Bushmans Wild Hiking: Kloten - Gillersklack 21 Km

Kloten - Gillersklack 21 Km

SWEDEN: Bergslagsleden Stage 1

Kloten - Gillersklack 21 Km

Kloten
The Bergslag Trail (Bergslagsleden) begins in Kloten, on county road 233 between Malingsbo and Kopparberg.
Lodging is available in the village of Kloten - for information call +46 580 883 00. Cabins are selfcatered. Swimming and short-stay camping areas can be found along the Stora Kloten lake. Reception and kiosk. There are no bus connections in Kloten.
East of this area is a marked connection to Bruks Trail (Bruksleden) in Västmanland, beginning in Malingsbo. For information on Bruks Trail,
http://www.bruksleden.se

The walk starts in the old skogsarbetarbyn Kloten, a village which today consists of only a few resident household.

Gillersklack
This stage finishes at Gillersklack, about 6 km north of Kopparberg. Follow signs from highway 60. Camping available. Other Gillersklack accommodations include cabins, a hostel, food, coffee and swimming. Information: Tel. +46 580-125 00 or the tourist office in Kopparberg, tel. +46 580-805 55, http://www.ljusnarsberg.se

Rest Area Lilla Kroktjärn
A rest area with shelter, fire ring, and dry toilet is found next to Lilla Kroktjärnen, 11 km from Kloten. Drinking water not available, but boiled lake water can be used for cooking. A simpler rest area also exists, found near Sand Stream (Sandån) - near point 4, 7 km from Kloten.
It is of great help to the management if you take
your rubbish with you when you leave the rest areas.

The first part of the trail runs along an old drive. Here are some well-preserved paving stones at the edge of the road down to the lake Långvattnet.

1. Kloten

Kloten has a long, shifting history, starting several hundred years ago as a small village near the waterfall between the lakes Stora Kloten and Långvattnet. The village grew into a booming industrial community and

even had its own railroad that ran about 20 km down to Bånghammar.

In the early 1900s, logging replaced iron working as the main industry in the district.

Kloten was a housing community and center for forestry in the region. The downsizing of the timber industry during the past century has reduced the population of Kloten and the town has lost its forestry-related importance.

The Bergslag Trail starts in the center of Kloten and passes the old smelt house

that was rebuilt to be a fish hatchery. Other buildings to see include the large white station house, the engine sheds, as well as the former forester’s yellow house.

After 7 km you will reach a trail sinker party at the small Sandån.

2. Trollberget

A kilometer after the start in Kloten is a 300 m long looping trail that goes up to Trollberget. At the top there is a rest area with table and benches.

Footbridges across one of the marshes to pass on their migration.

3. Källtjärn

About 5 km west of Kloten, the trail passes through Källtjärn and its overgrown meadows and ﬁ elds. The village was once so populated that it even had a school. The heavy work of the iron industry required, as with the timber industry before its downsizing, many people and horses out in the forest. Crofts

and small villages therefore appeared in order to provide for people and animals. Many of these crofts can be dated back to the Finnish colonization of Sweden in the 1600s.

4. Hill cabin by Sandån
Several kilometers west of Källtjärn is Sandån, one of the Arbogaån source streams. Just before the trail passes the stream is a reconstructed backstuga (hill cabin) called Åbostugan that is partially built into the slope of the hill. The very poor lived in such dwellings, not able to afford land with fields.

Sometimes the residents of these cabins had a cow or a few goats that grazed in the forest and survived on swamp grasses over the winter.

A beautiful landscape opens up just before you arrive at the restored croft at Sandån.

Åbostugan is very nice by the river. Here you can rest or stay overnight.Outsite the cottage's fireplace and wood storage

5. Dragtjärn area

West of Sandån, the trail passes through a hilly area with large rocks and many tiny lakes. Inland ice ﬂ owing through here left behind an irregular moraine, called the “Dead Ice Moraine,” which was created when isolated masses of ice slowly melted during the Ice Age. Here, the trail goes through the Getryggen nature reserve. Before the foresting of later years the area had strong wilderness characteristics. There is still a smaller region that displays these wild features.

6. Småtjärnarna

(The small lakes)

Three kilometers west of the rest area, the trail comes into an entire system of small lakes. Islands can be seen in the lakes, created when the area was dammed in order to channel water to be used by a mill downstream.

The importance of waterpower in Bergslagen has been great - even the smallest of streams were often used. Nearly all of the lakes, big and small, have been used as water sources and basins.

7. Gillersklack

West of Holmsjön, the trail becomes steep, leading up to a plateau that hovers over the 350-meter mark. Gillersklack’s highest point is 407 m above sea level. A looping trail goes near the highest point. Gillersklack and its surrounding plateau area have more snow and longer winters than any other area in the county. Gillersklack is traditionally known as a winter sport region, with well-developed facilities for skiing and related sports.

Overview map:

Important to know

● Make fires only where designated fire rings/circles are present.

● Make sure that your fire is completely out before you continue hiking.

● Refrain from starting fires during the dry periods of summer when risk of forest fire is high.

● Do not break off limbs or branches from living trees.

● You may pitch tents along the trail, but preferably near the rest areas and

not more that one night in the same place.

● Do not stray from the trail when near built-up areas, cultivated fields or planted forests.

● Do not litter.

● If hiking with a dog, be aware that you must always have the dog on a lead/leash in the forests/fields during the period from March 1 - August 20.

● So as to avoid conflicting with moose hunting season, you shouldn’t use the trail during the most intensive hunting period - the second week in October and several weeks forward.

Facts about the Bergslag Trail

(Bergslagsleden)

The Bergslag Trail is a 280 km hiking trail

passing through the entire county of Örebro. It is divided into 17 stages. The agency responsible for the trail is Regionförbundet Örebro. The Bergslag Trail is identified by orange markings on trees or on posts. At

road crossings or when the trail branches, directional arrows with the Bergslag Trail symbol appear. The Bergslag Trail forms part of European walking route E1, which extends from southern Italy to the Swedish

mountains. www.stfturist.se

Bus Connections

There is no regular bus traffic to Kloten.

Information on bus schedules: +46 771-22 40 00 Suggested reading (Swedish)

Esbjörnsson, Estrid, Värt att se i Örebro Län; Lindstén Carl Anders, Sevärt i Södra Kilsbergen; Hellström, Lena, Utsikt från Bergslagsleden.

For further information

Kopparberg Tourist Office: +46 580-805 55,

http://www.ljusnarsberg.se; Örebro County Regional

Development Council, +46 (0)19-602 63 00,

http://www.regionorebro.se

Home page for outdoor life

At http://www.regionorebro.se you can find a collection of information on nature and outdoor life in the Örebro region. It contains