hiking

Tour of 2018 – Day 27, August 22nd 2018

Camp at the eastern shore of Cunojaure
What a joy to wake up without the sound of rain on the tent, it had been a few showers during the night, the last in the early morning hours, and none of them even close to the ones yesterday.
I woke up already at 5:30, getting into the cabin 30min later to make a fire in the stove and then broke down my tent to hang it inside to dry. Turns out it would have dried just as well outside in the wind, yet why take a chance when having access to a cabin, right?!

The wind had turned during the night, not longer coming from the west and bringing the weather from the Atlantic Ocean. Normally here that means an improvement in the weather conditions, and today was no exception!
After a few cups of coffee and tea with my neighbor, everything was dry and I packed all my gear to be ready to leave.
8:45 I said goodbye and left Gautelishytta until next time, and now, after finally trying out the sauna they built here a few years ago, that will probably be next year already!
The weather was so much more pleasant, no rain and a pretty mellow breeze, that also was quite a bit warmer than previously. Shortly after I left I had to stop and take of my jacket, later changing quite often between wearing it or not, depending on wind and the intensity of the hike. I’m happy to say that I must have hiked about half the day wearing only my t-shirt.
The trail northwards from Gautelishytta is wild and beautiful, quite easy to walk in the beginning, then, getting closer to the pass, very rocky and desolated. Frankly, if You don’t like jumping on rocks, this is the wrong tour for You. Unless You’re considerably good at moving on rocky ground, You could spend hours in frustration hiking this stretch.
That said, the marking of the trail is enormously better than I remember, someone has really put in some effort making the trail clearer and more visible. There are stone pillars at very close distances from each other throughout the entire pass!
Once on the other side of the pass there are two river crossings, both could be done without changing shoes this time. Always look for a wide spot in the river, remember that some stones can be stepped on under water with perfectly maintained safety, and, once again, get high shafted hiking boots!
I arrived at Caihnavagge in clear sunny weather and decided to take a break and have some tea and snacks as I still had some ground to cover.
Getting out of the wind really amplified the warmth from the sun and the place was really pleasant. Besides, I finally got a decent shot at charging my phone again as the sun was out so bright.
A good hour later i started the second part, as different in character from the morning stretch as night from day. Being so much lower in elevation the trail was mostly soft, leading over grass or low scrubs, mixed up with wetter areas. Shortly before the bridge over Caihnajohka there is a short distance that is rocky, muddy and bushy at the same time. Just take it easy and slow down and all is good!
The bridge is as reassuring as any of the Norwegian ones, I totally recommend to let one person pass completely before the next stepping onto the bridge!
The trail continues over the flat valley floor of Gallanbuolda, again mostly scrubs and grasses, some wetlands and bushy areas. And one real river where You might to have to change shoes, this time I got over there dry once again. It took some skills, experience and, once more, high shafts on the boots, to get it done, though!
Finally there’s another bridge to get to the north side of Cunojaure where the cabin is located and the trail continues around the lake and into Sweden and towards Unna Allakas.
About halfway between the Cunojaure cabin and Unna Allakas You find the beautiful beach where I chose to camp tonight. The weather was finally good enough to get back into solitude. As much as I love the comfort and warmth of the cabins, I missed being by myself in my tent!
Turns out that the Norwegian weather forecast workshop right, I just managed to get everything set inside the tent when I heard the first drops on the outer tarp. So far nothing alarming and very mellow compared to previous days and weeks. I’m kinda curious what tomorrow brings!

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 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 19, August 14th 2018

Camp at the creek junction west of Gierdogiesjtjåhkkå
Finally, a day when the weather once more was playing nicely and invited both to a midday stop and going a little farther than I originally planned.
After the early stop yesterday I woke up already at 5 am, spending the next half hour or so in a state of meditation and contemplation before leaving my sleeping bag. Though it had rained some during the night, it stopped hours earlier and this morning the clouds looked friendly with a lot of blue skies visible between them. I started the day wiping off the tent to give it a fair chance to dry while I went through my morning routine!
Shortly after 7 am I started packing my stuff and, when taking the tent down, I found the bottom to be really wet still. Just a few minutes hanging it in the wind after wiping it off took care of that, and just after 8, I was all ready to go.
The same guy who told me about the campsite, also mentioned that there is a path following right along the river bank, and here also he turned out to be well informed. The trail was beautifully smooth and easy to follow, the only challenges being quite a few rivers that would normally have made me change shoes to cross. Today that was something I wanted to avoid as long as possible to protect the fresh bandage on my left heel. So, with fighting the bushes to get to more narrow spots and quite a few rather risky, and definitely not advisable, jumps, I managed to maintain dry feet throughout the day!
Passing through the wetlands next to the river when the time came to head uphill, I was immensely grateful for the high shafts on my boots, and all the layers of grease band wax I treated the leather too!
Following the stream Alep Vassajajågåsj uphill after crossing over, I found the expected trail. Just sooo much more distinct and easy to follow than I would have thought.
I also found an abundance of mushrooms, picking more than I actually would need for one dinner, planning for a delicious treat!
Once above the tree line, I continued high on the mountainside, aiming to cross the next major stream, Julep Vassajajågåsj, uphill from where it forms a really deep canyon. Another rather dangerous leap and some splashing of water, I reached the other side once again with completely dry shoes and socks!
From here on there is a marked trail leading eastbound along my intended route, though I still choose to stay higher up on the mountainside for the added benefit of better photo opportunities!
Lots of fun jumping on rocks and the last parts of today’s hike went by swiftly, arriving at this beautifully wild location shortly after 4 pm.
I did go a little farther today than I originally intended, tomorrow’s hike should generally be easier than today’s and maybe I add some extra depending on weather conditions and how I feel.
I still need to find out how it works out with crossing the lake to get to Sitojaure cabin and the continuing northbound trail. There’s a rowing boat system, yet the distance is about 4km and I’m not too keen on that kind of upper body exercise in the midst of this all.
Should be possible to buy a ride with a motorboat, tomorrow will tell!
Funny enough, it’s raining again now! Can’t say how grateful I am that it started only after I got settled here and can stay dry and warm inside!

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 3, July 29th 2018

Camp at bridge over Vierrojohka
We went to bed early last night and everyone was probably asleep by 9pm, I know for sure that I was. The frenzy of the last week before departing obviously had caught up with me when I started relaxing out here in nature!
Slept super well and woke up just after 6:30 in the morning, turns out I was the only one up and I let the girls sleep in while doing some reading and enjoying a great meditation.
After a long, relaxed morning we got going at 11am, maybe half hour earlier Ashleigh got some Advil out of her bag and offered Cornelia for her knee pain. This turned out to be one of the highlights of the tour as we all finished today’s hike felling really well. Cornelia felt a slight discomfort at times, no pain.
The trail through Bessesvagge was, for the most part, in better shape than I’ve ever seen it. Still I lost it once on the stretch through the bushes and found it again after some struggling with vegetation.
I followed a creek uphill until I got back on the trail and then got back down to get my backpack and the girls. Super impressed by their effort, they did 100m (300ft) of steep elevation in just about 20min!
After a short break we continued along the trail, turned south towards the bridge over Aliseatnu and crossed over to the south side.
Side note: there’s a new trail heading eastbound when the wetlands start to show up, I checked it out and highly recommend to stick with the original one!
Reaching the intended campsite at the western shore of Vierrojohka we ignored the cold of the glacier water and first got cleaned up. Then setting up camp and having dinner down by the little pebble beach, starting a small fire to fend off the mosquitoes that appeared when the wind went down.
Tomorrow we need to get started a few hours earlier to have enough time for the Mårma pass so we’re all heading for another early night!

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

Hiking while fasting!

In March of 2018 I conducted a short experiment with going on a hike while fasting, the hike itself is described Here:
In this article I want to clarify what led up to the decision to hike fasted and how I prepared for the experiment.
So, if You been following my stuff for any amount of time, You already know that I’m a proponent of low carb nutrition and fuel my own activities primarily with fat. I noticed a considerable shift in my metabolism after the 30 day hike in nutritional ketosis I did in the summer of 2017, after which I no longer need a few days adaptation when choosing to up the carbs for a day or a few. My thoughts are that the prolonged activity during ketosis restored my bodies natural metabolic flexibility and increased my ability to fuel with free fatty acids directly.
I have felt inclined to try an extended fast for quite some time, just didn’t seem to get to it, and now I thought the time was right and the decision was made on pretty short notice.
Just a couple of days before the start of the hike on Friday, March 23rd 2018, I caught myself falling into a pattern of spontaneous OMAD (one meal a day). I had my usual fat coffee in the morning and just wasn’t hungry more than once a day.
Probably this can be explained by stress levels being a lot lower than back in Stockholm and the abundance of sunlight I enjoy here on the island.
Anyway, I was clearly in fat burning mode when I skipped my fat coffee on Friday morning, leaving dinner at 18:00 (6PM) Thursday as my last meal before going out into the hills 13:30 (1:30PM) Friday.
Totalling just short of 80km (50 miles) I ended the hike on Sunday 16:00 and did only take in water and pink Himalayan salt (contains lots of electrolytes besides the sodium) during this time. Admittedly I consumed a lot of water and added about 0.5 tsp salt to each 1.5l bottle.
Timing proved to be perfect and on Sunday night my body told me to end the fast, dinner at 20:00 (8PM) left me with a 74 hour fasting period, maybe it had felt good to go longer if I had not been hiking. For now and under the circumstances, this was exactly right for me.
Now, I can’t stretch enough the importance of being properly fat and keto adapted if You want to copy the experience. Though it is true that fasting is one of the fastest ways of entering nutritional ketosis, doing that while being this physically active can only be a very unpleasant experience.
So, will I do this again?
Well, on the fasting side – definitely! I felt really good the whole weekend, good energy levels most of the time and really no feelings of fatigue or even serious hunger. The plan for now is to incorporate 24-36 hours fasts on a more or less weekly basis with an extended fast every now and then when it fits into my life situation.
At some point, when life’s slow and rather stress free, I´d like to go for a longer fast, maybe 7-10 days, to really reap the health benefits. For now the natural intermittent fasting I do on an almost daily basis will suffice!
That’s all for now, thanks for checking out the post and I hope you found it valuable.
Please share if you did!
Peace // Claes

Day 30 – August 26th 2017

19:40 Abisko Tourist Station

Clean, warm and cozy – my feelings this evening comprised into three words.

Woke up in a soaked tent, had a lazy morning hanging out at the cabin in Abiskojaure and getting an interview done with one of the cabin hosts.

The 14km to Abisko are a really easy hike and the weather was hugely better than the last days, almost to the point where I regretted heading for the mountain station.
Yet the prospect of checking in a backpack containing wet equipment and dealing with the stuff back home was motivating enough to finish the tour today.

Arriving in Abisko I got the last available room in the hotel part and could get all my stuff dried out inside the facility. Ignoring the eminent restaurant I dined on my last portion of dehydrated ground beef for this tour, enjoying the comfort of doing my dishes in hot water from a faucet.

Looking back at the tour of 2017, it has definitely been one of the best ever, though the weather has been way worse than most years.
From a subjective point of view, the ketogenic way of fueling has been absolutely outstanding for comfort and performance and, regardless of test results, this is the way I fuel my hikes (and, frankly, most of my future life).
The abundance of energy, mental clarity and resilience combined with wonderful sleep and lack of hunger during the day makes it an ideal fit for me and I cannot recommend enough that You try it out.

Let me just end this with a huge shout out for my sponsors, Ketonix and Nourish Balance Thrive, I’m incredibly grateful for the support and there’re no words to endorse their products enough.
I definitely continue to use them!

That’s it for this tour, I hope You enjoyed tagging along just as much as I enjoyed completing it.
Stay tuned for a few shorter tour suggestions building on my hike, as I want to make the area accessible to more people.
And remember, Lapland is still here next year and I´ll be back!

Planning to lead a small group of people through some beautiful nature on week 1 so let me know if You’re interested. More on this later!

Thanks for following and supporting my journey, hope to see You soon again!

Peace // Claes

Day 29 – August 25th 2017

21:00 Camp next to Abiskojaure cabin

Rain, rain, rain – was the name of the game today… I spent quite some time in Alesjaure waiting for the down pour to slow down, yet finally I had to start heading north towards Abiskojaure. Originally planning to camp just outside the National Park, I changed my plan about 90 minutes into the hike when my rain jacket turned out to fail miserably at keeping me dry.
Somehow I managed to get started when the rain took a short break, just 20 minutes later it started pouring again and literally continued for the entire stretch down to Abiskojaure. Except for shorter periods when the rain got mixed with snow…
Needless to say this was not my favorite weather to hike!

One of the beautiful aspects of hiking in a keto adapted state is that You just don’t need to bother about food. Normally a 19km hike would call for one or more stops to refuel and when the weather is hostile as on this day, it just doesn’t invite to have a pit stop for snacks… Such a blessing to just continue on without any sign of hunger, fatigue or loss of energy!

I´m also incredibly grateful for the mental clarity and focus the ketogenic state induces as there were quite a few very slippery and treacherous parts on the trail due to the snow and rain.

Once getting closer to the cabin in Abiskojaure it was a really easy decision to pitch the tent next to it and enjoy the sauna and other facilities. The cabin itself was over crowded with people sleeping on mattresses on the floor, while the service room for campers was almost empty, just me and a couple from the UK utilizing it in the evening. So grateful that my tent was pitched outside and I could retire to privacy and stillness i the midst of chaos within the cabins.

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 3 – March 25th 2018

Wow, I slept so much better than last night having solved the pillow issue. I just folded up my pants and put them in the tent cover and this worked remarkably well.
Feeling really rested I still had a slow and easy morning before departing just before 8:30. Knowing I did 6km more than planned yesterday I was I no rush at all. Just stopping briefly at the monastery to refill water, I was soon well on my way.

Ketonix reading in the morning was very much lower than last night, yet I could feel I was definitely in fat and keto burning mode. Hike was really easy and the biggest challenge was the slippery gravel on the downhill slopes.
Once more I stopped in Lythrodontas to fill water, this time I got help from a friendly young woman working at a hospital for the elderly.
The paved road leading away from the village was a steady uphill slope for about 3km before I reached the next stretch of gravel and got away from the asphalt.
Soon I came to the fork where the alternate trail left the mail E4 and I decided to take on the extra elevation and go for the lookout on top of the hill. Amazing view, totally worth the effort!
Going down on the other side the trail becomes very faint and at times I was probably following goat tracks as the trail disappeared entirely. Here I also took my only fall this tour, got a scratch on the palm of my left hand and that was it.
Hitting the main trail again all became easy going and I started seeing that I would rather easily make it back to the car already this day.
Besides sore feet and thigh muscles, my body works exceptionally well and I had no doubts I would have the energy and stamina to pull this off. I just did not at all look forward to the stretch of paved road around Delikipos and I made decision to hitch a ride if possible.
Interesting enough there came a car from the right direction after I walked just a couple of 100 meters on the road and seeing my sign the driver pulled over immediately. There are two young men in the car, and no backseat so they invite me to ride in the trunk. Turns out they live in Kornos and I get a ride all the way to that village, saving me a total of 7km asphalt and rather boring gravel road. Actually they offered to drive me to my car, yet that wasn’t the way I wanted to end this tour and I choose to walk on from Kornos.
Those last 7-8km were pretty swift and easy, again I got hit by some raindrops, yet nothing serious. Turning around I could see the dark clouds coming up from behind, though, and increased my speed to get back to the car before getting soaked.

That’s all for now, thanks for checking out the post and I hope you found it valuable.
Please share if you did!
Peace // Claes

Day 2 – March 24th 2018

Midday break after about 4.5 hours hike with just some water breaks. Close to the villages I’ve seen a few cars and people working on the farms and in the fields, yet I met no one on the trail and haven’t spoke to anyone either.
The night was ok, I spent almost 10 hours in my sleeping bag, yet sleep quality was far below par or even average.
Woke up just before 6AM, took it very easy and had everything packed up ready to leave at 7:45.
After a slightly rough start, I felt lightheaded and weak the first 1.5-2 hours or so, I’ve been motoring along amazingly well.
Mostly comfortable dirt roads so far, with the exception of some pavement closer to the villages.
It’s been mostly uphill so far today and I freely admit not aiming for any speed records.
My iPhone App still tells me I’ve done 16km (10 miles) and that feels pretty accurate, though it’s virtually impossible to check on the maps I have access to here.
Anyway, I feel great, feet and legs are a little sore, not unexpected as I’ve not done any longer hikes in quite some time now.
Ketonix measurements started climbing yesterday (20.7 last night) and this morning (32.5) only to go through the roof at my measuring right now (74.8).
I’m intrigued to see how this continues!
Continued after just a short break at the side of the road and soon I reached the Profitis Ilias Monestery with a very nice picnic area where I spent around 30min, refilling water, resting and, without any success, trying to get my solar charger to work. No idea what’s wrong with that thing, it just doesn’t do what it’s supposed to despite Cyprus sun in the middle of the day…

Heading for Klonia I found myself on the most beautiful nature trail, about 7km all together it was without a shadow of a doubt the most fun hiking this weekend. I frankly enjoyed every step, and reaching Klonia without finding any suitable camp site, I didn’t mind at all to double back to a site I spotted on the way up, just about 1km from the monastery.

This also subtracts some k’s from tomorrow’s hike, which will be mostly descending and challenging for knees and core!
Checked my Ketonix measurement when arriving here at the campsite, around 48 hours into the fast, and I hit 89.9.
It’s super clear that I’m burning fat, or I would never have made it this far, the rate indicated by the measurement, though, is just flabbergasting!

That’s all for now, thanks for checking out the post and I hope you found it valuable.
Please share if you did!
Peace // Claes

Day 27&28 – August 23rd-24th 2017

06:15 Camp near Vistas cabin

 

I slept fantastic, such a wonderful feeling to go to bed really clean for the first time in almost a week. The temperature es really pleasant during the night, I had to close my sleeping bag and then I had perfect conditions inside. I almost slept through, only remember waking once during the night .
The morning is slightly moist with low clouds and I have some condensation on the inside of the tent.

 

It’ll just have to stay here waiting for some wind while I go over to the cabin for coffee.
Usually some wind comes up in the morning and that will dry the tent in no time, and if it I’ll just have to hang if inside for an hour or so!
Today is planned to be a slow day and I right now really hope that the weather forecast will support that plan. My legs are weary and I don’t feel like doing anything more exhausting today!

20:30 Camp at Vistas Cabin

After all I decided to grant myself the first real rest day of the trip, my body needed to recover some more, the people in the cabin were friendly, interesting and pleasant and the snow at higher altitude did not at all invite to do the exit over Mårma that I originally had planned.

Interestingly enough my good friend Helge from Freiburg showed up unexpectedly during the afternoon and we got the opportunity to catch up over a cup of tea. Turned out his cell phone had stoppet working properly and none of us had received the messages from each other. Him turning up here in Vistas was just another of the inexplicable things that happen all the time in my life these days.

Anyway, later in the afternoon I pitched my tent right next to the cabin and enjoyed the sauna for the second day in a row before having dinner and planning the next day. Depending on the weather I might just go for camping next to cabins on my way out, I need my stuff to be reasonably dry when I come home or my cats will just have too much fun claw-climbing my tent in the apartment…

Day 28th – August 24th 2018

20:30 Camp next to Alesjaure cabin

Slow relaxed hiking day up Vistasvagge, I started mid morning together with Mikael, one of the guys I met at Vistas and we took it really easy hiking up the valley.
A day full of pleasant conversations, a couple of tea breaks and totally acceptable weather conditions.

We had a couple of showers hitting us yet nothing serious and, to be frank, I wouldn’t have had to camp here in close proximity to the cabin. It´s just that the next good camp site is found quite a few km farther down the trail and going there would have rendered tomorrows hike ridiculously short.

 

Hiking in Vistasvagge is always beautiful, the valley itself is stunning and the trail soft and friendly most of the time. And they really put in some work marking the trail when approaching Alesjaure, earlier years there has been some confusion as the Sami village right next to the cabin has produced an abundance of intertwining trails.

 

Arriving at the cabin mid afternoon I picked a spot and pitched my tent on semi dry ground, enjoying the warmth of the cabin reading and talking with other hikers.
One of the cabin hosts I had met a few years earlier in Unna Allakas and seeing him again was a really pleasant surprise.

 

As I managed to keep myself dry and warm most of the hike I didn’t feel any need for sauna but checked out for an early evening in the tent instead!

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!

By leaving Your email in the box below You get notification of futures posts and news!

Peace // Claes