Every summer solo-hikers roam the wilderness in northern Scandinavia; across mountains and rivers; they are in awe of the nature. This thesis explores the question: What do they seek out there? It uncovers their aspirations and experiences with a phenomenological research approach. Sixteen solo-hikers were interviewed in-situ (northern Scandinavia, June to August 2014) to gain immediate insights into the phenomenon. The analysis derived four major experiential themes from their narratives: the solo, the nature, the physical and the inner experience. Accordingly, the solo-hikers seek an individual mixture of experiences often linked to their personal life-paths. The study suggests that the solo-hike is both a journey of distance and closeness. The individuals seek (a perceived, not spatial) distance to common life-spaces and make sense of wilderness as a place that is away. However, they speak about the solo-hike as an experience of closeness to their inner selves. The thesis links to key concepts in human geography (such as place, identity) and central discussions in tourism studies (e.g. solo-travel, travel motivations). Ultimately, it also offers a thorough theoretical discussion of adopting phenomenology in human geography.

The inland of northern Scandinavia has received more attention in archaeological research in recent years than before. This has among other things resulted in a better understanding of the trading systems within Iron Age Scandinavia and highlighted the importance of raw materials produced in the boreal regions. A significant part of the iron, antler and furs used in central agricultural areas like the Mälaren Valley during the Iron Age originated in northern Sweden. This indicates that central places to the south were dependent on products from the forested areas of the north, and that the two probably would have developed differently without this relation. The aim of this study is to perform a spatial analysis of swords found in northern Sweden to better understand the contacts and trading systems within the region during the middle and late Iron Age. This is based on the hypothesis that the swords indicate places with important functions, and that they are especially prominent in areas which controlled the trade of products like iron, antler, and furs. The results of the study show that swords are most frequent in agricultural areas by the coast connected to the largest rivers, where these raw materials were mainly transported. This pattern is apparent in all represented periods of the Iron Age except for the Vendel Period from which most swords have been found in outland locations far from the coast. This indicates that the Vendel Period differs clearly from other periods of the Iron Age in northern Sweden, concerning how the inter-regional trade was performed.