The rain had stopped just after midnight and the sky looked a lot more friendly when I got out and shaked most of the water off my tent at around 7 am. Ashleigh was already awake and we ended up chatting for a couple of hours having several cups of coffee while Cornelia slept in.
Altogether a very pleasant morning that led to a rather late start just shy of noon. The girls decided to make it to the campsite 3km (2 miles) before Abisko and aim for breakfast at the tourist station tomorrow morning.
So we agreed that I take them up to Kungsleden, make sure they recognize the markers and then move on westwards towards Norway, aiming to end the day here in Unna Allakas.
After spending a week with them and having a lot of adventurous experiences and fun together I have to admit getting a little emotional when we parted.
I’m confident that they make their way just great and will enjoy that breakfast immensely.
I, on my part, looked forward to the sauna in Unna Allakas and to clean up thoroughly for the first time in a week.
Didn’t make any real breaks during the hike, and didn’t need any, just stopped for water a few times and ended up being on the trail for almost 6 hours straight.
Feels so great how the body adjusts itself and has moved into hiking mode again. Of course, it’s also helpful that I’ve been using up some of my food and the weight of the backpack goes down.
I’m still amazed, though, how much less food I need than anticipated. My guess is that my body is well aware of the extra body fat I intentionally put on before the tour, use that first and that my hunger will increase down the road.
Obviously, we can’t fool nature and my trick to lessen the load a little by putting on some weight seems to backfire slightly as less food leaves my backpack.
Anyway, the sauna was wonderful, as expected, and the lake was warm enough to actually swim around for a while. The first time that happens up here!
After cleaning up I enjoyed a nice dinner inside the cabin, chatted with the other guests and got down to my tent just after 10:30 pm.
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Woke up when the sun starts heating up the tent (it disappeared behind clouds pretty soon, though…), unzipped the sleeping bag and just enjoyed being lazy for a little while before leaving the tent and breaking camp.
Right tendon more swollen and I decided on a short hike of just 3-4km to Unna Allakas and spend the rest of that day resting at the cabin, already looking forward to the evening sauna.
Funny how the close proximity of a sauna can enhance the feeling of needing to clean up ?
Upon arrival I raised the tent in my favorite spot before entering the cabin and greeting Torgny who was pretty surprised to see me again so soon.
Inside the cabin is another guy on rest day, Birger, who started his hike on July 10th and now is on his way to meet his girl friend I’m Abisko, hike the next part together with her and then finish alone towards the very northern parts of Norway.
Amazing conversations, great company and lots of food made the day fly by while the cabin slowly filled up with people, leaving us with a very international lot from 6 different countries including a couple from Austria mountain biking along the trails, a guy from Belgium who had hikes the glacier of Storsteinfjellet alone (NOT recommended) and was lucky enough to come down alive…
And a group of mountain runners arriving later in the evening!
Birger
Belgian Alpinist
The Runners
Lisa from Germany and Guido from Italy
Sauna was fantastic as expected and the view extraordinary!
After some more chatting, dinner and a few cups of tea I was ready for the tent.
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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 Torgny in Unna Allakas:
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Another early morning, got up at 5:00, got some water boiling for coffee and started my morning routines. After some reading, meditation and a couple of coffees, some jerky with coconut oil, cheese, salami and nuts I was ready to break camp and get going. There had been some downpour during the night and my dishcloth from Wettex did great service as usual, I totally recommend carrying one of those!
Hike went smooth, trail was in good shape and, again, I was amazed by the low water levels in streams and lakes. It was super easy to cross compared to last year and even the crossing at Valfojåkkå, normally a tough one, could probably have been doable without even changing shoes. Still, the pack being far to heavy, I didn’t risk it. Changing into my Crocks was quick enough and the water wasn’t even that cold, I remember the snow and ice floating here last year and that memory made this years experience even more comfortable ?
About 2km south of the crossing I reached the Valfojåkkå safety cabin and stopped for lunch, cold wind from the north and intermittent rain mixed with some snow made the decision to take a longer break easy and it had been 2,5h before I continued.
Had it been later in the day I’d probably camped near the cabin, especially as they installed an outhouse next to it since last year.
Second part of the day offered only two surprises:
– I actually met some people on the trail
– The last river crossing before Unna Allakas (Ruovssokjohka) could be done stepping from rock to rock without having to change shows – in all the years that never happened before ?
The trail was in really nice shape and only the last part along Skangalanjavri before the descent slightly muddy, still so much easier than previous years.
Unna Allakas as usual peaceful with a marvelous view over the lakes and further west in Norway
the majestic Storsteinfjellet with its beautiful glaciers.
After raising the tent and chatting with the cabin host I met some other guests at the cabin, helped a few with tips on trail choices, day tours in the area etc and then hitting the sauna hard ?
Wow, was that a treat for my leg muscles as well as neck and shoulders, so grateful that I these days am hiking for the enjoyable experience and not, like in the early years, to try my limits and prove how much I can take ?
Dinner was awesome and I went for solitude in the tent soon after finishing my meal, reading some while still light and soon dosing of to sleep after another fantastic day!
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