10:45 Camp 300m east of Tjågnårisjågåsj on the mountain side above the trail

Another day starting with rain, it began pouring down again sometimes during the night and continues throughout the morning with short breaks in between the showers.

I’m quite fascinated how much sleep I can enjoy when just leaving it up to the body itself, can’t even imagine the repair and recovery going on. Could it be that the body actually is able to use the opportunity and recovery from earlier lack of sleep?

I don’t know, yet I have a distinct feeling of becoming more and more healthy and balanced the more I listen to my body and let it run the show. I wonder how much this following of my natural rythm actually does for my health. The impact might be much greater than I ever imagined and more important than the movement and diet.

Anyway, waking up to the sound of drops on the tent shortly after 09:00 I decided to take it easy and experiment a little with the Ketonix and different fats. Starting with coconut oil in my first coffee and now I just finished another cup, this time with PF.

For a few days I just listened to my hunger levels (which were mostly zero…) and didn’t eat much at all during the day. Despite not being hungry and experiencing the other benefits of ketosis like mental clarity and energy, I saw the Ketonix measurements generally go down and also felt less performance. Especially, and actually only, when going uphill, though!

Anyway, yesterday I found that I’d used a lot less fat than i planned for and recognized that I need to intentionally up the intake.

The measurements show already that from a keton production point, this was a good decision. I also felt even more energy during that one serious climb after my coffee break than I’ve felt in the last few days.

Apparently, as the body fat reserve of the bode diminishes, I need more dietary fat to keep the engine going at the same rate.

I’ve got a few more days to go before I’m in Saltoluokta and intend to keep fat consumption highfor this time. If it works out as I think it will, I’ll just treat my body to a huge bacon&eggs breakfast before I leave the fjällstation next day!

22:45 Camp at Liehtjitjavrre

What a great hiking day! The rain stopped around noon and a half hour later I was on my way after packing up everything almost dry (the tarp was still slightly moist).

Creature of habit as I am, I started out keeping my elevation instead of going down to the trail, and followed my beloved reindeer tracks over the mountain side. Climbing just slightly up the hill over time opened up an extraordinary view into the surrounding valleys! Absolutely fantabulous!

Turning northward around the mountain opened the view over Bierikjavrre and the land beyond and also showed me the hillside in front of me. Unfortunately well too steep to hike safely and I needed to decent to the level near the lake.

Utilizing a snow field made that a lot of fun!!! 

Thankfully the trail down by the lake was not even close to as wet as I expected, all in all this area is so much dryer than the more western and northern parts I’ve seen earlier on this tour. It’s amazing how the conditions can be that different just tens of km apart, especially with all the rain coming down the last days.

Mosquitoes, having pretty much left me alone since Alajavrre, are very active again. This is the perfect environment for them and the wind is pretty much down during the mid afternoon. It also could start raining again any time and this always drives them into a frenzy.

Hiking through the valley following the lake was easy and none of the rivers required a change of shoes crossing. Soon the ascent towards the ridge started and half way up I decided to go far west instead of the shortest route up. It was just an idea I acted on, and what a view i got, both of the valley i just hiked through and the area lying in front of me. Marvelous, just marvelous!

And a lot of reindeer antlers all over the hill side…

Getting to hike quite a bit uphill on a snow field was just another bonus!

Once over the pass I had a fun descent and an easy route down to the bridge, managing to cross one more river without getting my feet wet, where I once again met Carl and Fredrik.

Having a coffee together we decided to hike on until we find a good camp site, going clear of the next river crossing before we stop.

Just about 2.5km farther on we went down to the lake and found two good sites, setting up camp and then meeting up at their tent for dinner, coffee and chat. Sitting in the large abside of their tent is warm and cozy, yet turns out to attract a hoard of mosquitoes and we’re quite busy taking care of them as they show up.

All in all a very enjoyable evening and I sincerely hope that we get together for lunch soon after we’re all back in Stockholm again.

The evening turned out beautiful also weather wise, with only a few drops of rain coming down and the sky looking rather clear for now. Let’s see what tomorrow has to deliver!

So far my increasing the fat has shown expected results, not only even higher energy levels and depressed hunger feelings, yet also higher readings on the Ketonix.

More on this tomorrow!