At the time of the Rackstad Colony artists, they liked to gather for festivities, both around Lake Racken and in Gylterud, Mangskog. Here lived among others the artist Alfred Ekstam and the architect Ludvid Mattsson, who grew up in Bjurbäcken, Mangskog. Mattsson kept a diary for many years and one of his depictions is about a walk from Rackstad to Gylterud, with a humorous touch. The stretch from Jössestugan to Agvattnet is part of the current Sotar Blixt Trail.
The paths between Rackstad and Mangskog still exist today, but only the stretch between Jössestugan and Agvattnet is part of the current Sotar Blixt Trail, which turns south on the east side of the lake. Sotar Blixt Trail, which diverges to the south on the eastern side of the lake.
Foto: Historiebloggen Rackstad Kvarnförening
Foto: Historiebloggen Rackstad Kvarnförening
Ludvig Mattsson (1888-1960) was very interested in local heritage and arranged to move many of the buildings to the Sågudden Open Air Museum in Arvika. He had a great impact on the architectural development of Arvika in the first half of the 2000th century and has fathered around 800 projects – homes, buildings and details.
He was involved in environmental and artistic matters, played several instruments, photographed and documented. Together with his good friend Nils Keyland from Bjurbäcken, he contributed illustrations to the ethnological research about the forest Finns in Sweden.
Travellogue
av Ludvig Mattsson
“Travelogue”, that is my walk from Rackstad to Haglycka. Just below “the trickster”, take a right: the path edged by round pole fences on both sides. A bit up into the forest, take a left (the rocky road), some pieces of firewood on the right side. A good bit north, the path wide as a street; swampy; a tall felled birch on the left hill (to the right not across the creek) following the creek up to my right side, that is with the creek to my left.
Under the nearest rock by the nearest pole or the mark to the right is a message.
A bit up the hill there’s a property boundary. Under the nearest rock by the nearest pole or mark to the right is a message. I pass the creek further on. Then to the left (felled spruces, lie across the path), path narrowing. A good bit ahead is a pole to the right and a birch, from which a 25 cm piece of bark is torn off. Just beyond there the path crosses the creek. I walk across some small logs. A road meets from the left. There is a lot of dry horse manure in the road.
A heavy stretch.
Soon at Lake Agvattnet; a round pole placed in the middle of the road. Complete round turn! A bit back lies a bunch of poles across the road; to the right there’s a road (across the creek) and I follow it. I make an arrow on some of the poles to point the direction. The road narrows off to a path. Soon the lake can be sighted to the right. The path follows along the lake into a bay and goes just on the lakeside on the other side. A heavy stretch.
A small path is visible to the left; just beyond this a small glade. To the left a carving. An old overgrowth field. I walk up the hill, between small pine trees. Up there, on the crest stands an old ruin, on which Solomon’s seal and violet and white Columbines grow. A cottage is visible right next to it. I go down to it and pass it on the way down to a field. I follow the lower edge of the field and take the road in the lower corner (ferns). A large pile of stones with a birch in the middle. A wall to the left. It carries uphill and into the forest.
I write my name on it.
A little further ahead, a stump to the left. I write my name on it. White moss and orchis maculata. The road seems to disappear, but appears right next to a tree trunk split by the thunder (?). It carries up a hill. A view to the left. A little way ahead, a body of water can be seen far down to the left. A little further on, I have to pass over two logs, which collide with their ends in the middle of the road. Next to it stands a small birch, in whose bark I scrape with the knife.
I turn off the road and go down to the left to get to the lake that is visible down there; difficult to get over, sticks and huddle. It carries into the forest, downhill. I hit a couple of small footpaths and walked over them. The terrain rises ahead. I take a bigger path. Follow this to the right. On my right hand I have a small stream. I come down to the lake.
Turn about!
Turn about! Across the stream. Coming down to the lake again, but now following the road. Soon it leaves the lake and goes quite a way through the forest. I finally come to a larger stream with a dam construction. I follow the road in the extension of the dam. Keep to the left. Come to a road, and take to the left. It carries over a residue after a charcoal kiln. A bare cliff. A height appears ahead. A tarn to the right.
…I went too far north.
Turns off the road and goes north over a huddle. Come across a small path and follow it. A larger path joins from the left. Marshland. Dry and stony. A little further on you can see a large bog on the left. Passing a rough passage. In a while it’s going up a hill. On the left, a funny aspen root in one place. Further ahead, a rotten stump in an anthill. Took off the road when I noticed that it carried too much towards the north. Into the forest. Up and down, up and down, over marshland and morass, through sticks and thickets.
A desperate turn.
A desperate turn. Expected to see some of Damttjärnen, but the hope was in vain. Finally I sat down and rested for a while. I drank the blueberry juice, which did the body good. Then up and walking again. Came across a path every now and then, but none really suited me. For a while I climbed up in a tree and had a look. Far to the south a large lake was visible. It must have been Wermeln. I assumed that I was north-northwest of Ragnerud and should therefore come to the country road if I continued in an easterly direction.
Then it was no better than…
Finally I came down to a new fence, which ran in an east-west direction. I followed that fence. Then it was no better than that I when I got down into a hubble, I thought I had seen both that fence and that hubble before, and when I came across a “trail” and a road that crossed the fence I was strengthened in my opinion, that I was once again on the “old country road” between Gylterud and Ragnerud
I turned left and turned onto the newfound road, which soon turned out to be the right one. In about 20 minutes I was home. Thank God! The clock had stopped at 5.30. I turned it on. Went to the creek and got water. And went to bed.
Sources:
Diary entries and letters from 1908 to 1913 written by Ludvig Mattsson, compiled by Anders Mattsson, published by IT Grafiska in 2011.
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