Tuesday 11/4

After a good night's sleep, I awoke at 8 to find the morning perfectly clear and windless. The building appeared empty save for myself, so I suffered no crowd while having breakfast. I packed up most of my things, then walked into town to procure some lunch-to-go, returned to the hostel to clean, and finally picked my way to the bus stop back at the station.

Dundret outside Gällivare...

...with its photogenic station

The bus itself, however, was 50 minutes delayed due to engine failure. When it finally departed, there were two men with sleds and a woman with three kids also on it; the latter disembarked shortly after we had entered the road to Ritsem. I ate my lunch before we arrived at Kebnats, wherefrom there is a trail over the ice of the lake Láŋas to Saltoluokta fjeld station; the bus made a longer stop to unload merchandise, and another group of three embarked. The men with sleds got off at Suorva, from where they intended to pass over the ice and work their way into Stora Sjöfallet National Park. The rest of us stepped out at the Vakkotavare cottage, where there were a few people and a jovial warden who seemed quite content with his job. It was still clear and windless, and rather warm in the glaring sun. After paying a visit to the privy, I departed at 14:00.

Lulep Gierkav and Gasska Gierkav

Alep Gierkav

Hállji

View from the Vakkotavare cottage

Vákkudakvárátja

The majestic Áhkká massif

The cottage

The holy mountain Sluggá

The first portion north of the cottage consists of a steep slope covered in forest, which is tough any time of the year, but the hard snow made ascending on skis next to impossible – save perhaps for the use of climbing skins, which I did not have – so after just a few meters of testing I took mine off, bundled them up, and started trudging upwards. There was a footpath of sorts in the snow that had been created by all the other travellers before, but it was still very taxing, of course, especially with the merciless sun in the sky, and I quickly removed the cap.

After a good deal of climbing, the terrain levelled out a bit, and ski tracks began to appear beside the footprints, so I put the skis back on. The condition of the snow was still fairly tough, though, which together with the yet appreciable incline made also the following portion far from simple; it wasn't until well after I had cleared the forest that both the lay of the land and the snow that lay on the land became more manageable, and I was able to hit a good rhythm at last. I also met two men coming in the opposite direction, one of which had made a startling clothing choice that I had never before observed on a skier: jeans!

Up on the plateau, the air was a bit cooler and there was a faint wind, so I put the cap back on. I met one other skier, but otherwise there was no sign of life whatsoever, in any direction; the other three people who had gotten off the bus had started right behind me, but I never saw them during the stage. I had prepared a lighter meal (a snack, really), but it turned out that the lunch I had had on the bus had been rather full, so I felt no need for refreshment and just skied on instead; I thought that I might just as well catch up a bit on the bus-caused delay, so as not to arrive uncomfortably late at the Teusajaure cottages.

Having rounded Ráhpattjårro, I had a nice prolonged downhill run to the eastern branch of Gáppejåhkå, where a sizeable ravine slowed things down. After traversing that, I found a pristine sled track which I used with great ease for the next downhill run. Suddenly, I detected movement ahead, and quickly identified a fox – the regular kind, not the fjeld variety – scooting across the far end of my field of vision, soon losing itself in the ravine of Gáppejåhkå proper. There were another set (for they were now two) of sled tracks, and another fun slope before the forest began anew; in among the trees the trail was wide and much abraded from hordes of skiers having breaked their way down, so I had no trouble doing the same. Down by the shore of Dievssajávri there was a rather substantial wind, which grew as I skied out on the ice. I didn't pay much attention to that, though, since the "Dievssa" valley is rightly considered one of the most spectacular in Lapland – the views were just astounding.

Niják rising far away

Looking back over Hállji and beyond

Wide shot of Áhkká...

...and a close-up

The peaks of Sarek

Gáppetjåhkkå ahead

More of Sarek

The trail behind

Panorama view over the national parks Stora Sjöfallet and Sarek

One last shot of Sarek

Other fjelds...

...appearing ahead...

...such as Sáŋarčohkka, Stuor-Jiertá and Liddubákti

A fox trotting across the trail

A reindeer-watching hut on Gáppetjåhkkå's slope

Spotting the Teusajaure cottages

The afternoon sun still bright

The valley opening up

Standing of Dievssajávri, looking west...

...and east

Arriving at the cottages

I arrived at the cottages precisely three hours after I started – a time which made a deep impression on the warden, who normally considered the stage in question a five to six hours' journey. Still, I hadn't felt rushed, or exerted myself unduly; it was just easy going, especially the second half, and the lack of a break certainly didn't hurt things in this regard.

There were five guests present: a mother with her young son, and three men with whom I was placed. The former were just leaving for the sauna, and the warden thought it best that I go after them, together with my newfound roommates should they wish to go as well. They didn't, however, which was a bit surprising considering that two of them were Finns! While waiting for my turn, I unpacked some of my things in preparation, and then the warden returned to collect payment. At the same time the mother-and-son came back as well, so in order to take advantage of the built-up heat, I deferred the making of dinner until a later time, and just consumed the previously mentioned snack for temporary sustenance.

I went to the sauna at 18, finding it to be smaller than the others I have visited, which was quite alright since I was alone. I had to restart the fire from the embers, but the chamber was rather warm still, so I soon had some wonderful heat to sweat in. I ended up spending about an hour there, taking snowy cool-off breaks at (ir)regular intervals. Very nice. After finishing, I went to replenish the water supply, using two large plastic containers; I didn't think much about it while filling them, but in the end I probably had to carry about 30 kg in each hand from the water hole back down to the sauna building...

The trio from Vakkotavare arrived at 19:30, having held a considerably slower pace than I had. While they installed themselves, I prepared and subsequently ate my dinner. It was still windy, but the sunset was clear and beautiful, although an extensive bank of clouds could be seen in the far west. I rested for a bit while my roommates made a small fire in the bedroom's heater, for drying purposes more than anything else.

Later in the evening, while I was sitting in the common room, both the trio and the warden came in, and while they took care of business we all had a nice, calm talk for quite some time, mostly regarding the environment of the cottage site. As it turned out, the warden estimated that only about a third of the guests during a season were skiers travelling along Kungsleden, with snowmobile drivers mostly seeking to fish and hunt making up the rest. For lovers of tranquility and silence, such as myself and the present party, that was a bit saddening to hear, but I will submit that the few snowmobiles that I did see while I was there were hardly obtrusive, and a marked snowmobile trail does pass right by the cottages. Still, I hope that the skiing community will (re)discover this oft-forgotten section of Kungsleden, as it is certainly as impressive as – if not more impressive than – the usual route.

After the warden left, I read for a while, and due to the late dinner I just had a biscuit for the evening snack. The moon, which was almost full, was high in the sky, so I went outside to photograph; it felt rather cold, and returning to the warm bedroom was relieving. I read some more in bed before turning in at 22:30.