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Tour of 2018 – Day 26, August 21st 2018

Camp at Gautelishytta

Another day I woke up early and snuck into the cabin at 7 am when I had heard that the only other guest also was up already.
Picking a break between the rain showers to wipe my tent and bring it inside to dry ensured that I could pack everything the way I want it this morning.

Having an extra cup of coffee, talking to the cabin host, Leif, and taking my time packing my stuff, left me with a departure time at 10 am and I headed northbound on the trail back towards Norway.


Depending on the circumstances my plan was to either do a short day and stay at Gautelis or push on to Caihnavagge. There’s virtually no real good campsite in between these cabins.

The wind was rather mellow for the first hour or so, then it quickly picked up and reached the same strength as yesterday, just considerably colder and accompanied by ice cold rain showers chasing each other until midday. Suddenly the sun started to fight its way through the clouds and the rain stopped for a couple of hours.

The trail is easy to follow and mostly easy to hike, just a few stretches with the rocky ground to consider. This season the streams hold so much less water than normal, allowing rivers, that normally need a change of shoes, to be crossed by just walking over them. On the other hand, the ground was still very wet from all the rain, again making a point for high boot shafts!

The wind continued to be a challenge the entire hike, and to be frank with You, these conditions with cold wind and rain are not just unpleasant. They’re potentially dangerous as it, for one, is very easy to underestimate the cooling effect of the wind (it’s definitely possible to get both frostbites and hypothermia at temperatures well above the freezing point), secondly, the conditions invite to rush, and make poor decisions to get to the goal sooner. Just be aware!

During my descent to Gautelishytta, I got hit by another rain shower, and that, in combination with the sauna at the cabin, made me decide to save the 12km to Caihnavagge for tomorrow instead.

I’m still well on schedule and the next stretch is just not as easy and so I’d rather do that one after a good night’s sleep.
I’ll just hike all the way to either Cunojaure or Unna Allakas tomorrow instead of hitting the pass between here and the next spot this afternoon. Safety first!

 

Side note: The weather starts getting at me, and some of the plans I have for the rest of the tour are just not safe to do under these conditions. So I made the decision to consider breaking the tour early, depending on the weather forecast for next week that I can access on Friday.
Hoping for a positive weather change so I can safely do what I came here for!

 

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 1 – March 23rd 2018

After driving around some to find a trail head with reasonably decent parking space, I finally started the hike from Aspradi along the road to Stradovuoni at 1:30PM.

Going for approximately 1.5 hours, mostly on gravel yet some dirt roads and paved stretches, took me to Kornos picnic area where I could sit in the shade for a little while and refill my water bottles. So far I’ve used 3l already and I can tell that regular refills are going to be of vital importance for the success of this tour.
For the first time ever I go on a multi day hike in a faster state, bringing only water and pink Himalayan salt. My last meal was now over 21 hours ago and hydration is top priority.
I feel just slightly light headed, yet cannot tell if that’s caused by moving into mild hypoglycemia or by being in ketosis.
Actually the latter is more probable as I’ve been going on an unplanned OMAD, apart from my usual fat coffee in the morning (mixing 1tbsp each of coconut oil and butter into my first coffee)for the last two days anyway, just haven’t been hungry more than once a day.
This morning I also skipped the fat in the coffee and my last calorie intake was 6PM last night. I’m pretty amazed by my energy levels so far, and by my lack of hunger.
During this break I used my new water filter for the first time, I found it in a shop in Portland, Oregon, and it’s doing a fantastic job. You can’t really trust the tap water here on Cyprus and it’s a bliss to being independent from finding a store and by bottled water several times a day.
This island is pretty well equipped with public bathrooms and they all have running water. Wouldn’t use it without filtering it first, though!
After 30min break I continued at 3:30 PM and hiked on until 6PM when I easily found a superb camp site right next to the dirt road I was following.
Most of the second part was also gravel and dirt roads, yet about 3.5km (2.2 miles) was paved road and pretty busy with traffic. Not so much fun…
The hiking was pretty soft and easy the whole afternoon and I’d guess I did around 18-19km (about 11 miles) total. I feel really good, still not hungry and energy is rather normal.
Pitched my tent right away as it gets dark here soon after the sun sets at 6, and I guess it’s gonna be an early night. Mostly due to lack of other options.
I’m trying out a new tent for the first time and so far it’s great. It’s a combination of traditional tent and hammock so tonight I use it on the ground for starter. Tomorrow I find some trees!

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 24 – August 20th 2017

10:20 Kebnekaise station

Wow, what a breakfast!!! Waking up in time to be there at 06:00 when they opened was a non issue, I frankly didn’t sleep very well or much at all. There was a heavy rain falling most of the night, the noice of drops falling on the tarp keeping me from getting any real deep sleep.
Thankfully I’ve slept amazingly well all throughout the tour and one night won’t matter that much!

I took it really slow and easy with breakfast, staying with keto friendly foods and intentionally eating well past satiety to refill some reserves. The last few days have been taxing and I know I didn’t eat even close to enough yesterday.
What a marvelous timing to sit in a dry and warm restaurant and watch the rain continue poor down outside the window. As I only plan to do the easy 9km to Tarfala today, there’s no need at all to rush getting started. It looks like the rain stopped just half an hour ago and next I’ll check on the tent to see if I can wipe it off and get packed reasonably dry. I might have to wait for some help from the wind and the forecast says it should be dry now for quite a few hours.

I have to admit that however much I appreciate the breakfast and the comfort of the station here, I’m eager and excited to get away from civilization again. Grateful to be able to connect with loved ones briefly and report that I’m well and enjoying my time here!

20:20 Camp at Darfaljavri

Getting the tent down and packed reasonably dry went considerably well and I had all my stuff together by 12:30.

Then I stayed a lot longer at the Kebnekaise station than I originally planned as I wanted to wait for the manager and get an interview for the Cabin Host series. Finally at 14:30 I departed towards Tarfala and did the 9km in just under three hours. Rushing was not on my agenda!

 

 

Met some people on the trail who treated me to some really nice salami (I think it was Italian), and this was the only piece of food I ate between breakfast and the dinner later.

I stopped briefly at the Tarfala cabin and the host was kind enough to volunteer another interview for the series, once again two videos in one day – great flow.
Tarfala is just amazingly wild and ancient, surrounded by a whole bunch of glaciers creating a very special atmosphere. It’s a very important place for climate studies in Sweden due to the uniquely preserved ice masses.
Right now it’s again too rainy to go out and make a video for you, so I hope I can do my ‘Day 24 video’ tomorrow morning. The clouds quickly squeeze away the last daylight from around here.
I’m probably not going to be up very late tonight anyway, last night I didn’t sleep much due to the heavy rain and I’m looking at a rather rough day tomorrow and will need to be as rested as possible!
I also need relatively good weather to pull the tour of in a safe way so let’s hope and pray that the rain stops before daybreak.

Going down steep snow fields in rain without crampons is a clear no no!

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 23 – August 19th 2017

07:00 Camp in Sinnivagge


It’s a beautiful morning, I got out of the sleeping bag about half an hour ago and have just finished my first coffee with coconut oil. The sky was already mostly blue and clear yet the sun still hidden behind Sinnibakti. Soon after the earth had rotated enough for the mountain to have moved and the rays of the morning sun now hit my tent and warms the air inside.

 

Temperatures outside still clearly indicate that summer is at its end and we’re in the season of fall here in the mountains.
Anyway, being greeted by the sun like this in the morning is not only a great gift from God, it also determines the tour for today. With this weather it would not just be unappreciative but almost heresy to not go for the summit of Kebnekaise. They say that in clear weather one can see 11% of Sweden from up there and this alone is worth some soreness in feet and joints from climbing on rocks and stones. Today they should also be wonderful nice and dry!
I still need to rearrange my equipment and get the last food rations up from the bottom before I leave here. Such a blessing to be able to get that done out here without having to hurry the reorganization process due to bad weather!
Time for another cup of coffee and getting started with this beautiful day!

22:00 Camp near Keb station

What a fantastic hiking day, definitely the physically toughest so far and maybe the toughest of the entire trip. That’s still to be determined!

I got started shortly before 09:00 and followed the stream first northward on the western shore, then, after it started turning eastward I crossed over on the south side. Mostly I stayed on the trail yet some snow fields next to the stream were impossible to resist.
Generally the whole valley was pretty moderate hiking, just constantly uphill which always takes its toll on the hiker.

After reaching the end of Sinnivaggi and starting the climb up the whole action got considerably rougher and the clouds started closing up. Still I decided to go for the summit as I saw a chance of the weather lightening up. Turning sharply uphill to converge with the western trail towards the summit of Kebnekaise carrying me whole backpack admittedly turned out to be brutally challenging. The tour is partly very steep and rather slippery as the stones have been ground into gravel by many feet passing. I motored on slowly and, at times, felt like I’d never reach the end – a feeling greatly enhanced by the clouds closing in even more, lowering the visibility to just 10-15m. It’s just inherently frustrating to not being able to see where one is heading – until making a mental decision not to care any more and just go on. And that’s exactly what I had to do… I knew that sooner or later I’d reach the summit and until I did, I’d just keep putting one foot in front of the other.
The last climb was on packed snow and ice, I was so grateful for my practice sessions, kicking my boots into the snow, I got during the last days pass crossings.
Finally reaching the highest point in Sweden offered a view resembling the inside of a milk carton – the clouds did not lift or dissolve, yet I had climbed the highest mountain in Sweden carrying all my gear, still weighing 22-23kg (somewhere in the realm of 45-50lbs). And I’d done it on two coffees with coconut oil and some PF dissolved in water, without any real breaks in the way up and still feeling energized and strong!

Down at the safety cabin to get some rest and have a snack I got enough water for a coffee, mixed in some PF and downed a bag of nuts. Shortly after the door opens and a man asked if anyone was hungry.

Turns out the search and rescue people, who came to help the crashed plane in 2012, had returned for a reunion – and they had left over hamburgers. I was easily persuaded to dig in on a few hamburger patties and a bunch of cheese.

 

 

Soon thereafter I left the shelter and started the descent, getting the first part done in under an hour, finding some running water and drank a few cups. The rest of the way down was tedious and hard on joints and ligaments, many meters of elevation downhill still to be covered and still no real physical or mental fatigue.

 

Reaching the area around Keb station just 3:40 after leaving the summit I spent some time finding an acceptable camp site. Late in the day that wasn’t easy, yet my tent fits smaller spots than most and finally I had my place and could go for a coffee.
The hamburgers still had me feeling sustained and my ketone readings were excellent and so I decided to leave dinner for tomorrow and just have a light snack in anticipation of the breakfast 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

Day 22 – August 18th 2017

08:00 Camp in center of Kaskasavagge

The night here in Kaskasavagge was cold and comfortable, what a difference when not having to make an effort to just keep the equipment dry.
Frankly I can’t remember when I woke up with a dry tent last time, I’d have to go back and look through my journals.
Today is overcast yet it looks like it will stay dry for now at least, the clouds give this valley a more sinister atmosphere and a feeling of ancient times. It would not be surprising to see a woolly mammoth turn up behind a huge rock.

I’m setting out to start the day going over the pass to Goubirvaggi, then follow that valley westwards back to Tjäktjavaggi and enter Sinnivagge. A few km up that valley I know a really good camp site that I intend to use the coming night.
Then the weather will determine how I continue towards Kebnekaise.

As the afternoon snack yesterday really bumped both my Ketonix readings and my energy levels I chose to complement my fat coffees this morning with some nuts, jerky and ghee. We’ll see how that turns out during the day!

17:05 Camp in Sinnivagge

First let me break the news that I hiked in my normal hiking pants all day, can’t even remember the last day I had no need to change into rain pants!
I’m so incredibly grateful for this beautiful weather, it’s been a little on and off all day yet dry all day through and now I have the sunshine hitting the tent from the east and a beautiful view over the Ruskkas mountains I past on their eastern side just days ago.

The hike today was marvelous, first the ascent to the summit – beautiful views and quite a lot of snow to walk on. I prefer the snow though it’s more physically demanding than rock as one has to kick hole into the snow for each step. It’s just so much easier on joints and ligaments!
It took me about an hour to climb the pass and I made a little video at the summit.

The way down was a lot of fun yet very demanding – I could utilize a few huge snow fields to avoid descending on rocks and it takes an enormous amount of concentration to stay in control on the snow.
Once down at the bottom I hiked a few more km before my eyes and brain needed a little rest and refueling so I took a snack break right down at the lake.


Continuing 45 min later I was perfectly ok with having to go all the way down to Kungsleden and use the bridge to cross Guobirjohka. Fortunately that wasn’t necessary, I kept pretty much south and soon after clearing ‘Drakryggen’ (the mountain is called ‘dragons back’ due to its shape) I saw not only Rabots glacier and a grassing herd of reindeers, but also a wide area of the river where it looked passable. It was indeed and I didn’t even have to get my feet wet!

After the crossing I went down quite some in elevation to round Guobircohkka and turn back east into Sinnivaggi. Nice soft grass to walk on and very easy to find reindeer tracks to follow.

 

 

The actual trail along Sinnjijohka is on the south side of the stream, yet that’s a well worn out trail and I prefer to hike on the north side instead. The first ascent into the valley is physically much more demanding as one needs to climb up to avoid a steep field of rocks. After that it levels out and follows the stream up to the grass field in Sinnivagge.
Once arrived here I just set up camp and got myself some hot tea so now it’s time for an early dinner and probably an early night as well. I’m a little weary after the last two days, more mentally than physically.
Most guide books recommend doing one of these passes per day only and there’s been quite some additional hiking these days.
I guess I just need some rest and recovery and we’re all good again!

Time to relax and enjoy the beautiful spot here in Sinnivagge!

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 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!

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

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!

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

Peace // Claes