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By fungrim, September 6, 2010 22:01

This year we continued our quest to do the entire length of Kungsleden. And when I say “we” I mean R+V (as usual, I’ll have to come up with better nic’s for you guys) and V’s little sister, miss C. As usual we really looked forward to it. Actually, V had been doing lists and planned the stuff since… er… well, last year I guess.

Our strategy was more or less the same as the year before: follow Kungsleden south and camp by the huts, approximately, with possible modifications along the way.

Did we have any new gear? Well, you’ll be unsurprised to know, yes, we had. I mean, it’s not like we’re complete geeks, is it? This year V’s been going on and on and on about lightweight packing, and wimps as we are R and me couldn’t resist her (at east I think that’s the way it went).  So we had slashed our packs and bought some new gear. R+V both sported new backpacks (GoLite Jam and Osprey Exos respectively) and all of us had generally cut down on the equipment.  But not on the food mind you! The food stays! Food is good!

So in the end my new stuff was:

• New sleeping bag: Western Mountaineering, Caribou MF. Sub-kilo down bag, which, with a bag liner, should keep me warm even through most of the autumn. Great stuff! Incredible! Expensive, but damn good buy anyway!
• I also decided to use my Haglöfs Matrix 60L which I had used on one trip only before, instead of my usual heavy packs. The Matrix isn’t extreme lightweight but still, 1.8 kilos instead of 3 makes for a great relief.

All in all I had cut down 2.5 kilos from my base weight and R+V even more. With food my pack weighted about 16 kilos when we started, which makes for a nice change from 18+.

Oh, and miss C was on her second ever trek, but had had great coaching from the rest of us – lightweight pack, lightweight sleeping bag and som on ad infinitum -  so she slotted right in. At least, let’s call it “coaching”, the truth is we’d probably bored her to death by the time we got on with it by talking gear constantly. I mean: All. The. Time.

Day one; To Saltoluokta
R had been working in northern Sweden, and V and miss C had been up at their parents place, so we decided to meet in Gällivare. I would fly up and they’d take the train. Thinking back to last year’s broken backpack (mishandled on the flight) I was a bit hesitant: ought I not pack it quite so tight? Ought I wrap it up in something? But my fears were ungrounded, I flew with NextJet, a small Swedish company only flying domestic, to small airports, the bag made it and on the whole, it was a pleasant experience: calm, relaxed and friendly.

I arrived before the others and met them at the train station. There’s not much to say about Gällivare. We had a rather dreadful hamburger, bought the last of our food, waited a while and then boarded the bus that’d take us to the mountains.

We took the boat across the lake from the place the bus stops, and then promptly proceeded a couple of kilometres up from Saltoluokta to camp above the tree line. A very beautiful sunset and striking view and mosquitoes ended our first day.

Day two; The next lake
This part of Kungsleden has a few lakes that you need to cross. At each you can choose: pay to get a ride or take a rowing boat, but beware: If you plan on rowing you must make sure there’s at least one rowing boat at each shore unless someone else will be stranded, which means that if you arrive and there’s only one boat on your shore you either have to wait until someone crosses from the other side or row over with one boat, tow another back and then return… It may take a while.

Crossing from Saltoluokta to Sitojaure works as a nice warm-up for the rest of the trek. It’s above the tree line and easy going, although quite long (approx. 20 km from Saltoluokta station).  It’s a nice trek but probably nicer still going the other way when you get a great view the second half.

The hut at Sitojaure is small, and located at the next lake. And beware no. 2: there are not a lot of camping space around the hut itself; you’d probably be better off above the tree line. As it where, we arrived first in the day and could pick spots, and even then it was hard; those who arrived later had to take whatever spot of land was left and probably had rather an uneven ground under their tent.

We basked in the evening sun and generally started to seriously relax. This evening we also got the trips only – I repeat, only – rain. And it lasted a whole of 5 minutes… Incredible!

We had a mystery visitor in the night! Both me and miss C woke in the middle of the night by something scratching the tent wall. As soon as we made any noise it’d stop only to come back a few minutes later.  On the third time it came back I made enough noise by slapping the tent wall to make it go away for good. What it was? I have no idea, but it sounded like it tried to get in, right where a plastic bag with sausages had fallen out from my backpack… Probably a bjärv. Yes, I’m quite sure it was a bjärv.

Day three; Closing in…
The morning started with another lake crossing. We decided to pay for the ride (“better be there early, he’s known to go 5 minutes before schedule rather than after”) instead of rowing. We where taken across the lake by a lovely little lady (the wife of “he” in the quote above) who steered us through the reefs in the middle of the crossing with a flair (“imagine the to-do if I sat the boat on a stone… well you know: men are like that”).

This is also where you get your first taste of Sarek and the real wilderness, the view to the west is getting dramatic. But still nothing to what comes later…

The trek to… You get it: the next lake, takes you to Aktse and what a magic place that is! You see, that’s the entrance to Sarek and lies just where Rapadalen ends.

We arrived early in the day, as the trek is quite short, camped above the tree line and basked in the sun. In fact, early enough that we could have made a trip up Skierfe that very day, but decided to relax, and then take Skierfe the next day.

Any bjärvs in the night? None that I noticed.

Day four; … on Sarek
We’ve always wanted to go into Sarek, but never gotten around to it. This was the closest we’ve been so far, as we made it for Skierfe in the early in the morning sun. Skierfe by the way, is a cliff rising some 200 meters above the floor of Rapadalen, and offers a dramatic view into Sarek with its vertical south, south-west side.

As we made it early in the morning we arrived at Skierfe before anyone else. The trek is easy if you start out from above the tree line (it’s probably a bit harder from the Aktse itself as you get a couple of hundred meters more to climb). And it’s… Majestic. Awesome. Brilliant. I really have no words to describe the feeling standing with a 200-meter vertical drop by your feet looking out over Rapadalen, the crown jewel of Sweden, with Sarek beckoning in the distance. Simple one of the coolest places I have ever been to!

When the other day-trippers started to arrive we reluctantly packed our way back to camp.  We rested a few hours and then went down to catch a ride across the next lake with Lennart, the local boatman. It’s a rather curious arrangement: last seasons they’ve had a schedule, but now Lennart drives 2 times a day, at 0900 and 1700. Perhaps. Maybe. And don’t be alarmed if he doesn’t show up on time, he might be somewhere else, picking up someone else. We had to wait 45 minutes until he showed up, but after that everything went smoothly.

I wonder what the Germans we shared the boat with thought though. Lennart’s English isn’t the best (which of course is perfectly natural), and he will want extra if you’re carrying a lot of equipment (which is not unreasonable as weight equals fuel equals cost). But it ended in one rude conversation. It went like this:

“You have 3 large bags. You are 2 persons. Why?”
“Er… We’re taking it across for a friend”
“And how much do you think that will cost?”
“Er… 10€… ?”
“Yes.”

Queue broken English and it sounded like something out of a bad gangster movie. Let’s blame it on the language shall we, but I can’t help wondering what he would have said, had they offered, say 50 instead of 10.

From this point on you’re in the woods. Most of the time, there are still a couple of hours left above the tree line, but mostly you’ll be in the woods. Which to be honest, I find rather boring, but as they say, you have to at least try it.

We went on for a couple of hours through the darkening birch forest. Until the ladies started to tire, we had after all been up to Skierfe as well, and we decided to make the day.  So we found a nice little hollow a stone throw from a river and struck camp. Slightly wet, and a lot of mosquitoes, but nice.

Day five; Pårte FTW
We had camped just below the point where the trail rises up toward the tree line and the mountain again, meaning: we had a nice warm up in the morning. Again the weather was with us, it looked as if it would rain, indeed it looked at one point as if it was inevitable when we were followed by a dark and suspiciously heavy roof of clouds, but no, it drove off and when the afternoon came and we descended down into the forest again, the sky cleared.

Pårte lies on a small bit of land jutting out in a lovely lake. And when we sat there, the final piece of calm descended. There was no one there, the sun shone straight in across the lake and even the mosquitoes kept their distance. Our plan was to stay only to cook dinner, but in the end we just sat there for nearly two hours. Bliss!

It was now after six and we decided to walk for a few hours more, shortening the last distance a bit.  We were closing in on a couple of lakes where we had heard there would be some nice spots to camp, when we met a party coming north. The sun was in my eyes, but I couldn’t help thinking “hey, I know that silhouette!” And sure enough, there was Robban, 2nd bass extraordinaire from St Jacobs Chamber Choir. Small world, eh? He, a son and wife had decided to walk the distance almost on a whim as far as I understood; to the point where they had actually missed to buy maps and just started walking anyway. Even though it‘s Kungsleden and “what could possibly go wrong?” I wouldn’t recommend it, but hey! It was their first day and our last, so I gave them mine and slew of good luck to go with it.

And indeed, there were some very good spots to camp at the lake. Where we had this trip’s only, but very nice and cosy, campfire.  A campfire and some Balvenie Double Wood 12 Years Old? Oh hell yes!

Day six; Black hole and bus
OK, so we didn’t really enjoy the woods. And also, the ground this particular bit is rather uneven. Actually, Robban et alles had been a bit concerned when they met us and was eager to know if the trail got better further north, which we had told them it did indeed. And I understand the concern, going this part of Kungsleden from south to north gives you a rather boring and, if you’re not used to it, kind of rough, start. But you do get all the nice views at the end. Which direction to go, you pick and choose yourself; if I was to do it again, I’d go south to north instead, do the woods early and end with the nice stuff.

So, not much too add really. Down through the woods. A surprisingly good hamburger in Kvikjokk. Bus to a black hole they claimed was actually populated by real people, although it was hard to imagine standing there waiting for the train in something that looked like a ghost town. Then night train home. The end.

Overall? A really, really nice trek with the unforgettable Skierfe and Rapadalen in the middle. I probably never have been that tanned in my entire life. And the lighter packs really made a difference, at the end of the trek my pack probably weighted just over ten kilos (which by the way includes a 2 person tent), and R was probably down to 8 kilos or so. It is a noticeable difference and makes it much easier on your feet and back. I recommend you speak to us before your next trip if your starting weight looks to go above, say, 16 kilos including food.

Yes, we have pretty pictures!

Yes Sarek, we will be back…

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By fungrim, August 26, 2010 18:37

I was about to set down this years trekking memories when I realized I have not documented all of last years trips. Oh my… So I’d better do that then eh? My memory being what it is, this is the trip me, V+R did between Abisko and Kebnekaise last year.

We’d decided to Kungsleden one bit after another and also that we go south, hence Abisko first. We also decided to follow the trail and possible camp close to the Huts.

Any new gear? Well of course… My old trusted Haglöfs boots where finally starting to give in, so I decided to give them an early retirement. And started looking, and looking for something new. It turned exhaustive; there didn’t seem to be any boots that could get a proper grip on my heel. In the end the salesman at Kängspecialisten pointed off to a window saying “oh, you could try those, there quite new but people seems to like them and I’m getting a pair myself soon”.  “Those” turned out to be a shiny pair of Kayland Apex Trek, and hell yes, they fit!

Day one; To Abisko and Abiskojaure
I met R+V at Arlanda in Stockhom to fly up to Kiruna from which we’d take the train to Abisko and immediatey set out to Abiskojaure. The flight was unspectacular. Except for the bagage retreival. Kiruna is a small arport and this flight was mainly made up of hunters, fisher-folks and trekkers. All crowing the small bagage pickup belt in their outdoor clothes. The bagage started to arrive, and immediately there was a wave of sniggers: someones coffee mug came out first… “Someones”, eh? I sniggered with the rest of them until, beteen two backpack, my Kåsa came out, with my watch and Spork neatly tucked inside. Oh… It turned out the zipper to the top lid had broken, nut a huge loss, but I never got back my toiletries, and for a while I was afraid my glasses had been in there as well.

So arriving to Abisko I had to attack the small shop at the station first to buy things like toothbrush, etc. But hell, it could have been worse!

The walk to Abiskojaure was without any big adventurers though. It was heavily overcast as we walked the rather beautiful part through the wildlife preserve. And as we got nearer it looked like it was going to rain for earnest. It did start raining as we reached the Abiskojaure hut, so we camped right at it and used their facilities for the dinner.

Day two; Onwards
We started out in the nice sunshine south through Gardenvaggi, ascending 300 meters fairly quickly and then turning south west on a long and slightly booring trek. The view over Ahppajavri is excellent to the south east, but for some reason it didn’t hook me.

We stopped a few kilometers before Alesjaure and had an un-eventful evening. Nothing much to add here, but we did shift loads a bit in the beginning: V had a few kilos too much which I and R managed to talk off her before lunch

Day three; toward Tjäkta

The day started heavily overcast and stayed that way most of the day until the evening.

The Alesjaure hut lies splendidly on a small rise in the middle of the long valley, and we couldn’t resist stopping for a second breakfast with coffee and a cookie on our way forward. As you pass Alesjaure the view turns a bit more dramatic as well as you continue south west.

Kjäkta lies in the south west end of the valley and some 100 meters above the valley floor, giving it a magnificent view. And as the weather cleared up you couldn’t help feeling envious on those lucky bastards working there. What a place!

We arrived fairly early and spent the evening washing up and relaxing in the nice evening sun.

Day four; Over the top

The mountain pass south of the Kjäkta hut is the actually the highest point on Kungsleden at 1100 meters above the sea level. After the stony bit leading up to the pass, it quickly opens up south giving you a splendid entrance to the magical valley Tjäktavaggi, which runs almost straight southwards and in which the next one and a half days will be spent.

Tjäktavaggi is unusual in that it is fairly long and wide and very straight, but also sports a flat fairly wide valley floor. It is easy walking, especially in the sunshine we had. And every step brings you closer to the might Kebne area where Sweden highest peak lies. A lovely day indeed, although we started to feel we had walked for four days, well trained as we were… We camped at Sälka and decided to take the next day off.

Day five; Magical stillness
This was the first time we had ever just stopped anywhere on our treks and relaxed. The weather was with us and we proceeded to make the least of the day. Basically just sleeping, relaxing, talking and embracing the calm.

At the afternoon at decided to brave Tjäktajåkka and wade to the west side, on a small detour. The wade was long but not hard, and I proceeded up Sälka to have a look at Dalsjön, a small lake nestled in the mountains. The hike not as easy as I had hoped, and involved traversing some fairly steep snow fields. But coming back made it worth the while as I got a stunning view of Kjäktavaggi in the evening sunshine.

And yes, we baked some bread in the evening. When I say we, I mean R+V. Lovely! I can’t recommend it enough, freshly baked bread in the middle of a trek! Lovely indeed!

Day five; And a short-cut
This day we continued south and a had a few choices to make. The trail goes straight south to Singi, but there is also an option to head into the Kebne mountains in the east, taking a rather bold short-cut to Kebnekaise with an option to camp on the way up from Sinnivaggi, greatly short cutting an attempt on top if the weather allowed.

But it would mean quite a bit of ascending with full packs, and also the weather was not it’s best with rain, wind and mist. So we decided to continue south but to strike south east, bypassing Singi and possible camp at lake 980 which apparently has a very good view south west. But we had made very good speed, and when we arrived at the lake some hours after lunch the weather was worse again so we decided to simply press on to the station at Kebne. This would mean a spare day, but we though we could use it to gamble the weather for an extra chance at climbing Kebnekaise.

Day six; Yet more rest
And so we did. We stayed some kilometer from Kebne station and again just enjoyed the luxury of doing nothing for a while. All hoping for good weather the day after to brave Swedens highest peak…

Day seven; Mighty Keb
The weather seemed to play nice with us. As we started up in the morning it wasn’t still certain if the high clouds would lift and permit access to the top, but we decided to chance.

You can walk up Kebnekaise without any tools, but you should be aware of a few facts. The west route up, which is the walking-friendly one, is fairly long and involves crossing a small middle-top adding 500 meters hight-meters to your climb. Also, it is going to be steep and stony and you’ll be at it the whole day. And you might have to wade a bit as well if it has been raining. It is also a tourist attraction, so don’t expect to be alone…

The climb went alright. We met a few people who clearly didn’t know the above compressed facts though. Like the very nice couple we met just under Vierranvarri. The had sports shoes and no clue. For example, they seemed amazed that I knew exactly far it was left and asked me if I had been there before, when I said no, the man seemed perplexed and then asked, “so you know how to read a map then?”

We were indeed lucky in the end. The weather cleared up and as we approached the south top, which is actually a glacier, there weren’t many people around giving us a few special moments at the roof of Sweden. A special call-out to R at this point, as he is actually afraid of heights and made his last meters crawling. But he did make it, which is bloody strong!

Even though Kebnekaise isn’t very high internationally, for a Swede to stand there is special, it is the highest peak in Sweden which you have been taught about in school, and standing there you feel, for a short moment, like you’re king of the world.

The descent also went alright although V started to get tired and R and me had our bad knees to content with. But we took it easy, we had food with us and no real hurry, it was worse for those who hadn’t prepared and started getting really tired and sore without anything to eat. Was it worth the aching knees? Oh hell yes!

Day eight; Just end it will you…
Not much to add here. We went straight east to Nikkaloukta on a very well kept train. Boring though. We had a hotel in Kiruna booked for the night and flew home the day after.

Conclusion
A very good trip. We had two resting days, which wasn’t in the plan exactly but did give us a higher chance on good weather at Kebne, which we took.

And my new boots? Excellent! Truly excellent. There are only three rather small, things I’d like to change on them: 1) they look like super-hero boots: come on, red and silver?! 2) they are made for tougher mountains than this, and the sole is actually almost *too* stiff, if that is possible; and 3) the sole is turned quite a bit upwards at the toes giving you a nice rolling step, however, my big toes would like to have them more straight, which gives me some pressure ache under the soles. Other than that, brilliant stuff, do try Kayland of you’re after new boots. Their new Zephyr seems like a really good choice for the Swedish mountains.

And yes we had whisky. And yes, we have pretty pictures!

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By fungrim, July 26, 2009 21:55

Introduction
Thanks to Carina and Gustav I finally got together the n00b trek I’ve been speaking about for a while. So, Yours Truly, Carina, Gustav and to my happy surprise also Jennyann (also known as Red Eyed Jenna elsewhere on this blog) went for a short hike in the Abisko range in the beginning of July.

Yes, we have pretty pictures!

As usual, being a complete nerd, I had some new equipment:

• Hilleberg Allak. A two person tent, and of course in Hilleberg’s usual standard, in other words absolutely lovely. And in a red lovely color.
• Exped Alpine poles. I was curious as to how it would be waling with poles. I ended up using one pole and Jenna the other. It was indeed very good, good for the balance but also I imagined it helps the back by introducing small movements in the shoulder area.

The simple plan looked like this:

• Night train to Låktatjåkka train stop
• Låktatjåkka -> Rissajavri (Geargevaggi)
• Geargevaggi -> Låktatjåkka station -> Latnjavaggi
• Latnjavaggi -> Gorsavagi (east end)
• Gorsavaggi -> Abisko (and fly home from Kiruna)

Day one and two; The dreaded train
I’ll point out directly that I’m no particular fan of the night train to northern Sweden. I have, after all, lived up there, and it ended up with me swearing never to set my foot on the train again. However, that was a few years back and this time we’d be travelling in a group, thus getting our own compartment, so when C+G actually wanted to take the train I made an exception.

And it was actually very good. A nice slow start to the trek, and sharing a compartment with friends as good as C+g and Jenna is rather harmless. So we talked, talked, slept and then all of a sudden it was afternoon again, and we had arrived at Låktatjåkka (which is basically only a small hut beside the rails).

We went up Geargevaggi – which is a gourgeus valley with rather interesting stone formations – heading for “Trollsjön”. Quite a few day trippers, but as it was late afternoon and we didn’t need to get back to the car afterwards, but they did, we mostly met those on their way back. Trollsjön is completely clear down to 24 meters (owning to copper traces in the water) and a really nice location. Ice on the water and majestic mountain sides.

The ladies had promised they would take a swim. I mean, seriously, how cold can it be? But for some reason I must have missed it…

We went back a kilometre or two in the valley and found a really nice spot for the night. The weather was gorgeous and the sunset striking.

Day three; Up and down and rain
We back tracked Gorsavaggi and then went up Loktajonka towards the Låktatjåkka Station. The rain entered as we where striking the tents and then kept as a steady downpour for a couple of hours. Also, it was rather windy. And we needed to take some height before reaching Låktatjåkka at 1200 meters above sea level. Brace yourselves ducklings! This is where it gets harder

The shelter in Gorsavaggi came in really handy for lunch. And a huge applause to whomever left the shelter just before we came. It was warm and cosy!

During lunch the rain let off and we could climb the last bit rather easily. The Låktatjåkka station is manned and well stocked. I believe the ladies in particular enjoyed themselves (with a bit of help by a “våffla”).

We aimed south for Latnjavaggi. There was a bit a snow to get over, and the path wasn’t always clear, but no big obstacles (not counting when yours truly temporarily lost his mind, crossing a snow field leading everyone over a completely stupid and unsafe snow bridge).

We went up Geargevaggi – which is a gourgeus valley with rather interesting stone forLatnjavaggi was a very good spot for the night. Plenty of water, nice flat soft ground and stunning surroundings. And reindeer. A. Lot. Of. Reindeer.

They came slowly during the evening. Small groups entering the valley. But keeping their distance. Until we sat down in C+G’s tent for a small night cap, when they obviously surrounded the tent… Stupid animals!

When the sun hit the tent wall in the morning it quickly became very warm. Jenna, who wasn’t quite prepared, looked half-panicked and scrambled out, only to realize that there was now several hundred reindeer in the valley, surrounding us completely!

As you should disturb reindeer in the Swedish mountains I was a bit worried that we’d have to back track or take a ridiculous way out of the valley. But thankfully a herder came by and all of a sudden all the stupid meat was gone again.

Day four; Down Gorsavaggi
The exit of Latnjavaggi into Gorsavaggi is dramatic and well worth the trip in it self. This is where the magic grandeur and splendour of the mountains really hit you. I could spend hours just sitting there, watching the valley floor below.

We lunched at the Gorsavaggi station. Hat off to the man who provided the lunch time entertainment by making the crossing below a bit hard on himself. It is a long streak of water, not very deep, but significant. And he hesitated, stopped, climbed rocks and eventually half fell to his side, only to quickly jump to his feet and give us – who where sitting like a jury on a small rise just above him – a friendly wave. He also was good sport and gave a stage bow as we applauded him when he was over.

We landed for the night at the end of the valley, just outside the wildlife preserve (in which you’re not allowed to camp). C+G went for a small expedition of the mountain side. Me and Jenna settled for a wind-free spot, with whisky and a wonderful view and soft conversation.

Day five; High flying home
The next day we needed to make the train in Abisko by lunchtime, so we started a bit earlier than the other days. The trek down was lovely through the birch woods of the Abisko wildlife preserve.

We took the train from Abisko to Kiruna. In Kiruna we had the almost traditional after-trek-pizza, talked to some German fellas, and visited the lovely little wooden church while waited for the taxi to the airport.

And then, home.

Over and out: Fjällborgarmärket
So how did it go for my little ducklings? Did they enjoy themselves? Did they exit with flying flags and high colours? Did they in fact make it?

Yes, I do think they did!

Jenna and Gustav brought the whisky. And it was lovely.

We have pretty pictures!

Comments (2)

By fungrim, September 15, 2008 22:46

Introduction
I have talked about walking alone for some time now… Actually, since I started hiking the Swedish mountains. But I never got around to it. Until now.

Since this would be my first time up alone, and also because I was on a bit of a budget, I decided to go back to Grövelsjön again. Easy to get to cheaply and also familiar, which felt safe and comfortable.

I had a bit of equipment upgrade for this trip.

• Therm-A-Rest Z Lite mattress. An instant hit. Light, compact, not very expensive, and warm. Apparently some people have had problems with condensation in the small “egg shell holes”, but so far I haven’t seen it.
• Primus EtaExpress stove. All thumbs up here. Fast, light and… and… just good, OK?

I also decided to make it a fairly short trip. Going up to Grövelsjön over a day, staying at STF (hostel) there over the night, hike around Töfingen (lake) and its wild life preserve, and then back. Day by day:

• To Grövelsjön, stay the night at STF
• Grövelsjön -> Hävlingstugorna -> Slagufjället
• Slagufjället -> Spångkojan -> Nedersthån
• Nedersthån -> Grövelsjön -> Home

Sound easy huh? Well, it was and it wasn’t.

Day one; Travel on
So… Train to Borlänge, another train to Mora and then 4 hours of bus 170 to Grövelsjön. Total travel time, aprox. 8 hours. Whee!

But in reality, it’s not that hard. I’m getting quite good zoning out and just passing time when traveling. At least as long as I have earplugs or head phones to shut out conversations around me.

The trains where uneventful. The bus…interesting. This was after all a thursday evening, which meant that there weren’t many people on the bus to start with and they just dropped off. From Idre and onwards there was me and… the driver

I’ve stayed at STF before. A nice place. Helpful and friendly people. However, this time I was only slightly disappointed by the dinner. A hamburger which left a lot to wish for. Dry, tasteless and rather sad. But I did have a Belgian very dark, very nice beer (Bernard?) to it so that’s alright

Update: If I whine about the ‘burger, I absolutely must mention the breakfast: It’s excellent! Really, really nice. 5 out of 5 on my personal scale.

Most other guests seemed to be day trippers. This was a bit off season of course. But surprisingly many guests there, which is nice.

I slept very well thank you.

Day two; Overcast and warming up
I followed the trail east of Jacobshöjden up to Hävlingstugorna. Or rather, I went off track immediately slightly west of the real track towards Jacobshöjden. Could have been a bad idea as the terrain there is rocky.

Och yes, I learned that, and no one is going to be surprised by this, Grövelsjöns name probably comes from the Norwegian word gravel which means stone or rock. You can just image someone looking at the place thinking “oh dear, this is a rocky place indeed, what shall I call it?”

I hit the track again north of Jacobshöjden and continued. The tracks leading out half a day from STF ghware all well walked “highways” making for good speed.

I lunched at the lean to north of the bridge between Hävlingen and Särsjön. The day was overcast, but now the sun decided to honor me with a visit making the quiet little meal a treat.

I had opted for bought dry food for this trip for convenie. Worked well.

The part from Särsjön east to Slagufjället looks like its going to be easy, but be warned, you’re now outside the day-tripper area. Also, this is a wild life preserve. It was very beautiful, but also rather hard to walk. And I now started a game which lasted for well over 24 hours called “spot the path”

“Spot the path” reached its peak late afternoon when I decided to take the small track down to Töfingen and have a look. Oh dear, you wouldn’t want to try to hurry about that path.

In the end I struck tent behind the east-most lean to. And started to relax.

Two things to note at this part of the tale: It’s getting dark early. It’s getting cold over the nights. Which meant getting into the tent at 2000 or so. I had bought a small lantern for the tent time which was very comforting. Also I had Douglas Adams as an ebook. Which also was nice.

The night was cold with the tent covered in frost in the morning. It was very nice, but I was slightly unprepared, and problem is: When you wake up at 0400 in the morning realising your slightly under-dressed, you still really don’t want to get out of you sleeping bag to fix the problem. It’s much easier to just lie still and hope for morning

Day three; Hard to come by
Nice weather. The path up east through the birch forest towards Spånhkojan was lovely in the morning light. Here the calm of the mountains reached me, I figured I’d been slightly nervous the first day, but having survivied the first night with flying color I started to relax.

Through the forest to Spångkojan the path was again rough. Not hard to spot, just… fairly rough walked. But nice and varying.

For some reason I had figured that going up from Spångkojan following Storån would be a little bit easier. I… was wrong. Dead wrong The first 3 kilometers or so of that particular bit was surprisingly hard. The path occationally hard to spot (the game continues), climbing over boulders, under stocks, getting across moors. You got the whole package there.

In fact, I met passed an older guy at the end who seemed almost chocked. He had very much *not* counted on the toughness of that last bit.

After Töfingån came down the path got a lot better and I started to make up lost time (remember, it get’s dark early, you don’t want to be cought without your camp setup after nightfall).

I planned to make camp at aprox. the same place as two years back. I found the place altough I coulnd’t pinpoint the exakt place we had had the tents. But I remember to suroundings well. In fact, I think I must have been very close indeed, the stone in the brook where I washed up looked decidedly familiar

As it went I found a very nice spot among the birches. A spot which didn’t get frost for some reason, in the morning a could see frost all around, but not in my little copse.

The evening was spent with La Boheme -69 (Pavarotti, Wixell) and sundown over Slagufjälet.

Day four; Homerun
Since you tend to wake with the sun when you also go to bed with the sun, I now witnessed my first sunrise in… Er.. A long time apparently

Blazing sun and clear skies. Also, again within day tripper range of STF which meant nice paths again.

I passed on the path cutting north west of Storvätteshågna and straight home. In fact, since I really didn’t want to cut it to close to my bus departure, I made sure I had plenty of time and arrived 2 hours early at Blåkläppen just above STF. So, I stopped, had lunch and promptly laid my self down for a bit of a siesta in the sunshine. Lovely stuff!

The bus down to Mora was packed. This was sunday after all, and every student and their dog needs to get out of the woods back to civilization. It went alright though.

The calm of the mountains stayed with me for the train trip as well. I din’t mind it being late. Or packed. I had my head phones and my peace.

Aftermath and after thoughs
So, how was it, doing it alone? It was very nice. Although… I had hoped for some sort of… I don’t know, revelation? Nothing big mind you, but I know how the lonely wolf inside me can feel when the large vistas opens up before him. Exaltation. Freedom. You get the picture. But I figure that didn’t happen, and perhaps for a very simple reason: I’m a fairly high-controlled guy, I like thinking before doing. I like knowing what and how to do things. And exaltation and revalation is more, in my experience, of *not* tightly controlling things. And perhaps alone in the mountains isn’t the best time for me to let it all go with the wind eh?

But don’t get me wrong, the second and third day had some truly lovely moments. Also, going alone puts a very real edge on every step you take, it’s for real and no messing up my boy, or there’ll be trouble of a kind sheltered city-people like me aren’t really prepared for. I like that edge. I like it a lot.

There’s a small problem with my tent as well. When you’re out this late, condensation is always going to be with you and in a small tent (in propertion to you size) you absolutely cannot get aways in the mornings without touchin the inner tent when dressing. Meaning you’ll get wet. Also, a small tent (again in proportion) makes it hard to relax in the evenings and/or reainy days. My next late autumn solo-wolk I’ll consider carrying a two person tent despite the extra kilos.

The whisky for the trip was Morrison’s Islay Legend, a blend of Islay whiskys based on Bowmore. Quite good, I’m sipping it now as well

Yes, we have pretty pictures!

The aftermath? Well I came back late sunday, emptied my back pack in my living room (this includes the tent, separated, which needed to dry out). Worked 12 hours a day for two days and then disappeared to Fano for the choir tour with St Jacobs CC. I still have camping gear all over my living room

Will I do it again? Oh hell yes!

Comments (3)

By fungrim, July 8, 2008 19:56

Introduction
The normal gang, ie. yours truly, Marc, R+V was complimented this year by a man called Gustav to Fulufjällen. You never now what the cat drags in, but Gustav was actually a fairly normal person, and kind of cool too, which was a relief…

This year I actually know there will be people reading this little travelogue, which means… I don’t know, perhaps I’ll keep it shorter than normal i cheer protest? Anyway, I had no new equipment this year. I was a bit strapped for cash, and really, I do have most of the things I need, it’s the wants that’s the problem, and those can be overcome by determination. Or so I’ve heard. I do want to change my mattress to something else.. *grumble grumble*

This was the 3rd time I went out with my Akto tent. And by damn, it just gets better and better. Marc and Gustav shared another Hilleberg and R+V went in their Nallo GT.

The plan was simple, we’d go by car to Mora to Marc’s parents small cottage in Sörsjön, park one car there and another at Njupeskär, and then walk “between the cars” over Östra Tangen and then north.

This is what it ended up like:

• Day 1: To Sörsjön
• Day 2: Sörsjön -> Tangådalen (over Östra Tangen)
• Day 3: Tangådalen -> Tangsjöstugan
• Day 4: Tangsjästugan -> Rörsjöstugan
• Day 5: Rörsjöstugan -> Njupeskät -> Home

Day one; Luxury start
Me, R+V started off from Stockholm by car in the damn eraly bird morning. As an added bonus, all public transport buses in Stockholm where on strike, meaning I had to simply walk to the train station (which would take me up to R+V place north of the central town). Mmmm, early morning walking. Mmmmm.

Anyway, I survived that, and Rolf expediently drove us up to Mora where we in short order: 1) met Gustav who’d come down from Umeå; 2) got stuffed on burgers fresh of the grilli; and 3) finished off the shopping and got under way to Sörsjön.

Sörsjön is… A nice place. Sorrounded by water and stunning nature. It does however have mosquitos. A. Lot. Of. Them. And at this point a curious pattern emerged. The otherwise animal-friendly and soft Gustav turned out to hate mosquitos with a vengence. He only wanted to kill them. Hard. And brutally. While the mosquitos loved him, wanted to cherish him, stay close to him, and ultimately, bite him.

The evening ended with a brilliant wok performed by the ever surprising Rolf. In fact R+V took care of the cooking this trip, and did so brilliantly. And there was a bottle of Shiraz involved as well. Penfolds Koonunga Hill I do believe it was.

Day two; The heat is on
Some of us woke early. But that I mean, I was up quite some time before the rest of the pack. The mosquitoes in the cottage drove me mad, untill I surendered and moved out in the early morning sun instead.

It was a brilliant early morning though.

Also, we had good weather almost the entire duration of the trek. And it started here. As we made our way up the woods towards Östra Tangen it quickly became apparent that this would be a hot trip indeed.

Starting with woodlands was also a nice warm up for the walk and as we closed in on the mountains the woods were nice and varied. Although slightly rough the last kilometer or so, climbing very quickly upwards giving your muscles a final rough down. Compared to the dramatic ending of the woods, crossing Östra Tangen was eventless, and to be honest, rather boring.

Day three; What path?
We were lucky and stumbled upon a brilliant camping place right next to Tangån the day before; rushing waters, sunshine and a very nice woodland valley. We continued up the valley floor following the river. This seemed fine as an idea but quickly turned out to be slightly harder than we had anticipated. There was a path marked on the maps, however it was marked as “hard to navigate” and that was an understatement.

But hell, it was fun. And featuring a very, very beautiful, gnarly, wild and wondrous woodland. Here I did wish for a better camera, I didn’t even try to capture this part with my little Pentax, it just wouldn’t make it justice.

After much amazement and a very slow pace we arrived at Tangåstugan were we met the worlds tiredest dog ^tm.

Continuing up towards Tangsjöstugan, you’re again reminded that Fulufjällen, although reknowned for their variyng landscapes and flowers and wildlife and what not, offer a very uniform view on “kalfjället”. Not very inspiring, and since the first day of walking was kind of tuff for untrained rookies like us, the second day, ending as it did with a stretch of uniform “lets just get across this bit” of walking, I think it is safe to say that I wasn’t alone in being damn tired when we arrived at Tangsjöstugan.

We made camp close by, and collapsed for an hour or so. The evening featured, in no particular order: Yet another, by trekking standards, luxurious meal; a fire; some pipesmoking; a surreal d-day mosquito invasion across the lake; yours truly submerging his left foot in the lake (with the boot on) for no apparent reason at all (which, let me tell you, offers a very refreshing view on the intelligence of men in general and this particular man specificly); a very nice sunset; Lindemans bin 45 Cabernet Sauvignon; and, some more whisky.

Day four; Re-la-la-laxing
We were all relieved that the last day apparently was to be relaxed. A nice short trek (10km or so). And the possibility of a sauna and some refreshments at the, or so the rumor said, well stocked Rörsjöstugan. And so it was. And personally, the first 5km will stand out in my memory; the weather was nice, I had no particular pains, and the path seemed to simply flow below me without me noticing. Really, really nice.

Rörsjöstugan did indeed have a sauna. And they sold beer. They also had the worlds most close mouthed mother of a host ^tm, but hell, given the sauna and the beer we didn’t mind too much.

Here I also lived through something which will settle nicely at 2nd place on my personal “amazingly surprising uncommon things to do”-list when I by accident almost stepped on a nest with a baby “ripa”, after which her mother literally chased me back to, and around, the camp. Brilliant fun for the entire family! (For reference, the 1st place on said list involves accidentially tripping on a rat).

Later me and Marc went to the top of Njupeskär to see if the passage north of the fall down to the valley was an option. Again, a very nice evening and now also a dramatic landscape. However, the bridge at the top Njupeskär was swept away in the spring floods and had yet to be replaced, so we decied to take the easy way down the day after.

After which the rain entered. And didn’t let go…

Day six; Home through the rain

We cleared the camp in hard rain which simply did not stop, went down to the car, walked up to Njupeskär to have a look, ate lunch at the restaurant and went home.

This was yet again a very nice trip. The weather was very nice until the end, there was no big hickups and, yes, we had not forgotten sunscreen this year.

Yes, we have pretty pictures!

Now I’m thinking of hitting the mountains one or two more times this year. One with a few friends who’ve never been up there trekking and one trip by myself. It’s just… er… that I’ve been saying that for 3 years straight. Well, 3rd time’s the charm, eh?

Oh, and the whisky for the trip was Caol Ila 12YO. And good it was too.

Damn, I love this stuff!

Comments (0)

By fungrim, June 30, 2008 20:09

Wednesday, me, R+V, Marc and the mysterious Gustav will do Fulufjällen for 4 (½) days. Am I looking forward to it? Oh hell yes. For reference, this is my pack list for the year.

Clothes

• Socks (2 pair thick “boot socks” and 3 pair ordinary sport socks)
• Boots
• Sneakers (for camp and wading)
• “Layer 1″, leggings and long sleeve top
• Underwear
• Trousers (outdoor ones), and suspenders
• 2 t-shirts (”breathing” sport ones)
• Shirt
• Fleece
• “Layer 3″, gore tex jacket and trousers
• Hat and cap (hat for sleeping in)
• Gloves (wind proof fleece, and “layer 3″ gore tex)

Personal

• Backpack with camelback
• Sleeping bag
• “Travel mattress” (have no idea what its called)
• Packing bags (small ones)
• Some extra straps
• Matches
• Knife
• “Kåsa” (no idea how to translate) and mug, and spork
• ½ liter water bottle
• Towel
• Watch

Shared gear

• Trangia (and fuel)
• Tent
• Flashlight
• Plastic bag for garbage
• Washing up stuff
• Water bag
• Map and compass
• Camera
• Extra shoe straps

Hygiene and related stuff

• Toilette paper
• Soap
• Lipstick
• Sun screen
• “Skin moisture creme”
• Toothbrush and paste
• Sports tape
• Compeed
• 1st care stuff
• Mosquito screen

That’s it. Easy huh?

…

Oh, and whisky!

Comments (4)

By fungrim, July 23, 2007 19:05

Introduction
Again off to Grövelsjön. This year R+V and I had really expected to go somewhere a bit north but time constraints (largely mine, due to a new company) made us return to Grövelsjön, this time to go into the Norwegian mountains.

Here’s some of the equipment I used for this trip:

• Haglöfs “Solid” boots.
• Hilleberg “Akto” 1 pers. tent.
• Fjällräven “Råstu” 75L back pack.
• Fjällräven “Siluette M5” sleeping bag.
• Fjällräven “Vidda” trousers. New!
• Icebreaker “Skin200” leggings/crewe. New!

I really needed new trousers and Fjällräven makes excellent stuff. I’m really satisfied with them. The Icebreaker layer one was bought on a whim, but damn! Good stuff. Hot or cold, they were just there: Day two I went to bed and got really surprised when I realized I still had them on. Excellent!

Oh, and yes: R+V had a new Hilleberg tent, a “Nammatj Nallo GT”. And… I think we’re all actually slightly in love with Hilleberg. Personality and details and low weight and… Here’s a fan photo.

Update 20070727: V herself pops by in the comments and corrects me, it was of course a “Nallo” and not a “Nammatj”. My Bad

The Failed Plan
This was the original plan:

• Stay at STF Grövelsjön.
• Day 1: Boat to Ryvang, walk north and follow the east/north east edge of Grøthögna. Sleep north of Sylfjellet.
• Day 2: Cross over towards Svukuriset, strike tents, and take a trip to the top of Stor-Svuku.
• Day 3: Go east past Rønsjøen to Sylen. Strike tents.
• Day 4: Back to Grövelsjön on foot.

Now, grövelsjön (the lake) can be a bit rough in strong northerly winds. And of course: Day one there was indeed a strong northerly wind and the boat was canceled. Thus we had a quick change of plans.

STF Grövelsjön
Since we drove from Stockholm it was convenient to stay the night befor egoing out. Really nice place! Excellent breakfast! Nice staff! A good whisky shelf! Recommended!

Day one; Wind in our faces
The boat was cancelled, so instead we started off taking the track to Ryvang/Sylen and then continued onwards north west over Sylvola to strike the tens at Rønsjøen. Sounds easy, right? Well, there was just one problem here: we had the wind in our faces the entire day. Just ascending the side of Sjöhöjden with full packs was a real pain and when we arrived at Rønsjøen… Let’s just say we were pretty damn tired.

If not for the wind, it’d been a very good day. Just some small showers, and we proceeded to find a very nice camping spot south of the lake: flat, close to the lake, lush green grass and away from the wind. You can spot where I slept, right?

Day two; Stones, mosquitoes, pain and desserts
The wind was not as strong this day. And again just some very small showers. We followed the track west towards Svukuriset, but turned east again on the Linné path, and stopped just past Revlingsjøarne. The path past Revlingkletten was slightly stony. The birch forest around Revlingsjøarne was lovely and the sun shone down on us in the evening.

Any problems? Well, two major ones: (1) Mosquitoes; and (2) A bad knee. Normally mosquitoes are a part of the deal when in north Sweden. However, this time… It was a bit silly really. But one shouldn’t complain, we had plenty of Djungelolja (anti-mosquito oil), thank goodness. R’s bad knee was a bit more serious though. Apparently he had managed to hurt it in some unspecified way the day before, and at the end of the days walk he was in serious pain. What to do? I had some heavy duty bandage (to use for stabilizing knees, shoulders etc), but if that wouldn’t be enough? So we formulated an emergency plan: If R would feel better the next morning he and V would backtrack the few kilometers to Svukurisets Fjellstation (manned mountain “lodge”), I’d press on to Grövelsjön to pick up the car and then take it back into Norway to pick them up.

The evening was brilliant! Sunset over Revlingsjøarne. Very nice indeed. We also had a small cake (sockerkaka) for the evening coffee. That’s the sort of moments I live for.

Day three; Red noses and deserts
But thankfully we never had to try our emergency bad-knee plan. R decided to press on and at the end of the day his pain had disappeared almost entirely. We continued on the Linné track over Forborgen and struck an early camp on the plateau between Forborgen and Salsfjellet. As we’d drive back to Stockholm day four we decided we could make an early camp to safe the short distance back to the car for the next day. Also, the sky was entirely clear and having a few hours with our feet out of the boots felt like a really neat idea.

However, we had made the absolute noob mistake of forgetting the sunscreen. R and V made it through alright, but I had problems rather early in the day as my nose turned redder, and redder and… Hence:

• Sunscreen attempt no. one
• And attempt no. two (the winner)

A glorious day. Almost two much so, no wind and the air was standing still. It was very, very hot. And on a place like that, where there is no cover what so ever, the mountains started to feel like a desert with no shade to be found. But we’re not complaining, it was very nice.

Day four; An easy stroll
The pass over Salsfjellet and back to Grövelsjön was an easy stroll indeed. We started early as we had a 6-7 hour drive ahead as well. All in all, the Linné track between Grövelsjön and Svukurisets Fjellstation is extremely easy to walk, it felt like a highway compared to some of the rougher paths we’ve encountered (the pass over Sølenskardet at Rendalssølen comes to mind).

As we came over the pass the touri… erm… the day trippers appeared again. Otherwise we encountered people only occasionally once or twice a day.

At the End
A very nice trip. The best weather we’ve ever had. No real hickups except the missing sunscreen. A nice total distance walked. No mountain top this time, but the weather more than made up for it. Sitting down in the car at the end was a bit sad, you felt like you could have continued for a while longer. And next year we’ll probably do just that and spend an entire week trekking. 7 > 4, right?

Marc wasn’t with us this trip. That counts as a big minus, but perhaps that’s why the weather was so nice, eh?

The whisky for the trip was Bowmore Darkest.

Yes, we have pretty pictures!

I’m already looking forward to the next trip…

Comments (3)

By fungrim, September 16, 2006 10:24

Introduction
Well then, a two day trip to Grövelsjön is on the agenda. The idea was R+V’s although I had talked about getting up in the mountains one more time this year. The plan was to take it easy, stay at Lövåsgårdens Fjällhotell (hotel) the first night and then get out Saturday. Be back at the car Sunday late afternoon again.

Here’s some of the equipment I used for this trip:

• Haglöfs “Solid” boots.
• Hilleberg “Akto” 1 pers. tent. New!
• Fjällräven “Råstu” 75L back pack.
• Fjällräven “Siluette M5” sleeping bag.

The exciting thing being the new tent of course. Hilleberg generally makes excellent tent and the Akto is certainly not any exception. Very light, 1.5 kg, and extremely easy to set up and tear down. Absolutely brilliant stuff.

Interlude; The Hotel
Since this was to be an easy trip we, or rather R+V, had decided to stay the the Lövåsgårdens Fjällhotell the first night. No complaints about that decision! Three course dinner with decent wine, nice enough rooms and a feeling of luxury set up a perfect start of the weekend. Most people staying there looked like day trippers, staying the weekend and making short walk on the mountain side during the days…. Which looked, having been there, as a bloody brilliant vacation as well.

Day one: Off on the mountain side
Another brilliant part of staying at a hotel the night before going out is of course… breakfast!! This wasn’t exactly a Hilton international, but before going out to live on hard bread and soups for two days it was magnificent.

The hotel is situated right on the side of the kalfjäll (above mountain tree limit). We set out almost straight north, following the track up passing between western and eastern Barfredågna targeting the small hut Oscarsstugan, where we stopped for coffee.

Out original plan was to try Storvätteshågna (1204 m) the first day but we’d been tipped off at the hotel that maybe the weather would be better the next day. The Saturday was slightly overcast and quite windy. So instead we continued straight north on an unmarked track between Storvätteshågna and Fosksjökläpparna, aiming for the north side of Storvätteshågna for the night.

We passed the plateau north of Övre Fosksjön on the marked summer track after lunch. before this we had seen the occasional day tripper aiming for Storvätteshågna from Grövelsjön but from this point onward we didn’t see anyone until returning the next day.

We stopped early afternoon just below the tree limit north north-west of Nedersthån north of Storvätteshågna. Where R proceeded to magic up a small bottle of wine and some parmegiano cheese for the ready made pasta carbonara. Lovely stuff!

(And yes, I did have some whisky with me as well. A half litre 12 YO MacAllan in a plastic bottle. Really? Did you think I would not have?)

At the evening the sun emerged. R relaxed, V picked a litre of blue berries in no time – the north side of Storvätteshågna was filled with them! – and I took a small walk down to the first lake on the border of Töfingdalens Nationalpark (töfingdalens wild life preserve) before sitting around a small fire, sipping MacAllan and eating blue berries. Neat? You bet!

Day two; Up and up we go
We went straight up on Storvätteshågna following the marked summer track. It could have been worse, but starting your day with 400 meters height difference on 2 km walking (gaining 2 meters for every 10 you walk) will wake you up nicely. However, we weren’t in any hurry and did stop to admire the view occasionally.

The day was semi overcast but not as windy as the Saturday. And when we reached the top the clouds broke and we had blue skies and sunshine! Beautiful does really cover it. We sat with our lunch at the top of Storvätteshågna for an hour just baking in the sun and generally feeling great.

From there on it was easy walking south back to Lövåsen. Although we almost took a wrong turn, where the summer track turns slightly south east towards Lillvätteshågna we almost managed to turn south west instead… Brilliant. R and me was completely out in the blue but thanks to V we figured it out.

The end words; The motorway inspection
If there’s one think you can count on, it is that if you car is going to break down, it is going to do so in the middle of the night after two days of trekking, and is going to do so in the middle of the motorway… But fortunately it was just outside Enköping (close to Stockholm) and also fortunately, I hear from R+V that it wasn’t very hard to fix nor very expensive. Annoying though? A bit.

But ignoring the car accident: ‘Twas a lovely weekend!

Update 20061004:
I finally got my thumb working again. We know have pretty pictures!