Hoting - Tvärfallet

Waking up right by the lake is really great, especially when the sun is already shining in the morning. Of course we enjoy our breakfast with a view of the lake. Today we want to visit the Tvärfallet waterfall, which lies a little to the west of here. We decide to go in the morning so that we can enjoy the sun here in the afternoon.

The waterfall is half an hour away by car, but our GPS sends us on a detour along a bumpy road that takes about twice as long as planned. The Tvärfallet is in Strömsund Municipality near the hamlet of Brattbäcken, a good 26 kilometres northwest of Hoting as the crow flies. The municipality lists it as sight number 47 on its map of the Vildmarksvägen.

According to Basecamp Norråker, coming from Norråker you turn left in Brattbäcken onto a forest road marked by a small wooden sign. The village association puts the falls a good two kilometres up the forest road, and up by the road there is a picnic table with benches. From where the footpath leaves the road it is only 77 metres to the falls, with almost no change in elevation. As usual we are the only ones there, even on this Saturday.

The falls are on the stream Brattbäcken, which the hamlet is named after. It runs past the hamlet to the north and west and into the Tåsjön. Brattbäcken means «the steep stream». According to the village history that the village association reproduces on its website, the stream got its name from the high falls it makes in several places in the hollowed-out slate bed. The best known of these drops is the Tvärfallet.

The Tvärfallet lies in a dense forest. The forest floor is covered with soft, lush green moss, which gives the forest a fairytale look. Fallen trunks lie between the spruces, one of them thickly overgrown with yellow-green moss. The Brattbäcken village association writes that arriving at the Tvärfallet is like stepping straight into a picture by John Bauer. The painter from Jönköping (1882 to 1918) became known above all for his illustrations for the fairytale books «Bland tomtar och troll» («Among Gnomes and Trolls»). According to Jönköpings läns museum he painted the dense forests where the light trickles down through the mighty treetops, and peopled them with trolls, elves, princes and princesses.

We are bothered by mosquitoes, but that doesn’t stop us from walking through the forest to the waterfall. Rays of sunlight filter through the dense trees. We are fascinated by the many different shades of green and the beautiful, secluded waterfall in the middle of the forest. It plunges over a rock edge into a dark pool. We take a lot of photos and videos and Nicolas flies his drone. The map and GPX of the short path are on the page for the hike to the Tvärfallet.

In the afternoon we enjoy the summery weather at our accommodation. After lunch we go for a walk, pass another beautiful forest and follow a gravel path that was built out into the lake. Annina reads her book on the jetty by the lake in the evening sun and Nicolas buzzes his drone around her head. Luckily the book is so gripping that she can easily block out the noise…

Before cooking we do our workout on the jetty again. For dinner there is spinach, diced potatoes and falafel balls. In the evening we edit our photos and watch a film. It is our second and last night in the house by the lake, and tomorrow we move on to Backe.