Thursday 3/3

I left Östersund at around 09:30, and arrived at Storulvån about two hours later. I had a Hobbit-like second breakfast, and asked the reception clerk to make a reservation at Blåhammaren. By noon I was on my way along the trail following the span of Getryggen.

It was snowing lightly, and the sky was mostly overcast with the sun as a frosty glow behind the clouds. It wasn't particularly cold, and no wind to speak of. I encountered no other people on the trail, which soon climbed out of the forest onto a vast plateau where it runs in an almost straight line for several kilometers. There it was almost like skiing in a prepared track, and I could keep a good pace without effort. A little over an hour after I started, I reached the shelter at Ulvåtjärn, which I entered to have lunch. I found two men inside doing the same; they had just gone around Getryggen and would head back to Storulvån shortly.

The beginning of the trail

Veiled sun

A white world

The shelter at Ulvåtjärn

When I set out again, the very first thing that occurred was an uphill slope of appreciable incline, that flattened out somewhat after a while, but was continuously slanting upwards. It had started blowing fairly much, so I pulled the anorak's hood up. Up until then, visibility could be reckoned in kilometers, but it dropped steadily as I ascended – into a cloud, apparently. Perhaps halfway from the shelter to the station, it was pretty much all white, with the red trail markings as the only easily distinguishable feature. So, I simply strove on, until what felt as long last, I spotted the power lines coming from the northeast, and shortly thereafter the station itself. The time was 15:15 when I stepped through the door.

I was the only person to be seen in the building, excepting the staff, but I saw another two pair of skis in the entrance hall. Since my reservation was one of "a bed and dinner", nothing more and nothing less, I was placed in the adjacent building, which contains one room with 14 beds, a kitchen, a drying room, and another large empty room, where spare mattresses are strewn out in times of high occupancy. As it was, I was alone in the bed room. Having settled in properly, I returned to the main building to have a sauna – as can be seen below, one need not feel confined during...

The result of snow and wind

Blåhammaren fjeld station

Looking out from the sauna

Later, I sat reading in the common area next to the reception, munching on some dried reindeer meat, while waiting for the serving of dinner at 18:00. I was joined by the other residents, who by then had reached a number of four (!) – a couple of professional musicians, and a middle-aged Englishman with his son. The elder of the latter was familiar with the Swedish fjelds, having made many a trip to and in them before. All four had come from Sylarna that day.

Part of the charm of Blåhammaren is that all guests are seated together at large tables during dinner, rather than splitting up into nuclear groups separated from each other. Since we were so few, we only occupied an end section in the northeastern corner of the dining room. Another hallmark of the station – in fact, the hallmark – is its wide reputation of having excellent food. All I have to say on the matter is that that reputation is well earned, and fully intact as far as I'm concerned; the can't-stop-stuffing-even-though-you-feel-you're-about-to-burst problem was rather evident.

We ate for a long time, discussing all kinds of things meanwhile, drawing from our widely different experiences and backgrounds. One of the musicians even worked out permission to play a few notes on an ornamental birch-bark horn hanging on the wall. After saying good-night, I went out to the other building (the rest were staying in the station proper) and had a light snack, and then went to bed.