Tour of 2018 – Day 30, August 25th 2018

Heavy rain woke me up to another ridiculously early morning, yet subsided while I had my first cup of coffee and I went out to wipe the tent clean off from ice cold rainwater for the 18th time in the last three weeks, at that moment making the decision to call it a tour.


A couple of coffees later I packed my reasonably dry stuff and headed towards Abisko. I chose to climb the mountainside and aim for the bridge at the trail to Kårsavagge, instead of taking the easier route down to Abiskojaure and follow the Kings trail. And I’m exceptionally happy with the decision, the view of Abisko with the lake in the background is immensely beautiful and the route turned out to be pretty easy.

Once I climbed the ridge, everything that follows is basically downhill and I made the stretch to the Tourist Station quite a bit faster than I’d expected.

Arriving at the station I hung my tent and the other wet stuff in the drying room, got myself a ticket for the afternoon train to Stockholm and took my time in the sauna, cleaning myself up and getting thoroughly warm before heading for the buffet lunch at the restaurant.
Don’t think they made a lot of profit on my food that day!

Sitting inside after a nice meal, feeling warm and comfortable, I felt pretty happy with my decision to aboard the tour a week early. Due to the cold, and the snow it brought on higher altitudes, continuing would have meant motoring along in the valleys, moving through to the end of each days tour without any real breaks, and seeking refuge from the cold wind inside the tent at the end of the day.
Not really what I had planned, and I know for sure that I’ll be back next year for another tour, hopefully nicer weather (or less of the cold wind and rain), and, definitely with a lighter backpack.

Thank You for joining me on this tour and stay tuned for some shorter hikes during the time until Lapland 2019. Should You want to join in on a tour ’live’, please don’t hesitate to contact me through the site, ok?

Peace be the Journey // Claes

Tour of 2018 – Day 29, August 24th 2018

Campsite on the pass west of Abiskojaure, overlooking Abisko and Torneträsk

Woke up early to a beautiful morning and, for the first time in quite a while I had a coffee outside in the sunshine. Wind was cold and picked up a little, nudging me to move inside for the rest of the morning.

The first part of the hike led through beautiful Hoiganvaggi, it’s been a few years since I visited the valley and it was a fond reunion, I really enjoy the place.
The trail is pretty easy to follow, grows faint a few times yet always easy to find again. And, as with most places around here, it doesn’t really matter – just stay south of the river and move along the bottom of the valley and You’re good!

About halfway through the valley, between a couple of lakes, the trail leads over a beautiful, lush meadow and stretches over on the north side of the valley, super easy to find the way, just be aware.

Once on the north side I soon passed the reindeer watchers cabin and soon after that, I decided to make my way up the mountainside, instead of continuing the trail along the lake and do a steeper climb later. The view from the hillside is breathtaking and the climb was rather moderate, though still raise the heart rate considerably.

Once upon the plateau, I chose to stay high and approached the pass, where I planned to spend the night, crossing the mountainside on a very steep tangent. Not an easy hike by any means and, to be frank, nothing I really recommend. It would probably have been faster (and definitely safer) to descent to the lake and climb back up towards the pass on the other side.

Anyway, the weather turned back to normal during the day and just after reaching the intended campsite and putting the tent up, I felt the first raindrops while fetching water in the small lake down below.
The evening served strong wind and quite a lot of rain, the cold really got to me and I observed myself downing more than that days share of snacks after dinner.

Finding coverage there on the pass I check the weather forecast and it is far from pretty, promising about the same weather for the next week or so. I kinda start getting used to the thought of going down to Abisko in the morning.

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!

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Peace // Claes