Words by Ian Vorster, photography courtesy Linus Palmqvist
The wheels sink into mud. Not an inch or two, but a full six. It swallows the front casters of Anders Andrae’s wheelchair as the weight of frame and rider settles into the soaked Swedish earth.
He pushes. Nothing. Again—harder—muscles burning. Still nothing.
Then he feels the chair lift as guide and partner Linus Palmqvist leans in behind him, heaving the wheels free.
All around stretches the immense silence of Jämtland—pine and birch forests, boulder-strewn paths, endless sky. This is mile seven of 14. Seven to go.
Most people would call this impossible. Andrae calls it July.
Born of Mud and Persistence
Anders Andrae has used a wheelchair since birth, but he has never seen that as a limit. Nature is where he feels calm, strong and free—and he wants others with disabilities to feel that too.
He began organizing hikes in 2015 and in 2021 launched Den Långa Vandringen (The Long Hike), a program that offers demanding wilderness routes—12 miles or longer—to people with a wide range of disabilities. The goals are simple: Give participants a real wilderness experience while building genuine human connection—something often lacking for those who face isolation and limited access.
Palmqvist, a wilderness chef and outdoor educator runs Naturens Hemligheter (“The Secrets of Nature”). He joined the effort with a similar mission: to remove barriers, not by changing wilderness, but by changing how people might move through it.
Designed for Pilgrims, Not Wheelchairs
The St. Olavsleden, or St. Olav’s Way, is a medieval pilgrimage route stretching nearly 350 miles from Sweden to Trondheim, Norway. In 2024, Andrae and Palmqvist led 36 hikers on an eight day, 193‑mile section. Half were wheelchair users.
This is not an accessible nature path. No boardwalks. No paved sections. The “good” parts are gravel. The bad parts are steep, muddy, technical climbs that make some able-bodied hikers reconsider.
Wheelchair users are often told, directly or indirectly, “You can’t handle this.”
Andrae is determined to prove otherwise. “I want to show that everything is possible,” he says. “A lot of people in wheelchairs think they can’t get out in nature. Many have tried for the first time after meeting me. Before that they were home looking at the TV.”
From Small Steps to Sweden’s Longest Accessible Wilderness Hike
Five years ago, Andrae just wanted to hike. But people kept warning him: What if something goes wrong? The message was clear—stay safe, stay home, stay limited.
He ignored it.
He started with short outings. Then longer ones. Then he looked at Sweden’s legendary Vasaloppet cross-country ski trail—60 miles of rugged forest—and decided to wheel it. He hoped media coverage would spread this message: People with disabilities want real outdoor adventure too.
The first year, 12 participants came. Many cried at the finish line—overwhelmed at what they’d achieved. In the summer of 2024, 36 people came. Summer 2025 saw that number more than double.
The Hardest Part Isn’t the Distance
To grasp what makes this expedition remarkable, you must understand what it isn’t.
This is not adapted recreation—there are no special trails, no engineered accessibility. It’s the raw challenge of long-distance hiking, delivered without compromise. Eight days, six to seven hours of movement daily, up to 14 miles between camps. Real rain. Real consequence. Real wilderness.
Palmqvist explains the complexity, “Planning for able-bodied hikers is straightforward. With this group, every variable multiplies. Thirty wheelchairs means 30 different needs.”
Some participants train for months. Others have barely camped. One woman is both blind and deaf. Another participant uses a GPS device that beeps to keep him aligned with the trail.
The pace is set by the slowest member. “If Anders goes first,” Palmqvist says, laughing, “then everybody can make it at his pace.” If he Andrae can do it, everyone can.
Life on the Trail: Rain, Resolve and the Rhythm of Group
The logistics are staggering.
Tents become puzzles. A six‑person tent may fit only two wheelchair users and their assistants. Some participants need to be repositioned at night; others require double support.
Accessible toilets don’t exist, so the team brings their own. A support car leapfrogs ahead daily to set up portable facilities.
Guides monitor hydration, fatigue and morale. Two electric all‑terrain chairs are available for temporary relief, the equivalent of a rest day. Most participants complete the entire trail in manual wheelchairs—through rainstorms that turn paths into rivers of mud.
Two pace groups form—fast and slow. But at camp each night, the distinction evaporates. “When we reach camp,” Palmqvist says, “we’ve done it together.”
Under the midnight sun, hikers push through long days without darkness. Each realizes, slowly and profoundly, they are capable of more movement—more endurance, more life—than they ever imagined.
Every day, someone exceeds a limit they once believed immovable.
Rethinking Wilderness Access
The expedition raises a question: Can wilderness remain wild while becoming more inclusive?
Traditional conservation often frames preservation and access as competing priorities. But this group demonstrates another path—one where the wilderness stays untouched, while people bring the equipment and support to meet it on its own terms.
Andrae puts it simply, “If you don’t want to change wilderness, you have to change your equipment.”
The Swedish government typically only provides wheelchairs for daily living—not for the outdoor lives people want. So, specialized equipment isn’t covered.
To Andrae, the message is backwards. “I want to show people what’s possible so they can live the life they want.”
Life On St. Olavsleden
- Near‑constant July daylight creates long hiking windows.
- Wildlife includes moose, reindeer, fox, hare and occasional signs of wolverine or lynx.
- Birdlife peaks in summer: willow ptarmigan, cranes, buzzards, great gray owls, Siberian jays.
- Landscapes shift from dense forest to alpine tundra, bogs and glacial rock.
- Temperatures range between 50 and 68°F (10–20°C); rain is frequent and transformative.
The Longest Hike for People with Disabilities
When asked whether anything like this exists elsewhere, both say no. They have searched but have found nothing similar. In 2023, the Vasaloppet Expedition was likely the world’s longest unsupported wilderness hike for people with disabilities, but the St. Olavsleden trek is longer. The Vasaloppet expedition was first staged in 1922 to commemorate a historical ski journey made by Gustav Eriksson in 1521 to lead a rebellion against Danish rule. The 90 km course runs through the Swedish forest and includes rolling terrain and several climbs.
The waiting list keeps growing—not because the hike is easy, but because it is real. There are no shortcuts or artificial comforts. Just nature, sweat, wheels and grit. This is what inclusion looks like when it isn’t softened or simplified.
Back to that mud. It is mile seven of 14. Andrae is stuck again. Once again Palmqvist appears. Together they push. The wheels break free and a few meters are gained. Most people would call this impossible. Anders Andrae calls it the best day of his life.
Wheelchairs of different sizes and types were used according to the resources available and the types of disabilities each person had.
- Nature’s Best Sweden Certification – Sweden’s only sustainability label for nature-based experiences is built on six ecotourism principles: destination limits, local benefits, environmental sustainability, conservation, education and quality.
- STF Sustainability Pledge – Swedish Tourist Association mountain stations near the trail are Green Key certified, use renewable electricity and encourage pack‑out waste ethics.
- Jämtland Härjedalen Tourism Strategy – A regional mandate that tourism supports sustainable development. The area leads Sweden in EV charging access and low-emission fuel innovation.
- Right of Public Access (Allemansrätten) – Sweden’s core ethic: roam freely but leave nature as you found it.
- Naturarvet purchases old‑growth forests for permanent protection with more than 900 hectares safeguarded.
- Swedish Society for Nature Conservation advocates nationally and locally for policy, protected areas and citizen science.
- Protect the Forest documents rare species to prevent clear‑cutting and expose unsustainable forestry practices.
