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@riversflowandriversrun

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nature | (slow) adventure | dogs
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Fjallraven Polar 2025 alumni 🐾💙✨️
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POSTS STORIES REELS TAGGED

So much hiraeth for Polarrrr ✨️💙
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#fjallravenpolar2025 #arcticexpedition #dogsledding #sweden #arcticcircle #polarexpedition #seeyououthere #dictionaryofobscuresorrows taken in Arctic Circle by @riversflowandriversrun

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2 years ago

I'm not sure I've ever done an intro post, but I have a tonne of lovely new followers (thanks largely to all the Fjallraven Polar 2026 hopefuls - good luck to you all!), so here goes...

I'm Jo, 47, living on the glorious west coast of Scotland with my husband and 2 dogs. I love being outside - exploring with my dogs, camping, wild swimming, skiing, paddle boarding, sailing or just sitting on a hillside and taking it all in, and this is what you'll mostly see on my grid.

I have a suspicion that I'm one of the many undiagnosed AuDHD women of a certain age (hi, friends!), and I enjoy quiet time on my own in nature, appreciating the small things. In the past I've struggled with my mental health (PMDD and perimenopause have been extra fun), and now I prioritise the things and people that make me feel good, whilst rocking my boundaries on the other stuff, as best I can ;)

I work in Environmental Protection, and volunteer with a sail training charity (Ocean Youth Trust Scotland).

Last winter, I was lucky enough to be chosen to join Fjallraven's dog sledding expedition in the arctic circle... beyond words.

Back in the day I worked abroad and travelled lots (teaching sailing/ working in ski resorts/ on boats/ bumming around/ spending 2 years in China for my husband's job), but nowadays my life tends to revolve around my dogs, especially our Romanian rescue, Heidi - a big, beautiful, but challenging wolf-child, who sadly does not play well with others!

I am tall, clumsy, and sweary, with a teenage boy's sense of humour. I love trash TV (true crime/ selling sunset etc) and all kinds of music, with a heavy lean towards melancholic female folk/ country/ acoustic vibes.

I share some of the most beautiful places that I've spent a long time discovering on here, but rarely disclose an exact location - so please don't be offended if you ask and I won't tell.

Is there anything else you want to know? Or any true crime recs to share?! If you're still here, thanks and welcome :)

📷 @jnsbckmn (1) and @anetteanderssonphotography (2-4)

#outdoorwomen #dogsledding #gratitude #adventure #nature #scotland #fjallravenpolar2025 #fjallraven #mansbestfriend #mountains taken in Arctic Circle by @riversflowandriversrun

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a year ago

So I've been meaning to do a post bout ageing/ perimenopause for a while. Scroll on by if you wanna be like 🙉🙉🙉, entirely fair enough! But according to my insta demographics, most of you lovely people are female and a little younger than me.
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So, I turned 45 this year, and what seems like Very Fucking Suddenly, so much stuff has changed. And noone really told me. And it's really quite A Lot, so I thought I'd jus do a lil brainsplurge on my experience.
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It started a coupla years ago with the odd grey hair, then a routine eye test had the optician tell me I needed varifocals. I know it's ridiculous, but I actually went home and cried. Varifocals to me were fully OLD PERSON STUFF 😂
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Well, perimenopause started sneaking in next. Brain fog, aching joints, changes in my mood and confidence, overwhelming tiredness, alongside erratic and super heavy (insanely bad) periods. Had a promising but v brief chat with one GP bout my symptoms, then another one dismiss me as 'too young', and that it wasn't menopause cos I'd not been having hot flushes 🙄. Most frustrating is that it's hard to see the same person, and appointments are so short (I get why, it's just tricky to get to the bones of anything in ten minutes). Talking to pals of a similar age or older helped, but everyone experiences things so very differently.
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Luckily for me, a nurse decided to refer me to a gynaecologist for erratic bleeding. Also lucky for me, el husband has private health insurance thru his work (*which stupidly doesn't cover anything menopause related, btw), so I was able to get a private appt quite quickly.
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It was so good to have time to discuss stuff and ask questions. Various tests (involving a very scary chair 😱) ruled out any other causes of irregular bleeding. When the consultant suggested it might be due to my age, and asked, 'are you experiencing any other symptoms?', and, 'do you think it could be perimenopause?', I was like, hell yessssss, lady 😅 yes, I do 🤣
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CONTINUED IN COMMENTS taken in Gower Peninsula by @riversflowandriversrun

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3 years ago

When an Instagram competition brings 20 strangers together on a dog sledding expedition through the Arctic circle, it's only the start.

These pics are from day 1 of a recent long weekend of adventures in Italy with fellow Polare, Maged and Nienke... A random ad for cheap flights between Glasgow and Rome triggered arrangements for a micro reunion, and then Jenny died.
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This trip took me away from the suffocating heaviness of grief, for a few days, to find solace in nature and good people.

Our first day's hike went from pure zen bliss, sitting together in the long grass and the golden autumn sun, overlooking Italian mountains, to an Indiana Jones style quest for survival (marginal exaggeration for entertainment purposes) after we completely lost the trail for the return leg (if such a trail ever even existed 🤷🏼‍♀️).
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We ended up bushwhacking our way through dense jungle and muddy creek beds, negotiating agressive horses, and waning daylight, and clambering up steep sided ravines, before making it back to a road (sweet relief 😅) just before nightfall, to wild camp beside a beautiful lake (with Real Turmat for dinner!). It was ALL the fun!
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If you fancy making a bunch of new adventure buddies for life/ people you can totally be yourself with even when yourself is not really feeling it, applications are currently open for Fjallraven Polar 2027 (our 2025 team are all still in almost daily contact and we're currently planning a diff type of arctic expedition for 2028!).
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Jenny played a huge role in encouraging me to complete the challenges for the 2025 competition, and was overjoyed for me when I was selected, and she would have loved hearing all about the weekend I just had with Maged and Nienke.
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In her honour, I urge you (should you have the slightest desire to dog sled across the arctic yourself) to get involved... simply check out how to apply (deets on the @fjallravenofficial page), park any self consciousness, and just give it your best shot ✨
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Life is short... dream big and give nae f*cks! You definitely won't win if you don't apply 🩵
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More Italian adventure photos to follow 🇮🇹
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#fjallravenpolar #polarfamily #italy #friends #nature by @riversflowandriversrun

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6 days ago

It's different, making friends as an adult, but when I scored a summer job as a national park ranger 11 years ago, Jenny simply chose me to be her friend and so we were 🤷🏼‍♀️

We bonded over country music, Nashville, paddle boarding, nature, great hair, sailing, cold water dips, micro adventures, matching leggings, endless cups of tea (which Jenny drank correctly... Strong and with only the tiniest dash of milk) and a billion other tiny precious things.

She was all kinds of vibrant and full of life, had little patience for fools, but was also the kindest and most thoughtful soul. She made everything more fun and embraced the small beauties in every day, even before her stupid diagnosis.

We all thought we'd have her for longer and she deserved SO many more years. But how grateful I am to have been able to spend over 10 years in the warm glow of her sun. It's going to take a long time to get used to life without her in it... And that is only right; but at the same time, Jenny would be super pissed off if folk were sat around feeling sad about her, when we should be out there wringing every last bit of joy out of this wonderful gift that is life... So I'll try to do that in her honour too.

Love you and miss you forever, J-Rog.

#fuckcancer #nonsmokinglungcancer #egfrpositive #pickalane #loveis by @riversflowandriversrun

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12 days ago

Early autumn has been delivering occasional bursts of golden magic, amidst the moody wet greys. And whilst there is still light enough to enjoy it, after work, it's definitely worth the effort ✨🧡. Also, Heidi will only entertain being brushed when we are outside with a big view, so 🤷🏼‍♀️
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Btw, I recently learned (thank you Jen @lifewithmyspaniels) that you shouldn't leave dog fur out for 'birds to make their nests', as it contains toxic residue from tick/ flea treatment and is linked to higher mortality/ lower breeding success. Makes total sense when you think about it, but I hadn't thought about it. Just thought I'd share that. Now I know, I stick it in my rucksack and put it in the bin at home.
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Happy Friday, good people of the 'gram.

#lovewhereyoulive #nature #goldenhour #mybestfriendisadog #scotland by @riversflowandriversrun

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a month ago

I've been going a bit stir crazy, adapting back to life between 4 walls, after Sweden. It didn't help that I fell and injured my back (not seriously) on my first dog walk back. So come Friday, I was beyond ready for a micro adventure with Heidi!

I packed up my rucksack with a tent and supplies, checked the weather and took a half day. My main concern was the torrential rain, but the forecast said it was gonna clear up, and as my favourite Hungarian, Eszter, would say: I'm not made of sugar! It WAS a bit windy, but I just thought 'yay, that'll keep the midges away'. Oh naive fool 😅

Two thirds of the way up, after battling the elements for a coupla hours, I finally checked the mountain weather forecast... (yes yes, I know 🙄), and sure enough, severe gales forecast all night. We weren't even on the summit, and some of the gusts were already 'blow you off your feet'-windy. My tent is super solid, and I was well equipped, but it seemed reckless to keep heading higher. So we turned around.

The descent was ARDUOUS and a lil bit scary! In the strongest gusts, I had to just sit down and wait, so as not to be blown over/ risk injury. It was a million times harder with a big pack and no trekking poles... So much more windage and a much higher centre of gravity, all on steep ground. Whilst my urge was to descend as fast as possible, that would have been a sure fire way to turn an ankle and need help... So slow and steady it had to be.

I'm not sure I've ever been more relieved to get back to the car! Lessons have been learned and I have a new appreciation for the effect of wind at altitude vs sea level. And the MWIS forecast.

It wasn't all horrific... It would have been my Dad's 80-something-th birthday, and beautiful rainbows appeared amidst the darkening clouds and patches of golden light, during the descent, which always makes me think of him. Heidi also got the zoomies like 4 times, so she had a blast! And I made a good decision and kept us safe... Go me. Also we got kebabs for tea 😂

Anyway, definitely got my fresh air fix, just not quite the one I had planned.

#seeyououthere #hikingwithdogs #slowadventure #scotand #highlands taken in West Coast of Scotland by @riversflowandriversrun

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a month ago

Fjallraven Classic Sweden 2026 part 6:

Day 6

I emerged from my tent to Roy pointing out fresh snow on the hills behind us.  It had indeed been a chilly night, but I had not expected that in early August!

We officially went through the final checkpoint and got a second round of pancakes and blueberry jam, even though we came clean that we already had round one the day before 😂

After we got some k's under our belts, we found a beautiful lil patch of woodland and relaxed in some welcome sunshine whilst waiting for everyone to catch up and have our last lunch. It was super important to all of us that we finished together, as one group. The trail then followed the banks of a most beautifully coloured river.  We bathed our feet and sat on its shores, reluctant to leave, before the last stretch to the finishline.

The final few k's quickly became jarringly urban... Cars and trucks hurtled loudly along the road that ran beside the footpath.  We walked through concrete underpasses and on tarmac.  Phones came back into signal. And the people walking towards us smelt so clean, like fresh laundry... Best not to dwell on the reverse 😅

After 5 peaceful, simple, days spent in nature, we joked about just keeping walking, and I'm sure it was a temptation for a few of us.

As with all endings, it arrived too soon and was bitter sweet.  But we did cross the finish line and we did it together, arm in arm.

A real sense of pride, camaraderie and achievement: We did a hard thing and we did it together.

Beyond grateful to Fjallraven for having created some kind of magic when they chose the Polar 25 team.  We are a true family.  Only the prospect of another expedition together has helped to ease the sadness... And I, for one, cannot wait to get started with the planning and training for that one 👀

The End.

Thanks to Timo @tii_hn for pics 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14.

#fjallravenclassicsweden #seeyououtthere #fjallraven #lapland #fjallravenpolar2025 taken in Lapland, Arctic Circle by @riversflowandriversrun

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2 months ago

Fjallraven Classic Sweden 2026 part 5:

Day 5

We awoke to absolutely stunning views across the lake, sparking big talk of swimming... Whether through common sense or being total wooses, we decided to get a few k under our belts first.

We soon made our only route mistake, following some painted rocks, but fortunately corrected by retracing our steps before it was a big deal.

Back by the lake shore we braved a refreshing face wash and - by our first snack break - the swimming talk turned to swimming action, and we got to it!  It was no colder than the Scottish lochs, despite being in the Arctic Circle (there was nevertheless a LOT of screaming 😂) and we quickly warmed back up with snacks and more hiking.

I picked my pace right up (who am I? It's like my body set the pace and I just had to keep up, despite my brain being like, chill babe... tiny flowers... 🤷🏼‍♀️) and ended up walking with the front-runners. We nabbed a primo camping spot for the whole group, nestled amongst the woodland, just before the final checkpoint.

Once everyone else had arrived and we'd set up camp, we headed down to the checkpoint to take advantage of the little blue tents (only used my fancy shovel once 😅), and the fabled pancakes... Double treat!

Nice to have a coupla shorter days to sit around and relax in each others company, and laugh at more of Ismael's ridiculous chat (the one about running round the tree 🫣).

Despite having dropped a fair bit of altitude it was a chilly evening, and we tucked our Real Turmats (freeze dried meals in pouches) inside our jackets whilst they 'cooked'... Super cosy 😌

Early to bed, I dropped off to the sweet sound of rain on canvas, the roar of the nearby river and the wholesome tones of Nienke chatting happily away to Maged through their tent walls. The best night's sleep I had so far.

(To be continued...)

#fjallravenclassicsweden #seeyououtthere #fjallraven #lapland #polarfamily

Thanks to @tii_hn for 📸 1, 2,3, 4, 6, 12, 16, 19 and 20. by @riversflowandriversrun

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2 months ago

Fjallraven Classic Sweden 2026 part 4:

Day 4 was notably less rainy, but still atmospheric AF; moody dark clouds interspersed with occasional rays of golden sunshine.  It was sadly also the day we had to say goodbye to Anton, Melanie, Eszter and Nusi (they had to pick up the pace to finish for their earlier flights home).  Super sad to see them go, but what a brilliant few days we had spent as one big group.  Forever grateful to Fjallraven for inviting us all.

Lunch was a highlight when Chris and Marie (who had been slightly ahead) used their tarp to create a shelter for those of us who arrived a little later.. they sat holding it over us whilst we boiled our water and ate 😭. Honestly the loveliest kindest gesture... Little moments like this are what I love most about our group, and it was so nice to have Marie (Chris's girlfriend), Holly (Jared's wife) and Nusi (Eszter's friend) as honorary members of the polar fam.

At Alesjaure, we said our final goodbyes, only to catch up with Harald again, and be joined by Roy (one of the lead mushers from Polar) and his beautiful but nervous lead dog Lina.

We were easily persuaded  to lend a hand in stacking logs at the trekking station as a nice gesture to the staff there... What a pleasant change to work the arms instead of the legs for an hour or so, and a warm feeling to be helping others.

After that, we set up camp with Harald and Roy nearby and had a lovely evening sat around chatting and listening to Ismael recount tall tales from Polar (the veracity of which are still under scrutiny, but in no way detract from their entertainment value).

(To be continued...)

📸 Thanks as always to Timo @tii_hn for the generous use of his beautiful pics (8, 19, 20 and 21). Go check his page for more stunning imagery.

🎥 And thanks to Syameem @syameemraub for the video of us stacking wood. Go follow him if you want to vicariously experience some absolutely epic adventures.. I am excited for his next one! 🚂

#fjallravenclassicsweden #seeyououthere #fjallraven #polarfamily #slowadventure taken in Lapland, Arctic Circle by @riversflowandriversrun

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2 months ago

Fjallraven Classic Sweden 2026 Part 3:

Day 3

On my morning toilet/ water collection trip, I saw reindeer grazing on the ridgeline... Within minutes they were right by our camp, completely unphased by us.  We watched in total delight until they meandered off.

After a seemingly never ending (slight exaggeration) day 2, I'd been hoping for an easier/ shorter day.  Problem was that the Tjäktja pass (highest/ hardest section of the Fjallraven Swedish Classic) was too close to set up camp before, but that there wouldn't be a spot to camp for some time after.

Apparently 'trail legs' are a whole thing, tho... and, incredibly, mine kicked in after a couple of k. It suddenly felt much easier than the previous day and the pass was way less arduous than I'd anticipated.  My pace picked up and I just got on with it.  The weather treated us to full 'Scottish autumn', so I felt right at home.

As we passed through Sälka, I spotted movement just off the trail, and it turned out to be a ptarmigan.

Then we got some magnificent rainbows, which caught me out emotionally... When we scattered my Dad's ashes off the blustery coast of Wales, a huge double rainbow appeared... ever since then when I see one I think of him, and tell him 'hi, Dad'.  I also lost one of my favourite people shortly before the walk... his only sister.  I had anticipated the walk being a bit of an opportunity to process some of that grief, but in reality my thoughts were very much in the moment (where I was putting my foot, when I'd have a snack etc), but that was a wonderful gift in itself: to be truly present in the moment and free of other thoughts. Though I did, on numerous occasions, feel very grateful to have a body capable of undertaking a multi day hike.

We finished the day with our most spectacular and windy camp, surrounded by glaciers, waterfalls and snow capped mountains. The middle of the night toilet trip gifted a beautiful sunset (we never got proper darkness and sunrise/ sunset were merely hours apart).

Days 3 and 4 were probably my favourite days, where it seemed a shame that we would ever have to stop.

(To be continued...)

#fjallravenclassicsweden #seeyououtthere #fjallraven taken in Swedish Lapland by @riversflowandriversrun

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2 months ago

Fjallraven Classic Sweden 2026 Part 2:

Day 1...

Just a few hours of travelling and catching up and it felt like the Polar 2025 family had never been apart.  The stoke was high as we crossed the start line for our 110km trek, although my final pack weight (after adding gas, water and food) was a hefty 16.5kg (2 more than I'd been training with, oops!).

It was quickly apparent that we all had different hiking paces, and I fell comfortably back with some others, fighting a lil bit of apprehension that I may not be able to keep up.

I soon passed a lady who had turned her ankle badly, on the uneven rocky terrain, being assisted back down the trail to a helicopter by another hiker... A stark reminder to watch my footing and not hurry... Such a shame for her to have that happen within the first day.

Our first camp was a stunning spot by a fast flowing river, beneath looming mountains.  We cooked and ate together, before turning in for some much needed sleep before another big day.

Day 2...

The scenery changed much faster than I'd anticipated... from woodlands to big mountains and wide valleys.  In some ways, really Scottish, with familiar wildflowers and drizzle, but in others, utterly new and transfixing.

We hiked again in disparate groups, meeting for snack breaks, and most of us battling some variety of aching legs/ shoulders.

After 18+km we kept expecting to spot camp (selected by the fastest 👀 Ismael and Diego 👀) around the next corner... But it wasn't to be until around the 23k mark, and tiredness had set right in, resulting in that 'angry hiking' when you're just completely over it, and beyond ready to see the car 😅

The mood quickly transformed though, once tents were up, with hot food in our bellies and hot water bottles in our sleeping bags... And when we spotted reindeer grazing on a hill nearby.

Much hilarity was had in trying to fix a hole in Maged's sleep mat which turned out to be a slightly open valve 😂, before another early night for our tired bodies.

Huge thanks to Timo @tii_hn for pics 1, 2, 4, 9, 14, 15 and 20.

(To be continued...)

#fjallravenclassicsweden #fjallraven #seeyououtthere #polarfamily #adventure by @riversflowandriversrun

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2 months ago