Month: January 2018

Free Group Tour 2018

Hey, let me give You a treat here and invite You to join me on a tour free of charge!
Normally I charge from $197 to $497 per person (www.offthegridlive.com) to take people on a week long hike like this, and I cannot see that this freebie is going to be repeated any time soon.
If You followed my stuff for any length of time You know that I’m all about getting off the grid and away from the beaten track. So, while this tour is incredibly safe and still rather comfortable, You can expect to see parts of the mountain not many find by themselves and to meet very few people compared to following the major trails.
Important dates and locations:
  • July 27th PM depart Abisko Tourist Station
    Get there with SAS flight to Kiruna followed by bus/train, or with train from Stockholm
  • August 3rd return to Abisko
    Stay for a few days to explore the area or depart in the PM
We start from Abisko (along the E10 between Kiruna and Narvik) in the afternoon on July 27th, the hike takes us through one of the most famous valleys in Lapland, Lapporten, and we camp either in the valley itself of after entering Bessesvaggi. Continuing west on Saturday morning we cross the Aliseatnu and make our way up the valley towards Mårma, crossing the pass at 1640m (5380ft) on the next day. Camping one night at the Vistas cabin rewards us with the opportunity of cleaning up in the sauna and wash up some clothing of needed.
Needless to say, the view from that spot is just marvelous!
Now we continue north on the west side of Vistasvaggi using the less trafficked Unna Vistasvagge, with it´s fantabulous camp sites, to take us through to Alisvagge and passed Alesjaure. Briefly touching Kungsleden (the Kings trail) at the cabin in Alesjaure we soon after turn further west and explore a ridge with some beautiful lakes to camp at and very few visitors.
Starting the next day by staying on the ridge for a little longer takes us to the trail leading west towards Rovvidievva that takes us down into the birch forrest where we follow Kamajåkka to Abiskojaure.
This is where we part, leaving You with an easy 14km (9 mile) hike along Kungsleden back to Abisko while I head through Hoiganvagge towards Norway to stay out another good four weeks.
Now, You will receive an email course with everything You need to prepare for the tour when getting closer. Yet please let me give You a list of equipment right away.
Being outdoors is so much more enjoyable when You carry the right gear and I really want to grant You enough time to gather what You need.
Personal clothing:
  • Hiking trousers
  • Underwear, I recommend 3-4 pairs and wash them along the way
  • Socks, use liners and outer socks, 3-4 pairs each
  • T-shirts/shirts, 3-4
  • Long underwear, 1 set
  • Light fleece sweater
  • Warm wool, fleece or down sweater
  • Rain gear, jacket & trousers
  • Hat or cap
  • Gloves
  • Scarf or Buff
  • Light shoes for river crossing – I recommend Crocs as they dry very fast and double  well as camp slippers
Personal equipment:
  • Backpack, 60-75l with rain cover – Make sure You´ve tried it on (packed) and that it fits Your back comfortably
  • Sleeping bag – night temperatures are normally between 0 and +15 Celsius (32-59 F)
  • Mattress – I recommend inflatable with or w/out down filling
  • Camping stove – make sure it´s light and You know how it works, if You use gas be advised that the European standard is Lindal B188 valve
  • Tent – 3 seasons recommended, try to share a tent between 2-3 persons to save weight from Your packs
  • Knife – folded pocket knife is good
  • Cup or mug
  • Plate or bowl (eating directly out of the pot is a good option)
  • Spoon and/or fork (Plastic might break…)
  • Lighter or matches
  • Personal care products
  • Basic first aid – bandages, any medication You use, Compeed (for covering and healing of blisters), insect repellents, etc.

If You join the tour You´ll get all this information again as part of the 8 part email course that´s included to help You prepare for the tour!

Hope You take me up on the offer, there are 10 spots and 10 only, once they´re filled it´s too late!

Peace // Claes

Day 17 – August 13th 2017

08:35 Camp 1km northeast Teusajaure cabin


What a wonderful morning, I woke up after 9 hours in the sleeping bag by the sun warming my tent. The night has been rather chilly and my breath has left some condensation on the outer tarp that is now drying of in the sun and light wind.
When undressing yesterday I found my left calf pretty swollen down to the rim of the boot. Don’t know if I somehow tightened it too much when leaving Vakkotavare, yet today the leg looks about normal again and I’ll just have to keep an eye on it.

Looking at the map yesterday night I found a possible route to explore once I passed by Kaitumjaure cabin. I’m gonna ask them if they know the area and probably I’m gonna try the idea anyway as it keeps me well out of the way of Kungsleden and the ‘Fjällräven Classic’ event. This is an event organized by Swedish outdoor equipment manufacturer Fjällräven and they have about 2000 people hiking from Nikkaluokta to Abisko, usually during the second week of August. This year the event started yesterday and I really want to stay clear of all these people.

This tour should also give me perfect timing for getting down to the Kebnekaise area with enough days in reserve to manage everything I still want to experience!

For now I’m just enjoying my coffee with coconut oil and the nice cold air of the morning. For some reason that I don’t know (yet whatever it is, I’m grateful) the peak in mosquitoe activity seems to have passed and it’s possible to have the inner tent opened up and indulge in the view!

18:50 Camp at the eastern lake in Sanarvaggi

I got going just about 10am and the first 8km to Kaitumjaure cabin were done with in little over two hours. Kungsleden is not that inspiring to hike as it is very eroded, yet it is fast and the surroundings are really beautiful!
Today I also got to see an elk cow with two calfs, 1 from this year and one from last year. The latter surprised me a little as I didn’t know they stay with the mother that long. They seemed to be used to people, standing just 20m from the trail and not showing any direct shyness.

At the cabin I didn’t get much information about the area I was looking to hike, I did get another interview for ‘The Cabin Host Series‘, though!
And in the cabin a met a girl, Anna, doing her 56th day on the ‘gröna bandet’ hike, covering the entire mountain chain from south to north. Looking to fining her tour within two weeks she is going for the fastest way up through Abisko and on. I really don’t envy her passing all the ‘Fjällräven Classic’ people.

Anyway, another girl coming from the north told me that the birch forest grows really thin north of Kaitumjaure and I decided to head west and away from Kungsleden.
Turns out that just about a km from the cabin I find a trail leading west up to the summit of Sanarcohkka. So I followed that trail until I was well clear of the tree line before turning northward and returning to follow reindeer tracks.
After some time I found a very well defined trail, probably originally a reindeer track that has been used extensively by the indigenous Sami people, that I could follow for quite some time. It still takes so much more effort to hike outside the ‘real’ trails, yet it’s so much more pleasant for the soul and heart.

The wind that kept my camp free from mosquitoes last night and this morning increased steadily throughout the day. Coming from northwest and being rather chilly it made this day feel a lot more like early fall than late summer. Also I saw some yellow leaves on the birches already so it seems Lappland got a quite short summer this year.
Then again, no one knows how the weather changes up here, tomorrow might be warmer again!

It seams like my breakfast frenzy yesterday got my hunger signals triggered again, I’ve been eating a lot more today than I did the days before. First a snack at the cabin and then a huge dinner after finishing here. We’ll see tomorrow if this balances itself out again.


My left calf swelled up again during the hike, not as bad as yesterday, thought. No pain involved at all and I’m not too concerned, more curious what is happening as I’ve never experienced anything like it. I guess as long as it doesn’t hurt or effects the hiking it’s not a big deal.
Gotta do some research back home and see if I can find a cause, though.

The journey continues, please leave a comment to tell me what You think and share this with friends and loved ones who might benefit or be interested!

By leaving Your name and email in the box below You get notification of futures posts and news!

Peace // Claes

Day 16 – August 12th 2017

21:40 Camp 1km northeast Teusajaure cabin
I woke before 6AM and packed my stuff, thankfully the forecast had been wrong and there was no rain during the night. For the first time this tour I was able to get everything, included tent and abside, to fit inside the backpack. Great sign that I’ve eaten away some weight and volume!
After taking care of my boots and some other equipment I went over to the main building where they serve breakfast between 7 and 9. Staying there for the entire time and eating small portions continuously, I managed to get approximately 1200-1500 kcal in, mostly from fat – cheese, butter, eggs, meat, seeds and nuts – and probably a little too much protein. Yet very limited carbs and apparently the insulin spike never got high enough to impact keton production as my Ketonix readings were still showing nutritional ketosis hours after the meal.
The boat taking me over to the other side of the lake left at 10:40, leaving me more than enough time to gather my stuff and say ‘bye’ to people I talked to. Many showed interest in the project and are curious about ketosis, which is very encouraging for the health development in the future. I actually thought that most people hiking would be more stuck in the old carb paradigm and this is a good point to be wrong!
Bus ride took a while and I was arriving Vakkotavare just before 13:00 – as it was raining at the time I went into the cabin for a cup of tea and spent a couple of hours chatting with the hosts and their family and a couple I met last year when they were hosts in Vistas cabin.
Besides having a great social time I also got a video for the ‘Cabin host series’ on offthegridhiker.com!
Leaving the cabin at ten to 3 in
 the afternoon I was still energized from the breakfast and felt no need for any additional intake
of food. I hiked the 15km in 3 hours and 15 min, arriving at the lake more than an hour before the motor boat ride I aimed for.

Thankfully I found two rowing boats on my side of the lake, which meant I could just take one and get over. So I rowed the 1km over the lake and knocked at the cabin hosts door looking for video nr 2 this day.

Not only did I get my interview but stayed for two hours total, taking part in the preparation for smoking trouts and even got treated to one he’d smoked some days earlier. It was delicious!
I totally would have stayed there and camped, the place is just beautiful, yet having spent the night before in Saltoluokta’s birch forest I longed to get up above the tree line again for some wind and a view.
Just half an hour of additional hiking brought me just that and after finishing my dinner and get ready for bed, I’ll spend the night here in this wonderful spot.
Observation: when undressing I noticed that my left calf was weirdly swollen from just below the knee down to where the top of the boot shaft ends. No pain involved at all, just this swelling of the subcutaneous tissue… Gotta keep an eye on this.

The journey continues, please leave a comment to tell me what You think and share this with friends and loved ones who might benefit or be interested!

By leaving Your name and email in the box below You get notification of futures posts and news!

Peace // Claes