The underlying reason why I ended up in Aktse this time is this: I don't camp out in winter. The connection may not be immediately evident, but it is not complex. Sarek National Park is, as should be known, not geared towards large-scale tourism in the way other areas in the fjelds are, but its aim is instead to preserve an original state as far as possible. While the lack of facilities and conveniences that follows from this does far from reduce interest in Sarek tours, it does put certain demands upon those who execute them, and these demands are more severe in winter. In any event a basic requirement is to camp out, so, returning to the abovementioned condition, Sarek would be effectively closed for me in wintertime – unless I could somehow find a way to reside in a place at its very border for an extended period of time. And it just so happens that I am a cottage warden, and there are such places to apply for – and Aktse seemed like a good choice, bearing the title of The Gate to Sarek and all.

Another thing that is special about Aktse is that the place is actually inhabited. It is in origin a Sámi settlement from the early 19^th century, when the Läntha family cleared the area for a homestead. While there is no husbandry being conducted there nowadays, the field is still kept open and the Länthas are still there – at least for large parts of the year. It would therefore be a novel experience not being alone even when I was alone, so to speak.

Last winter I had a season-long assignment, but that was not my plan this time, and I aimed for the first half only – in this I was successful and had ample time to prepare. Just as before my Såmmarlappa assignment I was to order my food in advance from a shop in Jokkmokk, but I also sent some stuff up from Östersund. Towards the end of the last winter, with all the skiing it involved, I had started giving more and more serious thought to getting into telemarking for real, since it felt like I was already half into it with my homegrown touring-ski technique, and that thought I had now realized by procuring a second-hand set. A few days' intense trial and error had me mastering it reasonably well, and it was my intention to continue getting the hang of it in Aktse, so part of said stuff consisted of this equipment.

Since I was to open the cottage site for the season there was a meeting to attend in Gällivare beforehand, with the giving out of info and material. We were only four wardens there this time; two of the others I did not know from before, but the third was Ulla whom I had met on several occasions before. She was to fill in for Berta in Pårte for a few weeks at the start – being slated for Sitojaure in April already – and I welcomed the opportunity to spend some time with her; she really is a Grand Old Lady of the fjelds, in the most positive sense imaginable.

Another opportunity I welcomed was one to visit my grandmother in Jokkmokk, which worked out well with the scant bus schedule to Kvikkjokk, from where both Ulla and I were to be transported out to our respective cottages. I also purchased what fresh food I wanted in Jokkmokk, and then met up with Ulla on the bus. During the journey I counted three elks, a number of reindeer (naturally) and one fox, but save for returning school children there were hardly any other humans. Ulla and I were also the only guests at the fjeld station, so we had the dining room to ourselves. It had been very cold for quite some time in the area, and there was no change yet – when I turned in the thermometer showed –30°C.

Here, then, follows an abridged account of the events during the five weeks I spent in and around Aktse, illustrated by the usual range of pictures. Day tours have been placed in their own reports, which are linked to from the relevant pages.