Ever since I obtained the wardenship of the Vålå cottages during the middle of summer I had reserved the month of August for a longer hiking tour on my own, in some other area. Just what area was still up in the air, and so was the exact length of the trip. I considered a number of options, with either cottages only, tent only, or both, but it was actually the abovementioned wardenship that settled the matter.

In that cottage site's collection of books was one called Fjällsmultron, which consists of a series of condensed trip reports to/through more or less unknown or overlooked regions, but which are still easily accessible. A few of these centered upon the Mårma region northeast of Visttasvággi in the Kebnekaise area, and this I had not yet visited, but only seen from afar a few times. But the real kicker was that an "alternative route" was described, which would do away with the usual plodding through Visttasvággi – beautiful as that valley may be – and the subsequent exhausting climb over the so-called Mårma pass.

With this idea planted I did some more research, and discovered yet another alternative that would further limit the time needed to be spent down in Visttasvággi; otherwise the first stage would have been pretty identical to that of my autumn tour from three years ago, so I welcomed the change. The evolving plan now entailed starting out along the Vistas trail from Nikkaluokta, but soon turning up the eastern slope and aiming for the reindeer-watching hut further up, then taking the pass between Guhppusčohkka and Giebmečohkka and walking up on the heights to Leavášvággi, wherefrom reaching the Mårma cabin is a simple matter.

The end was to be in Abisko, but via what precise course was not set in stone, and I had a number of ideas for excursions and climbs along the way, but all of this was weather-dependent. As for the weather, I waited for several weeks after getting home for an improvement to come, and when the forecasts indicated that this was about to happen I pretty much rushed through final preparations in a day and departed that same evening, full of excitement about treading new ground.

My packing list was as follows:

Those endowed with a good number memory may have detected quite a few changes in the above weight figures compared to earlier lists, and the reason is that in preparation for this tour I have weighed everything anew using an exact digital device (but I have still enforced a 5-g resolution). Some items turned out to have been somewhat far from the mark, whereas others were spot-on. It is also worth noting that not everything listed above (such as the camera) actually goes into the rucksack in the end, but the total sum is still accurate when it comes to just how much stuff I bring. Finally, the birch walking stick has obviously had time to dry rather extensively, bringing its weight down from 650g to 380g at present. Now, on with it!

Here, then, is the full account of what transpired during the subsequent ten days. Each section has a header consisting of a short overview of the stage in question, complete with a map showing the route travelled. A ring marks the starting point, a square the lunch break location (if any), and a star the destination. Vertical distances have been calculated from the map and have an accuracy of 20 m. All field breakfasts consisted of oatmeal porridge, tea and a sandwich, and all lunches of two cups of instant soup, a sandwich and water.