Wednesday 12/4

Sometime during the night, when I turned in my sleep, I was awakened by the moon shining me straight in the face, which was kind of weird. The room had cooled off somewhat, so I closed up the sleeping bag and went back to sleep. In the morning, the other occupants of the room were already in the process of packing, but I stayed in bed for a while, finally to get up at 08:00. The weather was clear and fair, although some thin wisps of cloud could be seen overhead, along with a dense bank in the east. There was no wind, but the air was rather chilly nonetheless. The mom-'n'-boy left for Vakkotavare while I was having breakfast, but the trio remained in their room.

The stage of the day was a mere 9-km trip to the Kaitumjaure cottages in the next valley – I could easily have continued to the Singi cottages another 12 km north in one day, but seeing as how I had had a somewhat intense start, I had already decided to have an "easy day". Consequently, I didn't rush things inside, and finally left when the remaining three people were, at length, finishing their breakfast at 10:15.

The first portion was very reminiscent of the corresponding section at Vakkotavare, but this slope was both a bit steeper and shorter. There was a light breeze, but the ascent turned into a warm affair anyway – not surprisingly. The snow wasn't as hard and icy as it had been during the last one either, but I put off putting on the skis until I had reached the end of the trees. Up on the Muorki plateau, the wind was changing from virtually nonexistent to quite strong, and I kept changing the cap on and off to match. The sun was warming nicely, but things weren't fully as clear as the day before, and clouds were hovering about the peaks of Sarek when they rose over the horizon behind me.

When the trail started going downhill, I veered off in the direction of Livamvággi to the east. The wind increased in strength while I was skiing across the untouched snow, and it was pretty chilling once I was nearing the threshold to the valley ahead. There were a good deal of clouds in that direction, and I turned around before I was actually inside Livamvággi. The turn was only one of 90°, however; I aimed for a snowmobile track coming out of (or going into) the valley just at the base of Livamčohkka, and followed that as it descended towards the trail.

The two of them joined up just where the vegetation restarted, and I began looking for some sheltered place in which to have lunch; I spotted a large rock a bit down the slope, just off the trail, and set a course for it. However, upon approaching it, I realized that it was in fact an old hut, which was all the better – even though the door had to be lifted off in its entirety, the building was in good condition and served as an excellent shelter from the wind. At 12:15, I sat down inside to eat.

Scaling the wall

Guolbbantjåhkkå with Ráhpattjårro behind

The western part of the valley

Sarekkian peaks clouded

The trail stretching out ahead...

...and behind

Livamvággi

The valley between Urttičohkka and Sáŋarčohkka

The south

Closer to Livamvággi

Massifs stretching away to the north

Last peek at Sarek (pun not intended)

Going down

The Kaitumjaure cottages through the binoculars

The old hut which I had lunch...

...inside of

I stayed immobile for a good while, reading a bit and just relaxing. When I had packed up and gone outside, I heard some noises the creators of which soon resolved into a pair of skiers coming up the slope. As I surmised, they had left the Singi cottages in the morning, and had had their break at the Kaitumjaure cottages, which one could just make out in the valley below. The incline grew steeper above the hut, and they stopped to put on climbing skins before continuing. Just after that, I spotted the trio coming down said incline, and I awaited their arrival at the hut. We chatted a bit, and they then decided to make use of the cute little mound as well, but probably remain outside for their food break.

I took my leave and went on into the valley of Bajip Gáidumjávri, which gradually opened itself up. Clouds had started to amass in the sky, making the play of the sun on the mountainsides spotty, and the breeze persisted. I met no one further before arriving at the cottages at 14:15, where there were quite a few people present. One of the wardens recognized me, and I recognized him as well: he was at Singi last autumn. I left my rucksack at the main building and went for a short tour among the hills leading up to Sáŋarčohkka, seeking a good vantage point. That I found, and I also had some fun going back down to the cottages, which included a couple of controlled tumbles.

Bajip Gáidumjávri and its valley coming into view

The bridge over Gáidumjohka

Some buildings in the Gáidumgeahči Sámi encampment

Down in the valley

Nearing the cottages

Looking east through the valley

Stuor-Jiertá rising to the north

The main building

More clouds were rolling in, and after paying a visit to the small shop to take care of the economics, I thought it best to go inside and install myself in the allotted room, where there was already a group of five. Not long thereafter, I noticed that some very light flakes were making their lazy way down to the ground outside, but it wasn't really overcast yet. A few more people arrived, and I spent the time nibbling some dried reindeer meat and reading. The weather outside kept changing, but with an overall tendency of an increased presence of low clouds.

Snowy evening

I began to grow hungry, but in a startling fit of inconsiderateness, the designated chef of the group in "my" room had occupied all saucepans, and all cooking plates, in the preparation of some advanced dish. I continued to read instead, and made my own one-saucepan, 15-min meal when the opportunity arose. Afterwards, I went back to reading; there were quite a few issues of STF's members' magazine which I had not previously seen.

Outside, the wind had grown considerably stronger, and the snowfall had as well; it was now quite white. I stayed inside, naturally, spending the evening by reading and playing solitaire, before it was time for the evening snack. The other occupants of the bedroom, which was then full, had taken care of the heater, and I snuggled myself down in bed to read for a bit at 22:00, listening to the wind outside, which had reached rather powerful levels.