Tag: Sweden

I slept in!  Glorious!  The English neighbours kept me up until 11pm.  I did wake up freezing at 2am and put my down jacket on and then slept soundly until 7am.  Made myself breakfast in bed and then dismantled my tent.

I wandered past the Aiger hut en route to Ammarnas town.  The huts here are quite flash but expensive – about £25 for a dorm bed.  For that you do get a sauna also.   And they sell food, which is more than you can get in a hut in NZ.  I have been a bit spoilt in France as for more or less the same price they give you a bed and also cook you a four course dinner and breakfast.  And the other downside of the Swedish huts is that you are expected to contribute to the chores by hauling water and chopping wood.   I guess if I am going to haul water then I may as well just camp, and it’s free 

It was a nice gentle 8k wander down into Ammarnas town. Like most hikers I was already fantasising about what yummy food they might have (yes even after just two nights camping). Hmmmm, I was sure there would be a bakery with a world class freshly baked cinnamon roll (the swedes are famous for their cinnamon rolls) and some rye bread with dark chocolate chunks and dried apricots…. And I would get a great coffee to have with it. Not so much! The ‘supermarket’ opened as I rolled into town around ten and it had a world class display of fish, liver and cheese paste in tubes. No fresh bread, no cinnamon rolls. Oh well, I bought some fruit and some chocolate and headed to the cafe. The cafe was closed but they did give me a coffee – £2.50 for the coffee from the pump thermos which had been sitting there since breakfast…. Oh the disappointment…..

Leaving Ammarnas I was heading into the wilder part of the trail – 166km with no huts and only two small villages.  The trail wasn’t very well marked as few people hike this stretch.  Heading out of town there were multiple trails, no signposts, and my map didn’t help much as it only had one trail on it.  Oh well, a bit of reckoning with the compass, and mostly dumb luck and I eventually picked a trail.  For 17km I didn’t see a soul, and I startled five reindeer….it was lovely, although it might have been been nice to see someone to make sure I was on the right trail as there were multiple trail options and still no signposts.   There is nothing more disconcerting to a hiker than walking a long way and then having to turn around…. While hiking is lovely, hiking the wrong way and backtracking really isn’t…

Heading down to Ravfjallstugan I did run into to Norwegian mountain bikers who confirmed I was on the right track… Very amusing, one had panniers, but the other was cycling with a huge hiking pack.  Well I say cycling, but they were pushing the bikes when I saw them…. 

After a late lunch at Ravfjallstugan of chilli and bread (my fantasy of running into a generous Sami family grilling reindeer steaks didn’t pan out either), I checked the map for an obvious camping destination for the night and there weren’t many …. So walked another 10k up onto the high reindeer ground and have pitched camp next to one of the few rivers and I have a herd of reindeer entertaining me on the other bank.   I have only seen one tent since leaving the valley at Ravfjallstugan so fingers crossed I won’t have any neighbours tonight. 

Distance travelled= 40.1 km from 1km short of Aiger hut to the Davta bavnna bridge

Ascent=1153m

So as far as I can tell, while the sun when down last night, it didn’t ever get dark.  I woke up to pee a few times (a combination of the cold, the babbling brook feeding the lake, and too many cups of tea before bed) and it was bright all night

There was a fair amount of nocturnal activity as well.  I thought I was totally alone but heard voices and the noise of an engine around 11pm.  I clearly hadn’t been out of London long enough as I started looking for my knife, and then I remembered I was in one of the safest countries in the world.  I couldn’t actually see anyone but noise carries a fair way over water, and they puttered around out there until about 1am

First night in the tent is always a tough one, so I gave up trying to sleep around 5.30 and had a leisurely breakfast of cheesy grits and powdered eggs and a litre of coffee.  I set off into the mist around 7 to walk through a stunning bridged section of the archipelago.  The sun was trying and failing to burn the mist off, but I actually enjoyed the eerieness.  I passed a few tents en route to the next hut but didn’t see my first hiker until 9.30, and they had just left the hut…. It’s a fairly laid back approach here…. Most people walk for no more than 15k per day, and like to take extended breaks 

The swedes are extremely friendly and I did stop to chat to a few.  One lady in particular was a fellow gear aficionado who recognised my tent poking out of my pack!  She had also been to NZ (as had many of the folks I talked to today) and asked why I wasn’t wearing shorts over thermal underwear – which is classic kiwi kit (but not good for tanning the legs). 

I also made friends with a few dogs.  Unlike most countries, dogs are allowed in the national parks and I saw seven gorgeous dogs today all carrying their own packs! ( this pic isn’t very good but you can see the dog backpack)

I walked the 27k to Serve hut then stopped for pasta and coffee on a log beside the trail in the sun. After that another 20k to Aiger with a nice climb up a mountain.  I did see a lovely 2 bed hut which I  contemplated overnighting in as the view was stunning, but a young German guy had beaten me to it and I didn’t fancy sharing.  The scenery returned to the moon, but I am beginning to appreciate the different hues of the rocks, the fluffy flowers, and the lovely tarns and lakes.   

The weather here is highly changeable and a bit goldilocks.  When the sun is out, it is lovely and almost too hot!  But when the sun is behind the clouds and the winds pick up it is mighty cold.  For context it is mid summer and the highest temperature so far has been 16 degrees. 

I have stopped short of the hut at Aiger to pitch camp off the trail and beside a nice river.   Had a lovely dinner sitting in the sun followed by industrial quantities of chocolate (my pack weighs too much with all the food so am incentivised to eat more).  But the wind has picked up so am now sheltering in my wee tent hoping it is secure.  

Bizarrely some hikers have just stopped and are putting up their tent….there are thousands of acres of grass and they literally are pitching right next door!   For those of you who aren’t experienced back country campers, it’s the equivalent of being the only person on a deserted beach and having four people put their towels down one metre away from you.   They are English!!!!  only English people would think it was ok to go for a row of terraced tents….  Just as well my tent has an ensuite.   Oh well, will wake them up nice and early when I leave.  I am 8k short of finishing this first section of the Kungsleden which the guide says takes 5-7 nights.   

Distance travelled 44.8 km from Stokkelklippen to 1km short of Aiger hut
Ascent=1250 m

I took a flight to hemavan, two hours from Stockholm, it felt like landing in NZ.  Only 20 of us on the plane and most with backpacks, and the luggage guy pulls the handcart out in front of the terminal for you to get your bag.  I walked into town, bought gas for my stove, dropped off my food parcel at bussgoods to send on to Kvikkjokk for resupply, bought membership to the Swedish youth hostel foundation (saves tonnes of money on ferries and if I need to stay in huts if it rains) and had some coffee. 

I finally got started on the kungsleden (after a few wrong turns in town, I can’t navigate around buildings) at 1pm.   The forecast was for rain, so I figured out where the huts were, but crossed my fingers for calm weather so I could camp

I passed about 50 people that afternoon, coming and going in both directions.  Swedish hikers dress like Nz trampers (our word for hikers) in the 1980s in the snow.  They all have enormous backpacks and are dressed from head to toe in heavy waterproofs, together  with gloves and hat and the obligatory heavy boots.  I, of course, was in shorts, tshirts and trail runners.  Two people actually told me to slow down and breathe, which was quite amusing as I was only ambling along, but wasn’t encumbered by a huge pack (though the 10kg on my back was more than enough).

The scenery was lovely but unremarkable. After a short and easy climb out of Hemavan, there is a long section through a lovely alpine valley.  I couldn’t figure out why I thought it was so moonlike and then I realised that not only were there no trees but I hadn’t seen or heard any birds for a few hours.   It was bleak but interesting

The Kungsleden is both a hiking and a cross country ski trail, sometimes using the same paths, some times separating for a while.  The paths alternate between boggy mush and rock.  Not really surprising it is boggy as it is under snow for 2/3s of the year.  In lots of places the STF kindly put some planks for you to walk on, but I did have wet feet most of the day.   

I decided to walk until the archipelago at Stokkelklippen, just over 27km, and find somewhere to camp.  I arrived around 6.30 to an enthusiastic welcome from a swarm of mozzies who were more annoying than aggressive.  I did end up eating in my tent after my first cup of tea ended up a mosquito graveyard, and I didn’t fancy eating that extra protein

In bed now, feeling warm enough, even though it is significantly colder than I expected it to be!!! It’s 8.30pm/hiker midnight, although the sun won’t fully set here until 10.30 and it comes up at 4. Listening to the sound of the stream outside 

Distance travelled 27.5k from Hemavan to Stokkelklippen 

Ascent 825m (it’s very flat here!)