Day 21 – August 17th 2017

20:15 Camp in center of Kaskasavagge

 

Sitting in my tent looking through the valley towards Kungsleden in the far distance and enjoying the reflection of the beautiful evening sky in the perfectly still water of the lake in front of me. For the first night in quite a while I don’t need to hide in my sleeping bag to stand the cold or camp by a cabin to get dried up.
And that’s not the way this day started out…

I woke up rather early around half past six to the sound of… (drumroll!) raindrops falling on my tent again. The rain that started during my hike yesterday hadn’t really stopped – rather just taken very short breaks during the night. I even had a light rain falling when I put up the tent last night.

 

During one of the breaks I grabbed most of my stuff, except sleeping bag, mattress and, of course, the tent, and relocated into the kitchen of the closest cabin to make some coffee and start the day.
Naturally I met the same people as yesterday and had a very sociable morning and was able to help quite a few people with tips and ideas for the continuation of their tours.

Twice I was out wiping of the tent before finally it stopped raining for about half an hour and got my stuff packed reasonably dry.
In the meantime I got an interview with one of the hosts, which we had to do inside due to the weather. It was after half past eleven before I finally got away from Sälka and onto the trail towards Nallo.
Using the trail kept me roughly away from the wet bushes and scrubs, thereby helping to avoid soaking the boots within the first few km.After about 7km I left the trail and started working my way up the mountain side and turn into the western part of Unna Reiddasvagge. The ground was almost inconceivably drenched were there were no rocks and the rocks themselves were wet and slippery. Approaching the opening of the valley I suddenly found myself at about the same elevation as the clouds and really thought it’s have to hike in fog for the rest of that part.


Thankfully the clouds lifted and I had a wet and cold hike with good visibility up to the Unna Räitas cabin. This is one of the few cabins without a host and frankly it is pretty worn down and would definitely need some love and construction work. Now it’s more like an emergency shelter, I can’t imagine anyone wanting to sleep there except for a real emergency.

Location is just fantabulous, though, with a view of the Reaidda glacier, a beautiful meltwater lake and several summits at around 1900m.
Here I had my midday break with some tea and snacks, and while I was inside getting my stuff prepared out of the cold wind the miracle happened.


Within less than an hour the clouds opened up and revealed blue sky and sunshine, I dare to admit that I had to really look around to believe the change that had happened. This I had been wishing and praying for for days now and finally we got a nice and clear afternoon sky again.
Knowing that I’d be doing the pass crossing, I still had a thorough break before departing from the cabin and approaching the climb.


Not only was the snow field large enough to allow the crossing, most of the ascent could be done on snow, which is so much easier on joints and ligaments then hiking rocks, and I reached the summit of the pass after just an hour. The view was marvelous and well worth the climb, unfortunately pictures can’t show how steep it really is. I really had to kick my boots into the snow wall to be able to climb it without slipping and sliding back downhill.


Naturally the decent into Kaskasavagge was less physically demanding, yet it’s quite taxing mentally to keep focus on where to step next. There was some snow fields on the way down as well, yet mostly rocks, which thankfully had dried completely since the rain stopped. And what a different experience it is to walk on dry rocks compared to having them wet and slippery.

Already on the decent I spotted a possible camp site and even if I checked a few others I ended up in the place. Right in the middle of the valley and close to a stream it makes a perfect spot for me and a good starting point for tomorrow’s hike.
Now I just hope and pray that this preferable weather change will stick for a while. I’d love the weather to be like this for the remainder of my tour!

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

Tents

So, lets talk some about the “home away from home” – choosing the right tent is worth some thought, evaluation and due diligence as most people don’t want to acquire a bunch of different tents for different purposes. A good tent is quite and investment for most of us!

As we´re all about hiking on this blog I’m just presuming that weight matters to You as well, there’s not much fun carrying more than necessary (unless You feel the need to punish Yourself for something…). On the other hand there´s an inverse relationship between weight and price and, just as with other gear, the real light weight stuff can be ridiculously pricy.
One more thing to consider is the comfort of having a slightly larger, and therefore heavier, tent – especially on longer tours when it can be expected to get wet some of the days.
Personally I don’t mind using a 1-person tent for shorter tours while I definitely prefer a larger tent on my longer hikes, and even willingly carry an extra gear shed, that can be hooked on to my tent, when going out for two weeks or more. The comfort of never having to worry about wet gear inside the tent is totally worth the extra 900g (2lbs) in my pack.
Besides size, weight and price we have two basic models to consider:
  • Dome tents
  • Tunnel tents
Which to choose is basically up to Your preferences, though there are a few advantages to both models that might influence which one suits Your needs best.
Dome tents are self supporting, making them ideal for camping on surfaces where tent pegs are hard to use, like cliffs, very hard soil or sand. On the other hand they are mostly a little heavier than a tunnel tent of the same size and You can only sit upright close to the center. Most dome tents have two apses, providing the comfort of keeping backpacks on one side and using the other as entrance. They’re also ridiculously easy to pitch as You only need to insert the poles into the marked channels and fasten them, which all is rather self evident.
A tunnel tent need a little more ”getting used to” and I definitely recommend raising it a few times at home to make sure You know what goes where, I remember one year hiking with a friend who just bought a new tent and pitched it for the first time that first evening of the hike. I had my tent pitched, a pot of tea ready and was quite amused watching the struggle he went through getting all the lines in place and tightened.
Once You know what You’re doing, though, its all smooth sailing and the lower weight is an advantage on longer hikes (on weekend trips the weight doesn’t really matter that much as the pack is rather light anyway).
Please don’t expect me to recommend any particular brand here, as not all are available everywhere, and there are a ton of great tent manufacturers out there. Just let me say that if You want to be serious about You hiking and get really of the grid in regions where weather might get rough, You should definitely stay away from the lower end of the spectrum. There are some tents out there that are considerably less price than the high end stuff, and they might work excellently in the back yard or even in woodlands, yet there is a reason for the lower price and I would not risk saving on this important piece of gear if You wanna go into the mountains anywhere in the world.
I hope this article is helpful to you in choosing your equipment, please leave a comment and let me know, ok?

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Peace // Claes

Mattresses

Oh yeah, this seems like an easy one, right? Just something to lie on, nothing special at all…
Well, there still are some decisions to make…
Mattresses basically come in two varieties, static and inflatable.

Remember the greyish roll of styropor mattress from the 80:s? They haven’t developed that much since, upside is they definitely kept there sturdiness. You just can’t break them by normal use, only remember to keep them out of the fire…
Downside: not very (or, to be frank, the least) comfortable

So, God bless Thermarest, giving us one of the first mainstream “self inflating”
mattresses some 20 years ago. Of course there’s nothing like a truly self inflating mattress, the foam filling somehow remembered its former volume and sucked some air into the device making the final filling with air so much easier.
Thankfully we’ve had quite some development here and today you can chose from a variety of different producers and models.
That mentioned you could probably find a pretty decent used car for the price of a high end mattress, filled with down, almost 4 inches thick and inflated by a built in pump, providing a level of comfort that is unchallenged by your bed at home. At the same time weighting down your backpack with 2kg (a good 4 lbs) or more. While at the other hand getting away from that bed at home might kinda be one reason for this whole hiking adventure.

In the case you intend to go hiking in polar conditions, or are extremely sensitive to cold climates, I’d definitely recommend a down filled mattress 7cm (roughly 2/5 inch) or thicker. For a summer hike while camping on soft ground a traditional static camping mat might be sufficient, leaving you huge budget space for other extravagances.

It all boils down to the same old questions to ask ourselves:
Where, when and how is the equipment to be used?

And then we chose the most appropriate option!

Please leave a comment below to let me know if this was helpful or if you have questions!

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Good luck, have fun and love the experience!!!

Peace // Claes

Stoves


Meals and hot drinks are always highlights of any tour and we need a stove to prepare them.
There are countless different stoves available in the market, yet the wood fired ones are really only workable in forest areas and often too large and heavy to carry on a hike.
Therefore I limit this article to the three types of stoves normally used for hiking:
  1. Spirit
  2. Gas (picture shows my gas stove from Primus)
  3. Multifuel
 Let me give You some details:
  1. Spirit stoves are fueled almost 100% pure, denatured spirit. The advantages are that spirit is easily available and affordable in most places and burns well even in colder conditions. The downsides are mainly pretty low heat and therefore quite time consuming cooking. Some spirits leave a lot of soot on the bottom of the pot which then easily stains other equipment unless properly cleaned and stored separately. There’s also a risk of spilling fuel into the meal, just one drop ruins everything… And putting out the flame can be an adventurous endeavor. I used a few different ones for many years and they are very reliable when operated correctly.
  2. Gas stoves are easy, clean, safe and fast to use and modern stoves often utilizes special heat absorbing and concentration designs to cut the cooking time considerably. Personally I moved over to the use of gas quite a few years ago and never looked back except with winter hikes. When temperatures hit close to 0 centigrade (lower 30’s F) the pressure in the cartridge decreases to a point where the cooking time is painfully prolonged. As long as were operating in non frozen environments in regions where the cartridges can be easily obtained I definitely recommend gas stoves.
  3.  Multifuel stoves use different exchangeable valves to enable the use of several fuel sources. The most common one is chemical grade gasoline, yet they can be fueled with gasoline from any filling station, strong enough alcohol, kerosene etc. Slightly more complicated to use than a gas stove and clearly less potentially messy than spirit burners they are a great choice for colder climates and all year use in moderate ones!
Good luck, have fun and love the experience!!!
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

Day 20 – August 16th 2017

06:10 Camp at Hukejaure cabin

Sitting in my tent after waking up early and just enjoying the sun shining down on me and slowly warming the air inside here.
I have to admit that, even though I don’t complain and commiserate about the weather anymore, having the sun shine down on me definitely makes the day look better from the start than the sound of raindrops.

So, anyway, I made the decision yesterday to go the closest route towards Unna Reitas,  though this takes me by a stretch of Kungsleden already today. The Fjällräven classic should have passed there by now and the valley I’ll hike through is really beautiful and well worth a revisit.

It’s also easy to navigate and follow if anyone of you would like.

I am going to take this tour and break it down into pieces to post in the tour-area on offthegridhiker.com – there are several weeklong hikes in here and some slightly shorter if one likes that. I just recommend to stay out a week or more as the first few days (2-3) are an adjustment period and never really comfortable when carrying a pack. So,  a week or slightly more just gives one more days to enjoy after got through that adjustment period.
If you hike a lot through the rest of the year and carry a pack similar in weight as here, it’s going to be less of an issue and a 4-6 day hike might be ideal for your time budget.
Next on my agenda here is packing everything up and then get into the cabin for some coffee and maybe breakfast. It’s still a little early to risk disturbing people, though the rules say 06:00. Taking care of my equipment will take just enough time to make me feel comfortable going in!
Actually my tent had some drops of water on the outer tarp so I just left it there to dry in the wind while binging the other stuff inside with me!
23:00 Camp at Sälka cabin

Nice morning at Hukejaure, I always like to linger a little extra when I visit this cabin and this time I had a lazy morning inside until about 10. Several cups of coffee with coconut oil, some jerky and a few nuts made up a slow breakfast followed by a few cups of tea.
I also got another video done for the cabin host series!


I started my hike in nice weather and a strong, yet much warmer, wind from the east and motored on really well on the trail towards Sälka through Cuhcavaggi.


About half way through the valley there is a river crossing and this time I found a place quite a bit upstream of the place marked on the map where I could cross without getting my feet wet. Really a relief as the wind had become increasingly colder and the clouds in front of me got darker and promising rain today again.

I made it a little farther, just beyond Gakamus Cuhcajavri, before I had to change into my rain trousers. I already wore the jacket as protection against the wind.

 So, the rain started about half past one and still continues – naturally there have been variations in intensity, yet needless to say I was pretty wet and cold after a couple of hours.


I decided to do 4km on the Kungsleden and take a break at Sälka to warm up and dry a little. Soon after I arrived the rain got worse again and I just waited for it to slow down a little before I went out and raised the tent near the cabin.

It was just not worth going anywhere else when there was a dry warm place to hang out so I called it a day after 21km, pretty much non stop hiking.

As a bonus I had sauna for two days in a row and met some really nice people I’ll keep in contact with in the future.
In the sauna I took a thorough look at my calf and it now looks just about back to normal. Sure wonder what that swelling was all about, sadly I didn’t think of making a photo when it was at its worst yet I have one from day 2. Gonna talk to some colleagues when back in Stockholm and hear what they think!
Forecast says there is a change for the better coming tomorrow and I sure hope they’re right. This is by far the worst weather conditions I’ve ever had on a tour here, the percentage of days with rain goes far beyond my experience.
Something today really kicked me out of ketosis, don’t know if it was the 6 hour hike without food, the weather inducing stress on my system, some combination of both or something completely different. My readings have been incredibly low since I finished the hike today, I’m curious about tomorrow 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

Cabin Host Series – Sälka 2017

Every cabin that is served by the Swedish Tourist Organization (STF) is hosted by one or more mountain cabin hosts working as volunteers to make you visit both safer and more pleasurable.
The series introduces you to some of these “heroes of the mountains”!
Meet Ulla in Sälka:

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

Cabin Host Series – Hukejaure 2017

Every cabin that is served by the Swedish Tourist Organization (STF) is hosted by one or more mountain cabin hosts working as volunteers to make you visit both safer and more pleasurable.
The series introduces you to some of these “heroes of the mountains”!
Meet Olle in Hukejaure:

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

Sleeping Bags

Next to food this might be the most important item for a pleasant hiking tour and you should really invest some thought and money into your sleeping bag.
For my part I own three of them for use at different temperature ranges, most people neither want nor need to invest in several sleeping bags, just make sure you think it through thoroughly when and how you want to use it and chose a bag that is sufficient for a lower temperature than you plan to use it for. There are few things worse than being cold when trying to sleep after a days hike, while at the same time we can take on a lot of challenges during the day as long as we know we are dry and warm when going to sleep at night.
That said lets get into some details. Though there´s a myriad of different producers of sleeping bags and even more different models it all basically boils down to two main versions when it comes to filling material:
  • down – that is lighter, warmer and more easy to compress to a smaller size but at the same time considerably pricier and looses its benefits substantially when wet
  • synthetic fiber – to match the temperature range of a down bag it takes more space and weights more while at the same time being more affordable and keeps warmer when moist or wet
I personally prefer down because in my experience the upsides are immense due to my preference for longer hikes. If You primarily are looking for 2-5 day hikes when size and weight matter less, a good synthetic bag will definitely serve You just as well. Especially if You hike in moister regions in which case You might even consider a water resistant bag even considering the increased weight.
Just remember that the quotient between price and quality is very much at work here and I really recommend to hit a sale or outlet to find better quality at a lower price, if You can afford to wait with Your purchase. As previously mentioned the more high end sleeping bags can be almost ridiculously pricy so finding them at a bargain is worth quite a lot for any budget.
Make sure, though, that You find a bag that really fits You body size as both too short a bag as one that leaves a lot of room at the feet will impact Your comfort and temperature negatively.
Good luck, have fun and love the experience!!!

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

Day 19 – August 15th 2017

07:15 Camp at the most northern small lake in the valley west of Unna Ruskkas

It’s been a cold night, I’ve been wrapped up in my sleeping bag wearing t-shirt and socks and still never got really warm. The wind and rain stopped at some point during the second part of the night and it all went quite up here. This got me some deeper sleep which feels amazingly good this morning!
Right now there’s some wind, no rain and a few specks of blue sky are visible through the clouds. I even caught a tiny little ray of sunshine right of the

bat when going out first thing in the morning.
Hopefully these are signs that the weather is changing preferably, yet still I made the decision to spend the next night by the cabin in Hukejaure.
I had this weird dream of entering the changing room of a gym I trained at years ago, still wearing all my hiking gear. After undressing I went to the sauna and the moment I opened that door, I woke up here in my tent…

 

Not really being into dream works at all, I still interpret this one as a clear message from my subconscious to go somewhere and get warmed up!

Actually I’m gonna make this day as easy on myself as I can. I’ve been hiking every day for 18 days without a rest day, averaging almost 20km/d over mostly rather rough ground. The last few nights I haven’t slept my best due to the rough weather, having to get out in the middle of the night to secure the tent with rocks against the wind didn’t help at all, and I feel more tired than I would like.
I know that the next few days after tomorrow are gonna be physically tougher than anything I’ve done so far this tour and so I just want to be as well prepared as I can.

21:00 Camp at Hukejaure cabin

Today in the afternoon we had a shift in weather and right now the sky’s blue, the sun just went behind the mountains and the temperature is still at +9C. Last night down here it was +4, which means two or more degrees less at the additional elevation I camped at. No wonder that, with the impact of the wind, I had a hard time getting warm.

 


I got started just after 10 this morning, for the first time with a rather moist tent in my backpack. The 10km down to Hukejaure were as easy and smooth as anything can be up here, wind still rough and cold and a few pretty decent rain showers hitting me on the way.
In just two and a half short hours I’d made the trip and went inside for a coffee before putting the tent up to dry in my favorite camp site here.


After coffee and a chat with the cabin host I started taking care of my equipment, wet rain gear got hung up to dry, socks and underwear washed and shoes cleaned and dried. Then some wood chopping and water hauling for the sauna before I fired it up and spent well over an hour just relaxing in the heat. Wow, was that good after literally being cold for two days and nights!
My left calf is still slightly swollen yet much better than the days before.


Olle, the cabin host had gone fishing and was successful, bringing home a huge trout. Having half of it himself left the other half to be shared between myself and two other guests at the cabin. Around 100g of super fresh trout file fried in ghee became an awesome starter for my dinner!
The extra protein seams to have kicked me slightly out of ketosis, though, which was perfectly worth it. I’m pretty sure I’ll be right back there when I wake up tomorrow.


Not much more to report from this day, it’s a tired and very content hiker sitting here in his tent ready for a good night’s sleep. Air is pretty warm and it is quite, no wind shaking the tent and no splashing from raindrops falling. There’s been a few nights since I had an equally peaceful evening!

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

Day 18 – August 14th 2017

08:00 Camp at the eastern lake in Sanarvaggi

It’s been a very windy night with some rain and, for once up here, I did not sleep very well. The wind made the tent shake heavily and though I have total faith in it taking a beating like this, the noise and movement still disrupted my sleep again and again.
So, after waking up at 06:30 in the morning and taking a look outside, I actually went back into my sleeping bag and went under for another hour.
The good thing is that my left calf looks almost back to normal which is reassuring after the slightly rougher hike yesterday.


I have to see how the weather develops today, right now there’s no rain and the wind is still strong. If it keeps up I probably go towards Hukejaure to get away from Fjällräven classic yet still have shelter if the weather goes really south.
As long as I don’t get really wet today and need to dry stuff, especially my boots, inside, I’d prefer to camp away from the cabin and get another night for myself.

Still I want to pass by Hukejaure as I heard rumors in Vakkotavare about the cabin host, Bosse, gotten sick and having been replaced. Would be good to know what actually happened as I got the distinct feeling something was off with him as we met.

For now I’m very content and happy having a PF coffee in the tent, wearing double sweaters, one down and one fleece, and keeping my legs in the sleeping bag!
That said, it has become rather chilly up here already…

19:45 Camp at the most northern small lake in the valley west of Unna Ruskkas

Wow, what a hike – I’ve now spent 3.5 hours in the tent just trying to get reasonably warm again… Seldom feel as alive as out there with the elements!
Let me take it from the start!

The rain finally took a break around 09:30 and I wiped the tent and packed all my stuff together pretty swiftly. Got everything down dry and started hiking right about 10AM.
First I followed the northern shore of the lakes westwards and kept slightly to the north to gain some elevation. Wind was hard and icy and it soon started raining again, I was quite happy I started out wearing my rain jacket and some gloves.
As I wanted to check out Battajavri and look for camp sites around that lake for future purposes, I kept my elevation after reaching about 950m and went around the mountain. Soon I had to go down some again to get off the super slippery wet rocks higher up on the mountain side. There were a few snow fields I could utilize to make the hike softer on joints and ligaments.
The lake lies beautifully kind of in a bowl and on the northern side I found a ton of good camping grounds on soft and level grass.

Originally I planned to stay east of Rusjka and merge with Neasketvaggi at its northern end, yet the wind was to strong to safely hike a steep mountain side I didn’t know from earlier experience. So I turned west to go pass Ruskajavri on its eastern side.
As soon as I faced west the wind, that I’d had against my back while rounding Battajavri, now hit me full force heads on again. Very fast I felt it was too cold for my clothes, yet not until I was almost up in the valley I found a protected spot where I could dig into the backpack for an extra middle layer sweater and some liner gloves. After changing I immediately felt a lot better and also the sides of the valley broke of the wind now and then and provided some protection.

I found several suitable spots along the lake, yet still didn’t really feel like stopping and call it a day. I already knew I wouldn’t go to Hukejaure, just wanted to cover a little more ground before setting up camp. I also already spotted this small lake on the map and wanted to give it a shot, knowing there are sites farther down if this one wouldn’t work.

 


Anyway, I found a nice spot for my tent and the rain stopped for long enough to get everything set up and ready.
Though the weather is still rather rough and the wind really cold I’m so grateful to have one more night off the beaten track to just unwind my mind and thoughts before returning to more populated areas tomorrow. Looking at the map I’ve been planning a route to Hukejaure that takes me away from the marked trails and over a more remote area.

Unless the weather changes considerably in my favor chances are that I will camp at the cabin again and enjoy the benefits of being clean and warm. Next planned cabin visit would be Vistas and that’s another seven or eight days down the track. And chances are that, except while having breakfast at Keb, I won’t meet to many people on that tour!
Well, that’s all for now – time to get ready and into the sleeping bag for real, I need to get warmed up again!

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