The summer of 2017 starts out okay with sunny and dry
weather in May– perfect for hiking. I don my new hiking shoes and start walking
from the woods around the old town of Viborg to the chorus of early summer bird
song. Such a symphony of happy chirps, tweets (not the Trump kind; the nice
kind) and trills! All the little birds vying with each other to catch the
attention of a mate while all I have to do is listen. The beech leaves are
unfurling in a refreshing, almost luminescent light green. I pop a few of the
fresh leaves in my mouth and enjoy the lemony taste. The agrarian landscape is
also greening with grain or bursting in dazzling yellow rapeseed flowers. 
Walking in my own thoughts I meet a deer who is also
in its own thoughts – so much so that it does not even notice me so I get quite
close. I also spot a hare, a colourful Eurasian bullfinch (dompap in Danish), herons, swans, swallows, Northern lapwing (vibe in Danish) and a pheasant cock
lying down and chilling out. Denmark is so life-affirming in May. 
I pass through Hjarbæk, a cozy village by a fjord.
After a break to remove shoes and socks and cool my feet, I continue onwards.
The landscape becomes hilly and affords great views over the fields and fjord.
Following a now defunct railway, I reach the town of Skals. This town had a rather
curious production some years back. They used to gather up the seaweed that
washed up on the shores of the fjord, rinse it in rainwater or river water to
get rid of the salt, dry it and bale it. The resulting product was used in
mattresses. It was exported to France and Germany during World War II and was
quite the industry – hence the establishment of a railroad.
The town of Skals was my goal for today – a mere 20
km, but a nice way to start the hiking season. It turns out that this is the
only hike on the Hærvejen in 2017 because the summer of 2017 turns out to be
really crummy with cold, rainy and unpredictable weather.
