Thursday 18/8

The train was on time and the sky was mostly clear as we approached Gällivare. There were quite a few people waiting outside for the new bus service to Ritsem, one of whom I spoke with; he had actually been in the same train compartment, and as coincidence would have it he was also planning on walking Gränsleden before returning to Ritsem, only he would be fishing along the way. A large portion of the passengers disembarked at Kebnats, the jetty of which the bus was now again stopping by instead of up on the road, and as usual there was a pause at Stora Sjöfallet, the waters of which were flowing strong as the upstream reservoir was being slowly drained due to high water levels.

Lulep Gierkav from Kebnats

M/S Langas

Pause in the sun

Water in the falls

In Ritsem

In the end it was only me and the other guy who remained onboard when the bus reached STF Ritsem. He went inside to inquire about fishing conditions while I prepared for departure outside, and thus found out about a problem with one of the bridges along Gränsleden; it was a bit unclear exactly what it was, but apparently high water levels had made passage difficult. That was a bit worrying, but since there had been some rather heavy rains recently we guessed that conditions would be better now, so we both decided to at least head over to see for ourselves. I left on my own at 13:00, walking the car road westwards.

At the (lower) mast there was a large sign presenting the trail, and a wide path going up into the forest, dwindling to a normal footpath once it was past the antenna. The ground was mostly good with a few wet patches telling of the extensive rain the day before. Soon the incline increased as the trail climbed up through the forest, the leaves of which were sparse and stunted, giving the woods the feeling of June rather than August. There were some trail markers in the form of many-colored wooden bars, interspersed with regular cairns, both of which increased in frequency as the forest grew sparser.

Mighty Áhkká

Trail start

Not so leafy

Ritsem at the rear

As I climbed a steeper section consisting of naked rock I felt a bit of an affection in my right knee, something which had bothered me when running at home for some time, but it was quite mild at the moment and disappeared when the ground levelled out. Up on the uneven shelf running along the southwestern side of Stuor Sievgok the wet patches were more numerous and extensive, and now the air was moving slightly; it had been somewhat warm going up through the forest. The last clouds that had hovered around the peaks were finally dissipating, and it was a lovely fjeld afternoon. A number of rather deep grassy brooks crossed the path, but I managed to find ways of crossing them without too much trouble.

Upper forest

These started showing up

Another look back

Áhkká across the reservoir

Vájsáluokta too

Westwards

Exiting the woods...

...to an area of pools

More of Áhkká

Even more of Áhkká

As I left the last of the trees behind the wind picked up noticeably. More brooks followed, and the trail started going up again; I lost it at one point, but quickly came upon it again by climbing a slope. Around here I first noticed something that would come to play an important role during the whole tour, namely that my progress was noticeably slower than expected/I was used to. Still, I trudged on, soon reaching the start of the downhill slope on the western side of the rise, where the terrain was more hilly. I finally caught sight of the wind shelter that was supposed to be there, and walking up (or rather down) to it I found that it was triangular in shape with one side open, and so it (and all the others along the trail) would not work (well) as night quarters in case of rough weather.

Crossed a number of these

Wetness

Cute stream

Wide view

Áhkká with pool

Norwegian fjelds in view

Lone guardian

Áhkká without pool

Spotting...

...the Sievgok...

...wind shelter

The strong wind – which was quite chilly whenever I turned to face it so that the rucksack no longer caught it – together with still water made me press on in search of a proper campsite. I lost the trail again close to the point where it reentered the forest, and had to backtrack a little bit before I spotted a turn. There were some wet mires but no running water, even though I could hear a brook somewhere off to my right, and the wind kept at it. The terrain was still mostly open, but after a series of hills the trail turned down into proper woods – and just as it did so it crossed the brook. The views up on the hills were great, but not wanting to repeat the experience from Smällhögsskaftet I started looking for clearings in among the trees instead, where it was appreciably calmer. A short distance ahead I came upon a perfect spot right at the edge of a semi-ravine formation at 16:45, and decided to pitch the tent then and there, with the brook nearby and all.

Woodland again

Good spot

Having gotten everything ready I made dinner in the lee of the tent, and then sat down outside to eat, with a reduced view westwards visible between the trees. I then returned inside the tent, looking over the map and such, before going out on an evening round up to the hills. From there I had a nice view of Áhkká, but the wind was also quite bad. Back down in the forest I fetched some rocks for the guylines from a nearby rock field, and then turned to sudoku inside. Another photo round followed as the temperature dropped with the loss of the sun; some high veils had appeared in the west, but visibility was unhampered.

See the tent?

Lake gleam

Rijdde rising above

Evening light on Áhkká...

...western Áhkájávrre...

...and Sievgoktjavelk

Shortly after I had gone inside again I thought I heard a sound, which turned out to have been produced by my train comrade passing by, so I hailed him and we talked for a bit; in the end he went off in among the trees to find a spot of his own, as he had made the same calculation as I regarding the wind and the brook, and it was now almost 21. I proceeded to have my evening snack and then read some in my book before going out on another quick photo tour to catch the pretty light on the western clouds. The time was 22:00 when I went to bed in a comfortable sleeping temperature, keeping the sleeping bag open.