Saturday 5/7

After filling my water flask at the Vålådalen fjeld station I set off along the car road to Nulltjärnarna. The weather was fair and warm, with only some high clouds here and there, and once in a while a light gust ruffled the leaves of the trees. Upon reaching the first mere I walked down to the water to have a look – although not at the two people who were bathing, I swear – and then continued on the trail to Kyrkstenen (Church Rock). There in the forest the ground was very dry; of previous mud puddles now only dusty traces remained. The trees also gave some much needed shade and the farther I got along the trail the more noticeable the gusts became.

Shortly after a hut encircled by a jumble of small trees and branches acting as a disorderly but most effective fence, I came to an open tract of land on the edge of which lay of yore the settlement Nyhemmen. I broke off the trail to go and have a look at what remained of the buildings, which apart from a somewhat new-looking minor cabin was little more than a chimney rearing its broken tower skywards. Speaking of the great overhead blue, it was now even clearer than before, but "around the edges" the number of clouds had increased instead – especially off to the south.

Back on track I found a few more instances of rubble-with-chimney in among the trees, and then the landscape opened up as I approached the lower slopes of S Kyrkstensskaftet. Now the wind was fairly keen, which only felt good in the last steep incline up to the peculiar rock formation that was my midway – and midday – goal.

Vålådalen view

On the road

At Nulltjärn: Smällhögarna and Lill-Stensdalsfjället...

...S Kyrkstensskaftet...

...close up of Vuelie Livkiesåajja...

...wide shot again...

...and a closeup of Lill-Stensdalsfjället

At the medium-sized mere

Into the forest

Inaccessible hut

Frog on the path

All nice and green

Open land at...

...Nyhemmen

Sparse

Sparser

Ottfjället behind

Kyrkstenen in sight

Looking out over the Vålådalen nature reserve

A bit below said rock a trio of ladies sat enjoying both sun and view, and up at some benches off to the side another two people with a dog were just leaving. I dropped that which I had been carrying at those benches and then walk around a little, examining Kyrkstenen from different angles. It is a prominent piece of rock with a rather sharp top that has broken off from the mountainside at some point in the distant past, and now stands as a sentinel with a very wide outlook on much of the Vålådalen nature reserve. Local lore has it that the name of the place comes from a baptism of a Sámi child in the 18^th century, whence derives the present-day family name Fjällsten (Fjeldstone).

Since I was now above most treetops the wind could get at me unchecked, which it did with varying force, but it was warm nonetheless. More clouds were rolling in from the north, at times obscuring the sun, which also made for interesting highlight patterns down in the direction of Rekdalen, where the presence of a cuckoo was easily deduced by auditory hints. Later on a group of four with another dog came up the trail, and upon their arrival the other three left. Before long I did so as well, taking to a footpath I had seen going off in the desired direction.

In short fashion this path faded into mere hints in the land, and after passing a noisy but otherwise insignificant brook the terrain turned uneven and somewhat demanding. I was therefore thankful for the multitude of large clouds that took turns covering the sun, and after a while the ground got somewhat better. Another portion of obnoxious bumpiness followed but when I started turning around S Kyrkstensskaftet nice heathland gradually took over. The wind was still both appreciable and shifting, and the northern clouds seemed to be running out, having all passed southwards.

I came onto the Stensdalen trail just where it is joined by the old path to/from Nulltjärnarna, and I followed it from there on, taking a brief pause at the bridge over Tvärån – which has definitely seen better days. The wind had now mostly ceased, but the clouds remained in position between the sun and surface of the Earth as I covered the last few kilometers to the cottages, arriving to a seemingly empty place well after 15.

Leaving Kyrkstenen

Nulltjärn in the distance

Uvberget with Lunndörrsfjällen in the background

Same, but a broader view

Eastwards

Lill-Stensdalsfjället

One of the many tiny brooks

More of Lunndörrsfjällen

Back on track

Panorama over Anarisfjällen and Lunndörrsfjällen

Västra Bunnerstöten

Lill-Stensdalsfjället again

Östra Bunnerstöten

This emptiness was, however, only seeming, for inside the main building a Swedish woman and a Belgian couple were in discussion. I took a book from the bookshelf and sat down outside to read for a bit, during which a lone man in light attire came jogging up, and then another two Swedes arrived. The clouds were now slowly breaking apart, enabling intermittent sunlight, and it was warm indeed. The warden then came back from a day tour up to the peak of Kyrkstensfjället, and we did away with monetary transactions straight away. I then spoke for a while with said warden and the single woman before a man came in with his son; they were placed with me in the room I had occupied. More talking followed, and we also noted that off to the northwest a very dark wall of cloud was looming, so it was quite clear that we would see rain before too long.

The bridge over Stensån

The main cottage

Once more

The warden's cottage

Stensån in the other direction

Sun upon Lill-Stensdalsfjället

Dark clouds approaching

I had dinner while these clouds approached relentlessly, accompanied by booms of thunder both distant and not so distant. Just when I walked down to the sauna the first drops started falling, which did not matter much. In the changing room of the little building I found a guy thitherto unknown to me, and soon his companion also came in; they too had been visiting a few peaks during the day, and would now just have a quick bath in Stensån. Myself, I put some more logs into the heater in the sauna chamber to bring the temperature up a few more notches, and then stepped inside. Outside the rain poured down, but on my cooling-off runs (in)to the stream it only added another layer of sensation.

After the session there was only a drizzle, and then the clouds started breaking apart here and there. I talked for some time with the warden and some of the other guests inside – outside the blackflies were a menace. I was feeling tired, so I lay down to rest, and my roommates did the same. Having slumbered on and off for a while I went to have my evening snack, at which time there were large patches of blue in several places overhead, but low clouds had started drifting through the valleys. I got to bed for real at 22:00 in a room that was warm bordering on the uncomfortable, and all the others had retreated to their rooms as well.