TREKKING THE KUNGSLADEN

When Theo Gove-Humphries and Bee Roper approached Lowe Alpine with a plan to make a documentary about the Kungsladen, a momentous 440km trek that cuts through huge swathes of Sweden’s wilderness, they jumped at the chance to support them.

The Kungsladen, or ‘Kings Trail’, is a 440km trail through the heart of Arctic Sweden. Beginning in the north at Absiko and ending in the small town of Hemavan, it dives through national parks, skirts the highest mountains in the country, and traverses some of the least-frequently visited regions in Scandinavia.

Theo is a professional filmmaker and photographer, while Bee is an animal conservationist. Both left their busy life in the city behind for a more nomadic existence; exploring Europe and living full-time in a camper van. Their ‘VDubvanlife’ project covers more than 35,000 miles and 23 countries; there’s a documentary about Theo and Bee’s adventures on at lowealpine.com or find it as a series of ‘webisodes’ on their YouTube channel.

Bee and Theo both used Lowe Alpine Manaslu backpacks: “Thirty days hiking with the Manaslu was a breeze; the Axiom back system allows for a perfect fit to your body. All our essential camping gear went in the packs, with enough room for our camera gear on top allowing everything to stay secure. We had worried about potential back problems with 20kg loads but we didn’t even have one twinge, the packs felt weightless. Many days we didn’t have shelter from the rain to stop for food, so keeping snacks in the hipbelt allowed for refuelling on the move without having to remove the pack, ideal to keep momentum going. The packs took quite a battering and survived a barrage of rainfall, snow, and hail but they held true throughout the entire adventure.”