blueberies. Yum! 
Sundby battlements – old fortifications now abandoned 
The country side is rolling rather than mountainous… Some short climbs lead to great views. 
Graham spotted a cute little friend 
…closeup! This barn cat was sadly unpettable 
Looks closely and see the GIANT common green frog
As we hiked a long we appreciated some of the facilities and amenities that are very Swedish – including an open cottage with bathrooms and a mealroom including a mini-kitchen
‘Raststuga’ or rest cottage 
Pretty nice lunch room with pine tables 
…includes a mini-kitchen with a sink and mini-microwave 
Picnic tables and grills spots abound (sadly no picture of wind shelters this time) 
Graham noticed this is especially Swedish – a safe disposal box for a disposable grill (basically an aluminum baking tray full of charcoal for picnics)
I was not more sore at the end than at the start of the hike, so I think this means more hiking is in our future this summer!