of Lars J. Nilsson

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…

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!