Saturday 11/7 – Thursday 16/7
Improvement
Saturday 11/7
The morning started out somewhat cloudy but with a fair bit of sky in show, with more of the latter to the west, and as it progressed the sun came out. Having been more or less cottage-bound since the Abiskojaure visit I was itching to go for a day tour, so after checking in on the others – who had slept in and were now slightly hurried – and ascertaining that they were in need of no assistance at the moment I went out at 09:45, aiming for Frippe's fall again.
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Upon my return I went over to the guest cottage and found it empty as a shower passed, but before too long a family with three small children stopped by;
they had camped on a large meadow some distance away along the trail (in full sight, as I had observed them and their tent the day before),
and were now returning from a day trip of their own to the Bajip Gorsajávri bend. After having a multitude of questions answered they left,
and I went down to the lake for another very cold wash. A single guy with a very small pack passed by inwards,
and some time later I guided another pair from Abiskojaure across the ford, who continued towards Abisko after a longer chat.
It was now very fair and rather warm in the sun as I settled down for dinner and dessert.
The scientists returned from a full day of work as I lay resting and reading, by which time it was cloudier again. I then spoke on the phone with Anna about how things were looking, as she would be departing herself within the week. During the call there was a sudden and very intense shower, which quickly turned into hail that whitened the ground visibly, and things got very wet very quickly. After a subsequent bout of pouring rain the clouds broke apart again, and I walked over to the others for another talk. The rest of the evening was a lovely one, but somewhat cold, and as much as I enjoyed it I was glad to finally enter my bed.
Sunday 12/7
It rained during the night, and in the early morning very low clouds drifted through the valley. Things improved up until and after breakfast, however, but there was some light precipitation now and then. The scientists headed inwards and I cleaned the guest cottage, finding unconfirmed traces of a nightly visit. Later on more rain drifted up from the east, which soon turned intense, so I took it easy inside.
Billowing clouds to the east...
...and west
After lunch the sun made a visit, and I took the opportunity to saw through some more logs, returning indoors when the wind picked up again. I then observed rather a large group – I counted 14 members – appearing on the trail as another light rain approached. The group appeared to have gotten stuck at the Latnjajávri stream, and soon made their way up the slope on the eastern side instead, but when the rain intensified quite a bit they turned down again, returning out of sight eastwards.
Better
Second stack growing
Rainfall
The rain continued uninterrupted after dinner, and I spent the time with the radio and magazines. A group of four people with a dog suddenly appeared, and since they had only low shoes they were now soaking wet and therefore requested indoor accommodation despite being campers, so the usual procedure applied. While they started a fire in the dog room the rain mostly petered out, with a bit of sun for a short while, and visibility improved across the board. The clouds were passing northwards, and shortly before the sun disappeared behind the northwestern ridge everything looked very nice for a little while. There was one more late arrival from the inner parts of the valley, having also come from Trollsjön, and she found the route "adventurous" at present. Now she chose to camp beside the cottage, so the other guys could have the dog room to themselves.
Monday 13/7
It was a clear and cold night, and in the morning there were light clouds in the sky, which also cut the top off Gorsačohkka. The dog people were up and about but wanted to dry their shoes a bit longer, and the camper was still in her tent. When the latter finally got up I talked for a good while with her as she struck camp; she had just started a longer tour, aiming to complete all of Kungsleden before autumn. The quartet then took to the ford, carrying the li'l dog most of the way, and while the woman made food I observed the large group from the day before approaching – and this time they made it all the way.
This group, actually numbering 15 all in all, was led by Friluftsfrämjandet, and they were headed towards Låktatjåkka on opening day, which was still two days away, so they had ample time. Today they were to make a visit to the inner parts of the valley after having lunch outside, and some of them chose to leave their rucksacks in my care when they were done. Four of the group also broke off from the others and instead went up to scout for campsites in Latnjavággi. I also saw two people at the eastern outflow of the lake, and from their movements I surmised that they were fishers, which turned out to be correct when they slowly approached along the southern shore where they were joined by a third companion. The single woman finally left, and I observed the fishers' activities alone for a while as the weather grew steadily better.
Following afternoon tea I set about sawing again until the valley expedition returned. Two other people approached along the trail but turned straight up towards Låktatjåkka, and shortly thereafter another two came on the heels of the group, having walked from Björkliden via Låktatjåkka and Guoblavággi, and as expected told tales of plentiful snow. Then a single man arrived from Abisko, having a reservation for two nights, and he too would try his hand at fishing. A man with a dog also stopped by and stayed in a tent beside the cottage, and the three fishers who had now pitched their tent on the southern side of the lake walked up towards Bajip Gorsajávri.
As I was having dinner two trail people of novice nature came, and then I had to go fetch another two from Abiskojaure who were headed way too far upstream. They then splashed their way across the correct ford as a rain swiftly approached, for they were anxious to get their tent up before it hit too hard. After the shower had passed a couple of young foreign guys who I thought were probably Canadian arrived, and were to continue inwards after a food break. Shortly after they had left another heavy shower hit, but that was the last one of the day.
Returning from fetch operation...
...to oncoming rain
It was not the last guests, however, for rather late three young girls finally arrived after having had visible trouble with the Latnjajávri stream, and since they had reservations I had to disturb the fisherman and present him with roommates (to reside in the opposite corner). The new arrivals had walked from Kebnekaise to Nikkaluokta in the forenoon, which explained their lateness, and were headed to Abiskojaure on the morrow, but they were a bit worried about the state of the knees of one of their members. With everything done at last I could go to bed myself after 22:45.
Tuesday 14/7
The morning was a fairly good one, with lots of blue in show. The late trio were up and the two novices were already making their way across the ford, which was a very slow and unsteady affair since they had neither shoes nor walking sticks – and the water was of course still freezing cold. Soon the dog man also took on the ford, but he was considerably quicker and steadier even though he carried the dog all the way. The fisherman came back from a fruitless morning attempt, and I gave some advice about the Låktatjåkka route to the other two campers.
Clouded night
Bluer morning
Two of the trio went into the valley while the third one went back to bed, and I later learnt from the fisherman that they would reunite at the cottage "after two hours" and then head for Abiskojaure as planned. Since everyone else had left or was leaving I finished preparations for a day tour after the usual cleaning procedures, and left for the upper valley in improved conditions after 10:15.
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Taking inventory of all the people present I found: two runners who would be staying two nights, two people from Abiskojaure who were just having a break,
and four campers on a day tour from downvalley. Several of them took the chance to buy some cottage patches before leaving,
and then I took the opportunity to have a bath while another pair made their way across the ford. They had walked from Riksgränsen
to Unna Allakas and then via Hoiganvággi and finally over Boazočohkka, which provided some fresh intel. The three fishers soon also came over,
having caught zip, but they had some remaining hopes for the lower lake on the way down.
After dinner and dessert the weather took a turn for the worse, with some rain on and off. Later on a family of five arrived, who would be staying no less than three nights, so I shifted the people already in the cottage around a bit to better use the space. It was a fairly nice evening, but there were still drops in the air, giving rise to a faint rainbow. There were no more arrivals, and I hit the sack after 22.
Wednesday 15/7
This day started out semi clear, with more clouds off to the east – and not surprisingly the higher peaks were hidden. I debated a while with myself whether to go for another day tour, but decided to delay it until the following day. The remaining guests – the fisherman had left early – were preparing for day tours, however, all of them heading inwards.
Instead of going off I set about preparing to wash clothes again, this time utilizing a much larger pot I had found in the storage building. As the water was heating I noted that all the peaks were out, but there were still a number of larger clouds in the sky, which the sun often hid behind. A single man was coming down the Abiskojaure path and then across the ford, after which he appeared to have a food break by the water; I had lunch outside too, during which said man passed by without stopping to talk.
Having eaten I started rearranging the interior of the woodshed, preparing to fit in the dry wood that lay outside, and then turned to doing just that. It was heavy work, at least in part, and some of the logs I left outside since they still displayed surface moisture. In the middle of all this two people came from the west, having travelled from Trollsjön and camped in the western end of Gorsavággi, and after some info about trails and timetables had been conferred upon them they elected to continue towards Abisko.
After a bout of stronger gusts which made me go make sure that the drying laundry would not be escaping, two other campers came from Abisko, and I gave them some tips of nearby campsites before their continued journey to Abiskojaure the next day. There were some drops on the wind but nothing to worry about, for neither myself nor the laundry, so I completed the task at hand. During this time several more groups of people had arrived, including a couple of dogs, and I walked around talking to them each in turn as they were all pausing for food, with the usual combination of topics.
It had now grown fair again, so I went for a walk up the hills, after which I watched the dog people very narrowly managing to get both canines to the other side. Soon thereafter the two runners returned down the Låktatjåkka path, having taking the Guoblavággi route; they confirmed that it was indeed mostly full winter up there still, but were quite happy just the same. There were two more arrivals on the trail, and since they were heading for Trollsjön I had some fresh info to relate. Two other people had also taken the ford and spent quite some time drying themselves before coming up to the cottage, but they were also just passing by.
Come on, pooches!
Fair again
A li'l bird...
...sitting on a rock
Just when I had finished dinner, during which a short shower passed, two new people came, and unsurprisingly they were also passing campers. Later in the evening a family with two children arrived along the trail, having made a slow approach, and – yup – they continued inwards to pitch their tent. As I waved goodbye to them yet another pair came over from the cottage, having also come via Trollsjön – from Katterjaure, no less – and would now be staying two nights in the cottage, so I showed them in. The sky was growing clear again, and the fairness of the evening was a good sign for the morrow.
Thursday 16/7
I awoke to another semi-clear morning, but the clouds were high, the peaks were all visible, and the weather forecast looked very good, so I was in full day tour mode. The two runners were having breakfast outside, whereas the other occupants of the cottage were still in bed. Having already checked that no assistance was required by the latter I could get the early start I felt I needed to get to Låktatjåkka and back without too much hustle, and left after 08:45.
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After leaving the pack I went straight down to the lake for an immersion, and for once it was sunny as I did so – and it was actually not as cold as it had always been.
Being thus refreshed I went up to the guest cottage, sitting beside which I found a mother/
Later in the evening a runner also came along the trail, but he turned towards said high valley without stopping. Before long he was followed by another runner from the same direction, but this one at least stopped by to say hi and rest a bit before returning down. The mother had come over for some more Abiskojaure-related questions, and I also got a visit from the father of the family who had passed the evening before; they were probably going to aim for Guoblavággi despite my very recent proof of conditions there. I then related the latest news and info in a long phone call with Anna, who was to depart for the north the next day, after which I enjoyed a very beautiful evening on the heels of a rewarding day.
