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Joergen Johansson
Jörgen (or Joe) started hiking the Swedish Arctic in his early teens. Born and raised in Sweden, he emigrated to Canada after finishing high school in the mid 70s and made his first treks in the American wilderness. He’s hiked in the Grand Canyon as well as in Denali and many areas in between. Returning to Sweden from Alberta for his compulsory military service, he got lots of experience in how to cope with winter conditions in the northern parts of Sweden.
After earning a Master of Science in Agriculture, Jörgen has spent most of his professional life doing different kinds of market research.
In the first years of this millennium, Jörgen read Beyond Backpacking by Ray Jardine, which radically changed his approach to hiking. He started experimenting with homemade gear and trail techniques advocated by Ray Jardine and Ryan Jordan, adapting them to the Scandinavian mountains, which are mostly above timberline tundra. In 2004, he made his first full scale test of lightweight gear, hiking 500 km through the northern parts of the Swedish mountains.
This resulted in his first book, Vandra Fjäderlätt (“Walk Featherlight”). His book and the accompanying website became a focal point for the rapidly growing interest in ultralight backpacking in the Scandinavian countries. In 2008, Jörgen made another 500 km hike, going south from the same starting point as he had in 2004. The sum of his experiences is published in his handbook, Lighter Pack from A to Z, due out in May 2009.
External Links
- Jörgen Johansson - personal website
