cold

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 25, August 20th 2018

Camp at the Hukejaure cabin
The day started like yesterday ended, rain and wind. During most of the night, the rough wind shook the tent and there were several long and heavy rain showers, making it hard to sleep well. So grateful for the separate gear shed that let me keep all the wet stuff out of the inner tent.
In the early morning hours both wind and rain calmed down and I slept really good for a few hours until around 8 am when the next wave of weather hit the tent hard.
Around 10 am the rain lessened and I decided to break camp and do my best to get the tent and gear shed reasonably dry.
Half an hour later I started the hike and it turned out that if I’d stayed an hour longer, I could have packed everything more or less dry.
Besides a few short showers the rain cleared up completely during midday and only the strong wind remained. Part of the hike was a constant fight against the wind and every time the landscape blocked the gushes for some time was a real relief.
I moved on a pretty direct route towards Ruskajavri, staying north of Ruskajogas, following some pretty clear reindeer tracks all the way over the pass leading into the valley.
Once down by the lake, I stayed close to the shore, trying to be as low as possible to avoid as much wind as I could.
The hike along the lake is beautiful and I, once again, felt a longing to camp at quite a few spots along the stretch!
Just a little bit north of the lake I crossed the river feeding into it and continued along the western mountainside, after some time passing the small lake where I camped last year.
Passing Raktasjavri on it’s south and west side I soon crossed Raktasjohka and cut over the southwest side of Raktas before coming down on the trail leading from Sitasjaure to Hukejaure and following that the rest of the way to the cabin.
Because of all the rain that fell the last few days and weeks, the ground was soaked with water and the wetlands were wet for real. Once again I cannot emphasize enough the value of using boots with high shafts and putting in the effort of keeping them watertight!
If You’ve been following this blog for some time, You already know that this is one of my favorite cabins to visit and I always enjoy coming here. This time I also got to see the same cabin host as three years ago, always nice to meet again and catch up.
After putting the tent to dry in the wind (time to make some use of it at last…) I had some tea inside and warmed up a little, before chopping wood and fetching water for the sauna. I also fried some mushrooms I’d found along the trail on the way here!
The weather has been still unsteady with some decent rain showers, yet also some sun coming out between the clouds. All in all a lot better than yesterday and I definitely hope for it to clear up even more overnight. Anyway, camping at a cabin guarantees that I can dry everything in the morning regardless of the weather, and that’s always awesome!

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

Tour of 2018 – Day 24, August 19th 2018

Camp just north of Viddjajavri
Wow, I’m so grateful to be dry and warm, this day was really rough weather wise.
Started out being quite nice, I had to wipe the tent twice in the morning due to a short rain shower, yet then I could start the hike just shy of 9:30 wearing my ordinary hiking pants. About an hour later I changed into rain gear and that was it for the day.
During a short coffee break in Kaitumjaure cabin, I learned that the forecast promised random rain showers throughout the day. That didn’t sound too bad and I continued in the direction of Hukejaure, leaving Kungsleden behind and finding my trusted reindeer tracks on the mountainside.
Shortly after I left the cabin the rain started falling again and then only stopped for briefer periods of time.
Additionally, the wind was really strong and actually pushed me around at times, which is alright when hiking on solid ground, though it gets a little sketchy when on loose and wet rocks.
I hiked north pretty high up on the mountainside parallel to Kungsleden until passing a group of beautiful small lakes on my right and then turning westward into Sanarvaggi. Now the wind hit me straight head-on, making it impossible for even the best rain gear to keep me dry. It was a relief to reach  Viddjajavri and turn northbound again along the shore.
My original plan was to reach Ruskajavri and camp at one of the sites I spotted last year, though when I was on the north end of Viddjajavri I saw a suitable spot of grass while the rain had lessened to almost nothing at all.
Unfortunately, it picked up again soon after I started to raise the tent and I had to accept getting the inside wet before managing to get the rain fly in place. Because of my wet backpack and rain gear, I also pitched the gear shed, hoping to manage to dry the inside of the tent and keep it dry after that.
After a few cups of hot tea, dinner, and coffee while covering myself with the sleeping bag, everything looks and feels a lot lighter. Though the rain continues outside and the wind still shakes the tent at times.
We’ll see what tomorrow brings, whatever comes up I know I go to 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

Day 26- August 22nd 2017

06:55 Unna Reitas cabin


I woke up a little over an hour ago, pleasantly enough to the first beam of sunlight!
Fantastic feeling to get outside and greet the morning sun at the elevation, instead of wiping the tent dry from rain drops as I’ve become accustomed to.
So grateful for this beautiful morning!!!

Funny enough my old experience junkie personality immediately jumps up and tells me to use the good weather and do this and that ant those cool tours over there…
It’s so good to be able to just observe what’s going on in the mind and then ignore it, staying in the moment and just enjoying the gift of this day in peace and gratitude.


I’ll just stick to my original plan for the day, pass Nallo for an interview with the cabin host and then continue to Vistas and a long, slow afternoon just resting. I have to admit that I deeply look forward to sit in the sauna and soak in the heat for a long time later today. My muscles are pretty sore from the last days and I took a couple of lighter falls on the wet stones yesterday, rendering me some bruises to tend to.

Anyway, I look forward to start my hiking day sunshine and, knowing the route, anticipate a pleasant and rather relaxed hiking day!

22:00 Camp near Vistas cabin

So nice to be clean again, I spent quite a lot of time in the sauna again and really let myself get soaked in the heat. Feels amazing for my worn out ligaments and tired muscles!

The hike down to Vistas was really just as relaxed as I remembered it to be. The first 8km to Nallo took me two hours and fifteen minutes and I spent about an hour there at the cabin, chatting with the host and getting another video!
First part of the trail from Unna Reitas is rather stony and the snow fields were frozen and pretty slippery this morning.


Some water puddles were covered with ice, showing independent proof for the cold of last night.
The river crossing was a little tricky and needed some rock and balance skills to get over dry.

 

 


From Nallo on the trail was beautifully easy to follow, incredibly faster than finding ones own line in nature. After the recent rains it was considerably more wet and muddy than I’ve seen it before, yet nothing that presented a real issue. The 10km took only another two and a quarter hour, and upon arrival I raised the tent and left my sleeping gear in it before proceeding to the cabin.

Again I met some really nice people and enjoyed a pleasant afternoon and evening, it felt great to arrive early and I even got an extra meal in today to refuel a little extra before the last few days of my tour.

Weather forecast promised good weather tomorrow, after that it’s supposed to go back to ‘unstable’ – same forecast as most days this trip…
I’m waiting for in update tomorrow morning and if it’s still states the same message I might do Mårma already tomorrow to get over the pass in good conditions. Then I have ridiculously much time on the other side of the pass to relax or do some extra few km, depending on the weather.

Anyway, no point speculating – tomorrow I’ll make the decision one way or another!

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