Monday 7/9

When I went out in the early morning the clouds were lower than ever, but there was neither rain nor wind. I got up at 06:00 next, and now the clouds had descended even further, giving rise to a haze all around; some falling drops were also present in the air. After a last breakfast I pulled the last of my stuff together and then went over to the women with the last weather report, which told of an approaching storm due to hit in a couple of days. Just about then a single man passed by from the north, but he neither stopped nor slowed down.

The light drizzle had ceased, but visibility was very bad, although as I cleaned out the warden's room a slight improvement could be discerned to the south. While the floor dried I carried out the last garbage and suchlike, sorting and sealing the bags in the storage building, and emptied the ashes from the incinerator. The Norwegians were almost ready to leave, and I made one final round inside to see that everything was in order before marking the closure in the guestbooks and locking up (the western room is always open). When they had left I put through a call to the police on the new assistance phone to announce my departure and the start of the unmanned season, and then executed this departure at 09:00.

Morning "view"

A drizzle was in progress, but it was so light that I had elected to forego the rain clothes. The bushes in the little strip of forest had accumulated a fair bit of wetness, of course, but it went reasonably well. When I came out on the other side I realized that what rain there was had ceased, and more and more of the route ahead of me was slowly emerging from the whiteness. Not only that, but behind me the fjelds beyond Virihávrre were appearing, and there was even a bit of sunlight upon the border regions. My ankle gave no trouble at all, and I walked somewhat briskly along the trail.

After the place where I had come down from Gasskatjåhkkå earlier the ground was stony, and there was quite a bit of moisture in the air; it felt more like walking through a wet but thin fog than being rained upon, which is probably exactly what it was. Other than that it was getting lighter, and Allak was almost visible in its entirety. I reached the Kårsåjaure shelter ahead of schedule and looked inside, finding it nice and tidy, but since it was a bit early for lunch I pressed on after making an entry in the guestbook. In short fashion a mist drew in from behind, but it was light enough not to do much before it dissipated again. It was, however, coupled with some wind, and when I reached some large rocks just before Guossjájávrre after 10:45 I decided to use them as protection for a lunch break.

Foggy ahead

Lighter behind

Guvtjávrre showing

A wee bit of forest

Allakjågåsj downstream...

...and upstream...

...at the bridge

Skäjdda stretching out

Still misty further ahead

Vastenjávrre in sight

Walking past...

...Gårssåjávrre

More stones

The Kårsåjaure shelter with Gasskatjåhkkå behind...

...and with Allak behind

The next lake: Guossjájávrre

This worked reasonably well, and while I sat there a bit of blue sky appeared – the first of the day – but in my direction of travel the clouds were still very low. Suddenly a helicopter flew low through the valley from the south, and it did some antics at the far end before disappearing from view. I sat still for a while, but when I started to shiver slightly I got going again, putting on the gloves against the wind. The following portion was wet and a bit muddy, and the duckboards and footbridges were either broken or well on their way to becoming broken.

At the northern end of the lake the terrain changed to stony, which in turn became rock-strewn heath; some have complained about this stretch, but I thought it was fine. Then small hills took over, and among these was the first possible campsite I had seen for a long while. The hills ended with a series of large, moldered rocks, after which bushes started appearing, displaying the full range of autumn colors; the trail passed through a particularly high and dense osier thicket, but it had had time to dry. The low clouds ahead were slowly receding northwards as I came to another region of miniature rises that turned into a shallow ravine, and now the surface of Áhkájávrre appeared; from this distance the impact of the sterile shores was suppressed, but I of course "knew better".

Skájdetjåhkkå is out...

...like Allak

Some of those animals

Rockier ground again

Allak across...

...Guossjájávrre

The trail behind me

A bit of osier

Looking back through the valley

Small rises

Bush vegetation returning

Áhkájávrre in full view

Here walking was very easy, and I made some detours for photographic purposes – and without warning the batteries suddenly died. I was distraught to find that my only remaining spares were also dead, but I know from experience that with some careful handling one can get a few more shots out of recently failed ones, so from there on I selected my targets carefully. Now a fair bit of low, wet osier lined the trail, so before long my legs were doused. From this perspective the northern side of Boalnotjåhkkå stood out as an impressive precipice, mystically complemented by wads of cloud, and in the other direction there were sunlit Norwegian fjelds.

Then I entered the forest, the uppermost parts of which had quite a few reddened trees, and the feel of autumn was ever-present. The bridge over Sjváltjájåhkå was an unstable experience, and since I was now in the middle of the Vájsáluokta Sámi encampment there were paths going off in all directions, so finding the actual trail was not too easy at all points. I passed the two church huts – the new one is built right beside the old one – but due to the dense and leafy forest I only saw a few other buildings. It was also quite warm and still, and walking started to feel tedious. There were a couple of stony portions towards the end, and then suddenly I came out into the clearing where the STF cottage is situated at 13:45.

The growing ravine...

...of Guossjájåhkå...

...merging with Sjváltjájåhkå

The northern face of...

...Boalnotjåhkkå

One of the church huts

Boalnotjåhkkå and some buildings

The cottage itself had a distinctly old look, but had also seen some internal refurbishment. No one was present at the moment, and neither had I seen anyone anywhere in the encampment. I peeked around in the proximate forest for a bit and then called Siv at the STF office to make a quick oral report. The last boat of the year was to depart at 15:10, and while I sat on the porch relaxing I could see it approach Änonjálmme.

Now the clouds were finally breaking up, glimpses of the sun appeared on the mountainsides, and more and more of that which had been concealed started to show. I changed into the fleece jacket and then walked down to the jetty, which involved stepping over some pretty large rocks exposed by the sunken water; the surface was really low, but apparently it had been considerably lower still earlier in the summer. Then the boat arrived, and a single man was the only one to disembark.

When we pulled out again I went out into the bow to observe and photograph – the batteries still held – and there the headwind was rather strong, which is why I had chosen the jacket. The sky was now clearing for real, and I saw that there was fresh snow atop Áhkká – the Queen of Lapland, she was truly a majestic presence across the water. Speaking of water, there were several small islets of rock that would not normally reach above the surface, which at the moment made navigation a straightforward matter, but there were buoys as well. The northern face of Boalnotjåhkkå looked decidedly green with moss and I suppose lichens, and it reflected the sound of the boat's engine quite forcefully. The sun reached us just as we pulled in at the Ritsem jetty, from where there is a fair distance to walk up to the STF facility.

The Vaisaluokta cottage

Rájvotjåhkkå across the lake

Cottage with a part of Áhkká

Áhkká and ruined shores

The cottage and ruined shore

The boat approaching the ruined shore

Norwegian fjelds

Áhkká from the bow

Áhkká from the stern

Áhkká from the boat landing

I registered in the reception and left the Kutjaure key for safekeeping, and then looked through the little shop (resulting in a soda and, of course, batteries). After putting my pack into my allotted room I went out for a walk in the sandals, since it was now fair. I tried going up onto a nearby rocky hill to see if I could get a good shot of the guest building with Áhkká in the background, but found no opening in the trees. Back inside I had a longed-for shower and then prepared dinner, which I ate more or less in solitude; there were a number of overnight guests, but most of the others were not present in the common room at the moment.

After the meal I went for another walk, rounding the building and then walking up to the reception, where I talked some with the receptionist. Now a cloud front was approaching from the southwest, and it did not take long for the sun to get swallowed up again. I went back up onto the hill, and just as I found that opening at last the sun broke through for a moment, and I could get my picture. It was a nice enough evening, but I was feeling rather tired, and after resting for a bit I watched some TV in the common room, which was now pretty noisy. Blue sky had reappeared overhead, but all "around the edges" the clouds remained, so another little outing was in order. Then there was no point in staying up any longer, and as I lay down to sleep in a silent house before 21:30 the full moon had come out.

The STF guest building

Sunny

Guest building from below

Sarek peak

Finally got the shot

Blue evening...

...with some moonlight