Friday 21/4

Believe it or not, but also this last night in the fjelds offered good sleep, and although the room was cold in the morning the interior of my sleeping bag was warm. I went outside at 07:15, and found the weather rather nice, albeit with some wind included. I started a fire and made breakfast, and just as before a few short bursts of snow passed by from the west. The descent to Abisko was to be relatively easy, and the train didn't leave until 17:19, so I made no haste while packing, and to "waste" further time I chopped a good deal of firewood and carried it inside.

Beautiful...

...morning

When I was ready to leave, the warden I had had the most contact with appeared outside, and we talked for a bit before I took off around 10:00. I chose to pass over both Gaskkamus Gorsajávri and Vuolimus Gorsajávri rather than following the land-bound trail; there were tracks to be seen, but they had been covered in varying degree by the recent snowfalls, and it was sticky here and there. At the easternmost lake, another snow-bringing cloud from the west caught up with me, but apart from that the northern region at least was mostly clear. After the lakes I joined the trail, but broke off again further ahead where the central valley floor provided a better base, and a bit later still I returned anew, just where the prepared tracks had their turnaround point. These had fared surprisingly well, and I made good progress.

At the bridge over Gorsajohka, I met two snowmobiles with two dogs, and I also spotted a skier proceeding up the southern slope in the direction of the reindeer-watching hut I had passed the day before. After exiting the valley I met another three skiers in a loosely held together group, and a kilometer or two down I came to a crossroads, where the marked trail continued due east and the ski track turned northeast; I chose to follow the latter, as I wanted to avoid the slush of the forested valley below as far as possible. After a while of easy skiing in this track, the snow of which was rather hard, I sat down beside a small hill where I had at least a partial view of Torneträsk in the distance and had lunch before 11:45.

Bye-bye

Cloudier ahead...

...but the sun wasn't giving up

The tracks

Exiting the valley...

...watching the eastern fjelds

Blue sky over Njunesgeahči...

...but clouds hanging over the Lapp Gate

It was still rather warm, so I never bothered to put on extra clothes. As I sat relaxing, two Finns came up the track – they said that it had been a huge hassle climbing thus far, and that it had taken them 2.5 hours from Abisko. With this info, I decided that it was time to get going again, in case the rest of the descent would prove trickier than anticipated. Just a little bit further ahead I passed out onto a ledge with good views all around – and also exposed to the wind, so I didn't regret stopping where I did – and after that the slant increased sharply. Add to that, the smoothed space beside the actual track was narrow, the snow was icy, the path kept turning at unexpected angles, and there were trees everywhere, so proceeding safely was not entirely easy. I even managed to fall over in a particularly nasty slope, but I suffered no injuries.

During all this I met two women going up, and then I came to another crossroads, where I chose to go north. That track soon started running alongside Ábeskoeatnu, where it was even icier than before, and after a while of skiing on level ground I came out onto a dirt road beside the railway. There I bundled up my skis and walked the final bit over to Abisko fjeld station, where I finally arrived at 13:15.

Fjelds to the northeast

Torneträsk

Ballinvággi

The township of Abisko itself in view

The track I was following

The Lapp Gate again

The cableway on Njullá

The marks of civilization

The scales outside the station indicated that my rucksack now weighed 15 kg, which was about what I had expected. The weather was calm but overcast, so I went inside and had a look around. I then payed a small service fee to gain access to the shower – the sauna would not be fired up until much later – while a snowfall started outside, but it had stopped again by the time I was done. I went on to finish the remaining chocolate bar, and then read the newspaper of the day in the library.

I inquired in the restaurant whether it would be possible to get something to eat before the main buffet at 18:00, since my train left earlier than that, but they answered in the negative. Therefore, I bought a frozen pizza (as well as some soft bread and candy) in the shop and went over to the hostel part of the facility to prepare it; the receptionist kindly granted me permission to do so, arguing that it could be considered covered by the same service fee. The kitchen was empty, and while I awaited the melting of the cheese topping the sky cleared more and more, although there were still some low clouds north of Torneträsk.

Upon returning to the main building, I noticed that the three Germans who had paused in Nallo on day 7 had just arrived, but I doubt that they recognized me in turn. I went back inside to prepare myself for departure, and I bought some more candy and another newspaper for good measure. The sky above Njullá was now all but clear, and, ironically, it seemed as though things were getting brighter and fairer the nearer the time for my exit drew.

Abisko fjeld station

Looking across Torneträsk...

...at the tiny railway station

Wonders of wonders, the train arrived on time, and I entered a wagon which looked and felt much fresher and newer than usual. My compartment was empty save for myself, so I spread out while waiting for the conductor, who turned out to be the same one as on my last trip to Lapland. Just as I had predicted, the sun returned to the sky in full force shortly after the train had left the station, and some very nice vistas were offered through the windows. After a while a young French couple joined me, and I spent the evening reading, eating candy, and finishing the crossword. The sunset, which occurred somewhere between Gällivare and Jokkmokk was rather spectacular, and after a sturdy evening snack I lay down in the designated bunk with a feeling of contentment.

The sun breaking through again

A better view of the Lapp Gate

Fjelds north of Torneträsk

Evening at Gällivare station