Friday 25/8

There were showers on and off during the night, but come morning they had stopped and were replaced by ordinary clouds and a weak shifting wind. The low ceiling in the north remained, but to the south there were patches of blue. It was fairly chilly, but being outside was rather nice just the same. As I had breakfast inside the tent the wind increased, but so did the sun, breaking through the dispersing clouds every now and then. I thought that I would manage with the wind jacket, but halfway through striking the tent I switched to the more sturdy rain jacket due to the cold wind, and left in the same state after 09:30.

I followed a reindeer path through the nearby osier, easily negotiating several arms of the stream, which turned the land into water-covered marsh for a wee bit. After that meadowland took by, which with the help of flowers and intermittent sunlight bestowed a feeling of lingering summer. The reindeer paths continued as I made my way around or across wet areas, eventually going up onto a series of rises to circumvent a larger one, after which I stayed closer to Gråsjöån where the ground had turned better. After a while it was back to the hills, whereupon I found a sparse line of small cairns tracing a route along the valley, but there wasn't much of a path, reindeer-made or otherwise.

Sun upon...

...the flowers

A bit of wetness

Rain not too far away

Vålåsjöfjället behind

Upon the rises...

...with their standing stones

The sun had been clouded for some time, but as I approached a large ravine carved out by a stream coming from the eastern wall it reasserted itself. After crossing the ravine I held a semi-high course as I entered the forest, utilizing one of several parallel paths, and started looking for the hut marked on the map. I soon came almost directly upon it, finding it to be in pretty good shape, but strangely enough the path dwindled almost immediately thereafter. Instead I crossed various woody mires as I descended towards the stream in the hopes of finding easier footing, which turned out to be the case, for there I came onto another path. It didn't last long, however, for soon the wetness returned and I climbed back up among the trees.

The sun is back

Approaching...

...the old hut

Into the woods

After bustling through some thickets I emerged onto semi-open juniper meadows in among the birches, and soon thereafter exited the forest entirely, having reached the large open expanse east of the confluence of Gråsjöån and Vålån where I had carried the skis on my last New Year's tour. As I started to cross it without skis there were drops in the wind, which was cold again now that I was out of the shelter of the forest; the crossing was not particularly wet, but rather uneven. At the other side I followed the winter trail to the bridge over Vålån, feeling very tired in the afflicted ankle, so I resolved to stop for lunch when I arrived after 11:30.

Out of the woods

Flat!

Gråsjöfjället outrunner

Unfortunately another light shower chose that moment to pass, but it was light enough that it didn't particularly disturb my meal – and of course the sun came out again just as I was finished. The bridge itself felt more unstable than I remembered, but no worries. What was worrying, though, was that my ankle was really painful going up into the forest, and I did what I could to adjust my walking style to compensate. Having emerged onto the bumpy grasslands close to Vålån a bit later I could increase my speed, which actually improved the sensation in the ankle. There wasn't much sun left now, and there were passing showers here and there, but none reached me.

The bridge over Vålån

Vålån up

Vålån down

Grassy

The following open stretch was marshy and in dire need of duckboard repair, but after that, as I reestablished contact with the trees, the path improved drastically. The sun had also returned and the pain in my ankle had subsided, so it was rather a nice bit until I suddenly caught sight of the Vålå cottages. There did not appear to be anyone present, so I availed myself of the privy and left the second emptied gas canister of the tour, having unloaded the previous one at the Lunndörren cottages. Before leaving again about a quarter of an hour later I switched into the wind jacket, since it was now considerably warmer than in the morning, and the rains seemed to have found something better to do.

Some sun upon Gråsjöfjället, ...

...Härjångsfjällen, ...

...and Luspientjaerhvie

Gruvsmällen mirrored

Rainy behind

Sunny ahead

Came from there

Arriving

New building

Old building

Walking felt pretty good from there on, and I could maintain a high tempo. Having rounded the nearby hills I was greeted by a strong wind, but the sky remained mostly blue, with the exception of a dense haze around Ottfjället. Some time later I met a couple of people going the other way, shortly after which a light shower suddenly started, and it soon grew into actual rain intense enough that I went over to one of the large trees that had conveniently started appearing for shelter. I returned to the track when the shower seemed to be petering out, even though it went on for some time yet in weakened capacity.

On the move

Smällhögarna...

...and the open area before them

Rainbow before Ottfjället

Still there

Rain behind (again)

Sun ahead (again)

Rainbow (again)

I had been meaning to check out the vicinity of the little cabin above Kroktjärnarna which I had visited on numerous occasions before, mainly in the hopes of finding a suitable campsite on the heathland there, and therefore left the trail when I spotted its roof in among the trees ahead. There was a faint path leading through the underbrush, and as I got closer I saw that there were people there – I have often wondered if the cabin is used for residential purposes nowadays, and now I know. I passed below at a respectful distance and instead made my way back up through the leafy forest, crossing both a ravine with a stream in it and a sizeable cloudberry mire, the latter of which saw a decrease in its edible content.

Passing the cabin

Rain over Kroktjärnarna

Kung Karls spira

Cloudberries!

Back above the trees the wind was even stronger than before, and I worried about finding a manageable campsite. The ground was mostly uneven, but looking across the trail, which was once again nearby, I saw a somewhat promising flat area, so I walked over to investigate. There were a couple of good spots in several places there, but the wind was indeed strong and there was only a limited and slightly distant supply of water in either case. The weather was about to take a turn for the worse, and I was feeling spent, so in the end I decided to go for the first alternative around 15:15 – again, come what may.

While I was pitching the tent – which was not entirely easy in the strong, gusty wind – another shower hit, so I switched to the rain jacket to finish the job. The ground was, however, perfect – soft and permeable, quite unlike that of the previous night's camp – so securing the pegs was a simple matter. Having finished the pitch to my satisfaction – proper procedures were paramount under these conditions lest I end up with a kite – the worst of the rain had passed, leaving behind low clouds in most directions, but there were still glimpses of the sun. Once in the safety of the tent I booked my return journey for the morrow, and then returned outside during a period of nicer weather.

Unsteady

Another one of those

Pot of gold?

Exposed

Dinner was had inside, naturally, after which it was back to rain and roughness, and the powerful gales continued, shaking the tent violently each time. Throughout the evening things kept going back and forth – some sun, some rain, some mist, some blue sky, and lots of wind – and I spent most of it reading, going out at times both to look at the views and to check on the tent. Before turning in for the night I fetched several semi-large rocks from the adjacent hilltop to further reinforce the anchors, uneasily going to bed after 21:45.