due to popular demand, i will briefly describe the why, how, and results of forest drinking. it is a sub-activity under the umbrella term “vagrancy drinking”. ive also written briefly about warnings, tips and tricks, and other fun facts. this entry was written with my personal experience of the swedish woods in mind

- what?

forest drinking is the poor mans lounge. in principle, anyone can do it, whenever, wherever they happen to be (as long as there is a forest near). it is the act of taking your own supply of alcohol deep into the woods, getting wasted, with or without friends, and then whenever youre done, stumbling your way back into society. its not a hike or a nature walk, not meditation (unless you want it to be) but a method ive developed to not lose my mind

- why?

following the horrors of world war 2, sweden experienced massive economic growth. these years became known as "the record years" [6], roughly late 1940s to the oil crisis in the 1970s [10]. people wanted to move into cities, and there simply wasnt enough housing to accommodate the people. expect outhouses near wooden houses, downtown. the solution? spam prefab houses everywhere [1]. a new motion was passed. one million houses was the goal, aptly called "the million programme" [1]. in 1965, after beta testing the town of vällingby [11] in the 1950s, the 10 year dash until 1974 began. however, these houses shouldnt just be apartments or villas, rather it was an opportunity to test new ideas regarding social planning, on the largest scale ever attempted in the west [1]. the 1950-1960s planners had a clinical outlook on social planning. if everyone had a place to work, a place to sleep, and a place to hang out, you could 'code' human behavior to be optimal, they believed. cities would be built as ABC (work, housing, centrum) [3]. cities would be built like pearls on a string, where the metaphorical string acted as public transport, rather than the more organic way cities 'naturally' grow. the government granted state subsidized loans with minimal interest, along with certain tax benefits to private enterprises which could demonstrate that theyd built houses according to the strict standards (god bostad) [1, 12]. god bostad was both the manual and strict rulebook on how all dwellings should be built. everything from the size of windows, the height of counters, to how much sunlight should be let in. they believed that if everyone had exactly the same house, everyone would be happy. this could be compared to soviet khrushchevkas, but the million programme spanned much further than never ending cement blocks you often see in post soviet countries. the million programme also built row-houses, which roughly accounted for one third of all housing constructed during this period [1]. many of these, along with the ideas of SCAFT [2] and ABC-cities [3], were placed outside larger cities like gothenburg and stockholm. the idea was that, since everyone had access to cars and public transport, you could easily take the bus to work, then come home to sleep in your isolated village. the bus lines stopped going, became more expensive with time, and the C in ABC? if you were lucky, your centrum was an overcommercialized shopping mall. and if you were unlucky, it never came to exist. what we ended up with was an endless row of houses leading nowhere. all in all, the million programme was largely successful. they even exceeded the one million goal, constructing 1 006 000 units total. it was an incredible feat of engineering and logistics. they did build one million dwellings, however, it has also been relentlessly criticized for fostering soul-decaying stillness. as early as 1968, debates regarding the ethics of the SCAFT, ABC-city 'skärholmen' area were being held [9]. titled "riv skärholmen!" (tear down skärholmen!) by Lars-Olof Franzén, he called it "a monument to the inability of technology to solve human problems". the planners intended these places to be optimal "mono-cultures", as how one would grow onions on an industrial scale. isolated from the rest of the world, without any culture, delegated to work for the cities, and then rot away. due to the lack of everything, and the monoculture approach to building towns, these places became isolated prison cell enclaves. a place which popped up overnight, without any history, context, purpose, except keeping people alive. racist street gangs throwing cheese at pedestrians, people lighting each other on fire, all kinds of bullshit. this is the situation i found myself in. a complete and utter lack of a 'third place' [13]. naturally, these places became hot-zones for drug dealers, since you had basically infinite customers with nothing else to do. the isolation which addiction preys upon came pre-packaged. surrounded by drugs and violence, and with nowhere to turn, this is what i did

- how?

grab a bottle and head into the woods. get fucked up and try and make it back. this is what i did when i was younger, but since then ive developed some pretty good practices. first of all, bring a backpack with alcohol, soda (mixer), WATER, and food. for the water, bring at least 0.5-1 liters (trust me). you will get hungry walking around. make sure your camp isnt slanted, theres no anthills, and that youre not sitting in plain view. pack everything up before it gets dark, or thug it out if youre a beast. thats it. anything that happens in-between you leaving your residence, and getting back is considered a forest drinking session

- the compromise

this is a somewhat stupid hobby born out of a dire need for some kind of stimulation. this hobby is not ‘for’ anyone, and im not trying to indoctrinate you into tossing your life away in some backwater shithole. but if you happen to live in a backwater shithole, you might find some solace knowing that you arent alone. if you find yourself having to choose between hard drugs and mind-numbing boredom, this is the compromise i employed

- companionship

forest drinking is always better with friends. you can absolutely do it alone, but be careful. also, if youre anything like me, you might tweak out for a bit if drinking deep in the woods alone. thats part of the experience, so welcome it with open arms

- hikes

it is ill advised to hike while drinking. you lose a lot of water by sweating, and if paired with alcohol (which dries you up) you will get incredibly thirsty very quickly. alcohol impacts your judgement and ability to navigate, so only drink in areas you are familiar with. i try and find a cozy spot, drink for a couple of hours, run around a bit, then go home

- legality

they cant catch what they dont see

- trash

i should not have to say this, but you will leave every place behind you NICER than how you found it. that means no broken glass, no littering, no breaking branches/trees/property. if you find trash on the ground, keep space in your backpack/pockets to take it with you to the closest trash disposal. you must leave no trace behind. this is non-negotiable. everything you embark with must return to its rightful place. if i see you littering i will beat you up

- preparation

it is highly encouraged that you have experience in the woods before attempting this. i will not be held responsible for anyone who gets eaten by a bear while wandering around drunk. if you have experience in the woods/wild, ensure you also have experience with the local area you are going into. never get drunk if youre not absolutely sure you can walk twice the distance it took to get here. walking home while tired, cold, and drunk, takes much more energy than walking to the initial camp. if you have loved ones, tell them where you are going. if youre not back within a reasonable time, they know where to look. if you dont have loved ones, thats probably why youre considering going forest drinking. nature reserves make for exceptionally poor forest drinking locations, because they have guards and stuff. also, please dont disturb the animals there

- gear

my usual go to is whatever im currently wearing, along with a big coat (acts as a seat pad), a backpack, water, some food (any shawarma place will do), >30% alcohol, mixer, about 5-6 beer cans (get tsingtao!), and a speaker if youre bringing people. powerbank is always recommended! but i dont have one. DO NOT skimp on the socks. i always wear two layers of socks, one base layer and another layer of thicker wool padding. gear of course depends on climate, weather, personal tolerance to alcohol and being wet, cold, generally uncomfortable. everything you bring adds weight, and MUST be brought back or disposed of, meaning your fitness should also be accounted for. good strength + cardio means you can likely do this for longer. always remember, 1 liter = 1kg. my preferred loadout weighs roughly 10kg. eg, a 6-pack of 330ml tsingtaos is about 2kg of your 10kg total, thats 20% of my weight budget alone. you can also fashion a dry bag by combining a normal bag with a trash bag inside of it, and then tying the bag. with this trick, everything you carry should remain completely dry. if its cold and you/your feet get wet, go home

- freezing to death

whatever you do, for the love of god, dont go in the winter. the climate around you is the difference between vagrancy drinking and a suicide attempt. if you attempt this outside of summer, you will die. there is nothing gained by risking it, except a heavy sorrow for those who knew you. alcohol makes you feel much warmer than you actually are, and will severely impair your ability to navigate and make choices. if you think “im going too far”, you are. head back immediately, sleep it off, and try again later. you cannot sleep off hypothermia. wind will make any cold ten times colder. always trust your gut feeling. your instincts are the difference between life and death. being drunk and lost in a city is annoying, being drunk and lost in a forest, in the cold, is a death sentence.

- foraging

while walking around you might notice some berries or mushrooms. dont forage them. you already have food, and especially if you are drunk, you might be risking your life over like 17 calories

- curating your bar

some tryhards will bring specific brands of whiskey and such cause they ‘taste different’ apparently. just get whatevers cheapest and strongest, then dilute it with something. soda works well in my experience. “youre a bum!” yep

- encounters

if you encounter joggers, hikers, or any other people in general, you will be nice to them. do not give them a reason to call the cops on you. if you find it hard to interact with people while drunk, this is not for you. leave ALL animals alone, youre only a guest, thats their house

- ticks and TBE

one of the many untold dangers of the forest are ticks. if you fall unconscious in the woods, you could very well get a nice case of TBE. if you stay still for long, and especially if you fall asleep, you MUST perform a thorough tick check. the woods dont need to eat you to kill you, it just needs you to stop moving. the dual-sock advice, along with tucking your pants and shirt has kept me safe. always perform a thorough skin check when back home. of course, get vaccinated as well

- comparison to other environments

there is a wide world out there, and you can drink in many places. heres some comparisons to other places people usually drink in:

- 1. the bar

sweaty weirdos will drool on you and touch you. good for hearing fake stories about football players and money. alcohol is expensive, and the journey home from the bar will have you regretting having gone. theres lines to the toilet, and you arent allowed to pee by the bar. normal warmth. doesnt have WiFi most of the time. beer is infinite as long as you have enough money

- 2. the forest

an option born out of necessity. no weirdos, just other animals. no stories. no judgement. alcohol price is normal, and trekking around there is probably good for you in some way. everything is your toilet. ranges from warm to dangerously cold. doesnt have WiFi. alcohol is finite, which is both positive and negative depending on how you look at it

- 3. the friends place

the holy grail. just the people you know are chill, potentially infinite alcohol (if stocked), a toilet you can use whenever (just dont clog it). normal warmth. likely has WiFi.

- 4. the friends place (crackhouse)

like the friends place but worse. stay away from every other drug, unless youre into that. i smoked a pen we found between some sofa cushions and i still hear ringing in my ears. likely contains weirdos. not recommended

- tips and tricks

you can be a little stealthy. or not. nobody questions someone whos going into the forest with a soda bottle. dont bring plastic bags they clink and hurt your hands. my best run was with an entire rotisserie chicken

- the results

you either die in the woods or come home and sleep soundly in your bed. ive had some of the best sleep of my life this way. again, drink water

- problematic drinking

when does this become problematic? it already is

- other forms of vagrancy activities

theres many kinds of “vagrancy drinking” (VD) as i call it. heres an example of some other kinds of VD ive successfully accomplished:

• park drinking
• abandoned house drinking
• beach drinking
• lecture drinking
• mud drinking
• cinema drinking
• car drinking (PASSENGERS ONLY!!)
• sports drinking (stadium)
• avenue drinking
• street drinking (professionals only, illegal?)
• gaming drinking
• plains drinking
• sauna drinking
• office drinking (bad)

- further reading

in order to understand the underlying causes and sociological conditions which gave rise to this phenomenon, see the following links. they are in swedish, and i suggest translating the pages with google translate rather than switching wikipedia to the english page, since the pages are out of date and generally missing information

1. miljonprogrammet (the million programme)
2. SCAFT (a method of city planning)
3. ABC-stad (the ABC-town)
4. sovstad (sleeper town/commuter town)
5. funktionsseparering (function-separation)
6. rekordåren (the record years)
7. khrushchevkas
8. radhus (row houses)
9. skärholmsdebatten (the skärholms-debate)
10. 1970s oil crisis
11. vällingby
12. god bostad (good dwelling)
13. third place

- personal reflections

i believe you either need to give up part of your humanity, or have it taken from you, to indulge in this life. anyone who has other alternatives for recreation, will likely indulge those over forest drinking. this was not my idea of a life well lived. however, what you give, shall be returned to you twofold. because drinking is only the beginning. the adventure that follows is what ive found truly engaging about this experience. ive stumbled upon bunkers, abandoned houses, non-abandoned houses, cars, batteries, basically infinite copper wire, friends, foes, animals, treasure, clothes, ritual sites, guns, skeletons (animal) and many many more things! you get basically infinite stories, lots of inspiration, a good time, and the price of admission is only a beefeater or smirnoff. most of all, you get something to do. maybe even something to look forward to

the forest wasnt a choice, it was the lack of one

- erik