Camp at Nallo
I had a good night at Alesjaure and woke up with a dry tent once more so I packed my stuff before heading to the kitchen for coffee and meeting Bosse, Kristofer, and Tommy.
The weather looked very promising and I was rested after the two last days and pretty eager to get going. Shortly after 9 we wished each other a good tour and parted, them heading towards Abisko and me going south on Kungsleden for a few km to get into Unna Vistas vagge. This time of the year the trail isn’t nearly as busy as just a week or so ago and I had a relaxed walk on Kungsleden before heading towards Unna Vistas. Once at the valley there’s quite a climb to get into it, beautifully opening up the view north and south and totally worth the effort.
There’s no real trail but a few random stone markers if one cares to look for them. It’s easy enough to just pick a route rather close to the stream, and start climbing.
Soon the ground levels out and the valley opens up before me, there’s a trail rather close to the lakes and I prefer to move higher up and pick my own track. The ground for the most part is soft and pleasant to walk! Soon reaching the highest point inside the valley and heading downhill to another beautiful lake after an easy river crossing.
At the far end of this lake, there are beautiful spots to camp before descending to the next, lower one. The trail continues to follow the southern shore and the ground gets stonier, very soon the trail leads over a large and rather steep rock field.
If the thought of spending an hour or more on rocks doesn’t feel exciting, or at least bearable, one should probably consider another route. This part of the tour is pretty hardcore! Soon after passing the lake, there’s another descent nearing where Unna Vistas vagge merges with Vistasvagge. This last part before exiting Unna Vistas the trail leads across soft grass and is very pleasant to walk. Crossing the stream coming from the eastern Bossos glacier is potentially challenging yet easier a little farther upstream. Normally it can be done without changing shoes!
Upon entering Vistasvagge I decide to leave the trail that descends down the mountainside into the valley and instead stay high up on the side, keeping my elevation. Probably this decision cost me both time and energy compared to following the trail, yet it was challenging and provided some fun adventure. I stopped for lunch with a wonderful view right next to a charming waterfall that I completely missed during previous hikes when following the trail.
The only real issue was crossing the stream from the Siehtagas glacier where I took a calculated risk I don’t recommend copying. Everything went well and I continued towards Stour Reaiddavaggi still staying at elevation. Shortly before turning eastward towards Nallo I found a bunch of ripe cloudberries and enjoy a couple of handfuls on the go.
Once inside Stour Reaiddavaggi, I start moving down the hillside towards the trail from Vistas to Nallo diagonally while heading up the valley. By then my feet, ankles, and knees were pretty fed up with scrambling along the steep mountainside, and hitting the trail was a real relief.
Originally I had planned to camp somewhere along the trail yet the nice weather made me continue all the way to Nallo cabin just to have the easy option of taking the summit of Nallu in the morning provided the weather stays this good. Turned out to be a great decision in any case as Anna, the cabin host I met in Vistas when she was in her way to start her duty, had a bunch of fresh Souvas (thinly cut smoked reindeer meat) and invited both me and another camper for dinner and a glass of red wine. Fresh meat and a glass of red was an unsuspected and pleasant surprise after a long tour.
And for dessert, she had baked a chocolate cake that I couldn’t resist despite the sugar and the gluten. With the meal came a lot of pleasant conversation and laughter, all in all, a perfect evening!
