Friday 9/3

I woke up early but decided to remain in bed, and when I did get up and looked out the window it was still white, although now I could see at least to the start of Neasketvággi, and there was no wind. While I was making a fire the clouds shifted, and Siŋŋičohkka gradually came out of the mist; Liddubákti could also be seen from time to time. After breakfast it looked a bit worse to the north, but it was slightly better to both the east and the south, and when I had finished packing I could see several kilometers along the trail I was to follow, even though the ceiling was still low.

White morning

Siŋŋičohkka appearing

Liddubákti visible

Concealed south

Revealed north

The peaks of Stuor and Unna Avrrik rising above the clouds

I started the stage of the day at 09:30, and I had no more exited the cottage grounds before I met the substitute, who was approaching with two dogs and a sled. He said that he had seen the trail markers clearly all the way, but not much else. I then skied out on Čeakčajohka where I found both the fresh set of tracks and some older ones – it is generally preferable to use the stream rather than stubbornly going along the trail, as the latter passes over hilly terrain prone to loss of snow cover (see previous visit). Behind me it seemed to get somewhat better, and I even saw a patch of sunlight on Gaskkasnjunni; ahead there was not much change in views, but there was a growing light in the clouded sky.

Having touched by the trail at the turn around Stuor-Jiertá I crossed the stream and started cutting across the land on the other side, feeling a bit warm, and during this the occluding atmospheric conditions in the south had time both to show a glimpse of Livamčohkka and to cover its tracks again. I also saw some lynx tracks in the untouched snow before coming back onto the trail, and at another turn a short distance ahead I met a single skier with a sled. The remaining portion I stayed on said trail, except for the last bit where a shortcut (which is actually the trail in summer) has been marked through the trees, and now the clouds were lifting anew.

Leaving Liddubákti

Better to the north...

...but not to the south

Unna Jierttáš and Liddubákti

Čeakčavággi behind me...

...and in front of me

A little bit of sun

Large hills near Sáŋarvággi

Gávgulvággi to the east

Trees starting to appear

Not too bad to the north

Entering...

...the woodland

Looking over my shoulder

Bajip Gáidumjávri coming into view

The cottages with Livamčohkka behind

When I took off my skis in front of the service cottage at 11:45 I found a note on the door saying that the warden was out on a day tour and would be back in the early afternoon. There was, however, a dog – Kaifa – leashed outside, and smoke was coming from the chimney, but no human was to be seen. I had my lunch sitting on the steps leading to the entrance of the main cottage, looking at the moving clouds, and then I walked around some. As I was standing outside the locked door with the note, the remaining warden – Maj-Lis – solved the mystery by unlocking it from the inside, having just woken up from a nap. We talked for some time indoors – and another cinnamon roll changed hands – before I felt that it was time to carry on.

Kaifa

The smaller cottage with the large lake behind it

Stuor Avrrik

It had recently seemed lighter to the southwest, where I was going, but then the gloom settled once again. Since there was still no wind it was pretty warm among the trees down by Gáidumjohka, where I met three snowmobiles. There is a reindeer fence intersecting the trail later on, with a crude gate in place, but instead of using that I simply stepped over a nearby section where the snow reached high enough. The subsequent upward slope was very easy to scale, seeing as how the warm weather (with some help from the snowmobiles) had made the surface snow very soft and moist, which is perfect for my skis.

Halfway up I noticed another solar breakthrough far off to the west, but up on the Muorki plateau there was no change. However, as I was coming up on the other end of this plateau a light grew to the southwest, and eventually the sun broke through there as well, giving some color (and even a hint of sky!) to the nearby landscape. The large cloud which had taken up position down in the next valley was also dissipating, and when the downward slope started I skied off a little ways to my left, going out on a small hill that overlooks Dievssajávri. While it now looked rather good to the west, the east and south were still mostly blocked, and as I stood there a northerly wind picked up.

Going down the last bit to the Teusajaure cottages went fine, even though the slant is rather steep and there are a good deal of trees to navigate between. About halfway down I suddenly noticed a white hare sitting perhaps ten meters off to my right – this was a bit of an at last! moment, for I had been seeing a very large number of tracks ever since I got to Kebnekaise, without ever catching sight of one of the animals themselves. This particular specimen seemed of a docile nature, for it made no attempt to run off when I cautiously approached with my camera, and I was able to get as close as a couple of meters. The final hundred meters or so to the bottom of the slope I had to cover on foot, since there was too much vegetation in the way for skiing – at least with cross-country skis.

The bridge over Gáidumjohka

The valley to the west

On the trail

Still cloudy behind

Another bit of sunlight off to the west

View north from the crest

Crossing Muorki

Gáppetjåhkkå on the other side

A sudden light...

...west of Gáppetjåhkkå

Dievssajávri and the western valley in full view

A series of photos of the hare...

...who appeared to be completely at ease...

...with my taking them...

...at point-blank range

The clock showed 16:00 when I knocked on the wardens' door, and after it was revealed that I was a fellow STF employee I was invited in for lemonade, cake and chat. When that was over I went into the larger cottage, which was warm enough from the recent guests – I had seen some fellows about to leave by snowmobile as I came down; there was even a fire still burning in the heater. I went to fetch some water and then chop some firewood, noting that the woodshed was the most immaculate one I have seen so far. More clouds and a very filling dinner followed, after which I relaxed and read some.

On Dievssajávri: southeast...

...southwest...

...northwest...

...and northeast, where the cottages are

Then one of the wardens came in to announce that the sauna would soon be hot, and after 18:30 I walked over to it, finding everything but the removal of my clothes already taken care of. I really like this sauna – it is one of the newest, and very well built – and I had an extremely good couple of hours in it. Since the wardens had "warned" me that they would be coming in after I was done I made sure there was a steady fire going, and then went to donate my last cinnamon roll. In the cottage there were still hot embers in the heater, and I put on some more logs. I then played some solitaire in the nice warmth and had an evening snack of my own, reading for a while before bringing the book to bed.