Comments (1)

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 (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!