Camp at Stour Kärpel
Woke up with a dry (!!!) tent after a very windy night, didn’t sleep very well, though, got disturbed by the wind several times during the night and the Oura ring indicated an extremely low amount of deep sleep. Anyway, I felt well enough and decided to ignore the recommendation to take it extra easy and continued as planned.
Without having to dry the tent I got started a little earlier and was on my way at 9.45, heading down the trail towards Vassijaure. Once more I left the trail and stayed on elevation to work myself around the mountain into the next valley, though today was not nearly as smooth as yesterday. No real tracks, quite a bit of wetland and just about an hour into the hike it started raining and I stopped to change into rain trousers.
The rain never got really bad, just stuck with me until my lunch break at Vassivagge emergency cabin, and I have to admit it was a bliss to get inside and out of the rain and wind for a little while. Maybe the hardest part here is to avoid rushing when the goal is in sight, it’s so important to stay calm and make sure where to put the feet for every step.
My shortcut around the mountain probably cost me way more time and energy than if I’d just followed the trail all the way down and then the next one to the cabin, yet it was a lot more fun finding my way around and I’d totally do it again! No hazards of any kind, just more tedious than hiking on a trail, and more mentally challenging to find the best route and keep the feet in the right places. All in all, it took me just over three hours to get to the security cabin at Vassivagge and I was impressed how well maintained it was. I spent a little over 1.5h there, had some snacks (more than usual), lots of tea and then finished off with a coffee and some chocolate.
The rain stopped while I was inside and after my break, I headed up the mountainside just left of the waterfall coming down from Lairevaggi, and once at the top, I followed that valley all the way until I came down to the trail leading from Katterjokk to Unna Allakas.
The hike through the valley was beautiful and I saw several campsites that looked really inviting, gotta come back here again! Once on the trail, I only had a couple of km to Stour Kärpel and the clouds were looking ridiculously dark where I was going. I totally kicked up a gear and moved faster, not wanting to get caught by the rain so close to ‘home’, arrived dry, got my camp set up with just a few drops falling and then had dinner inside, away from the strong wind I headed into most of the day!
Later I got company in the shape of a very nice couple with a dog, also planning to camp here at the emergency cabin. We had a really pleasant evening chatting about hiking and more and time just disappeared, leaving me pretty much ready for the sleeping bag!
