Saturday 20/8

Breakfast

There was more wind during the early night, but it soon died down almost completely. In the early morning there was no rain to be seen, and the sky was even partially clear, but when I got up at 06:45 it was clouded again. It was, however, also light as well as warm and still, so it was a pleasant morning by the water and I could have a cloudberry-heavy breakfast outside, with even a few weak glints from the sun. There came a few drops from the east as I was finishing up striking the tent, but they had passed once I was ready to leave before 09:15, so I decided to walk in just the underwear shirt from the start/as long as possible.

It was quite warm as I made my way up a flattened verdant furrow, but once up on the crest a light wind picked up. The cairns were good for the most part, with a few places where there seemed to be parallel lines, and I made good progress. Visibility was also good but the sky was entirely covered, and the ground was often wet but usually circumventably so. There appeared to be ample camping opportunities around the hollow of the next stream, so perhaps the others hadn't looked closely enough, but after that the ground turned to bumpy but pleasant heath again.

Green

Above the tarn

Some clouds...

...but no rain

Sårgåjávrre

Biernatjåhkkå almost free

Huts on an island

Soon the trail started going slowly downwards beside a number of pools beneath naked rock outcroppings, and walking was quite comfortable. I spotted a tent hut up at the shore of Svártiluoppal, and at least one person beside it, but there was no one else on the trail. As I approached the outflow of Svártijåhkå into Sårgåjávrre I noted how wide it was and wondered what adventures this bridge would offer (although the campsite-hunters from the evening before had assured me it was "perfect"). When I got closer I saw that it was rather a small bridge spanning a deep and narrow canyon formation, so it was indeed a simple crossing.

Cliffs and such

Borderland

Teepee

Svártitjåhkkå getting closer

More peaks in the clear

Svártijåhkå

Bridge downstream

Bridge upstream

After that the ground got wet and muddy, and I often had to stop to look around for the next cairn. There was a somewhat tricky slope down to the next stream, which I crossed through an area of osier where it was wider, and then reestablished contact with the cairns once on the other side. A muddy mire followed, but it was firm enough to walk across with some care, but in the subsequent grassy slope I once again lost the path (if indeed there was one), so it was easier just to climb it wherever it was easiest. Higher up I found the cairns again, which led me to the next wind shelter before 11:15 just as a light rain borne out of a light haze to the east started.

Walking beside...

...rock-sided Svártijåhkå

Crossed here

Approaching mists

Yep, raining yonder

A look north

The Sårggå...

...wind shelter

The haze was spreading westwards as I paused in the shelter of the shelter, outside of which the wind was quite audible. While I ate my lunch the haze thickened, and more of it was slowly approaching my location. When I started to walk again it was still raining lightly, so I wore the rain jacket, but eschewed the rain trousers for now. The rest of the ascent was unproblematic, even though there were large cairns on every hilltop, eventually coalescing into a clear line leading northwestwards above the crest of the slope. Up there the terrain shifted between wet ground and naked rock faces, and the wetness was increased by the now full rainfall, with a thick curtain behind me. Crossing the connection between two tarns was a simple affair, and shortly thereafter I came to the crossing with Nordkalottleden, where all the signs lay in a heap – but they still mostly pointed in the right direction.

Kung Karls spira

Nice little dell

Here it comes

Mists ahead

Stacked

Tarn group

Sign group

Here I turned north onto Nordkalottleden, following larger cairns – some of which had the Norwegian "T" marking on them – but barely a path. At times the cairns were quite far apart, and there were several places where they traced straight lines over fairly deep rocky ravines that had to be crossed in a more roundabout fashion. As I ascended towards the border the rain intensified, so I increased my pace on the mossy dirt, soon reaching a large hollow at the far side of which the single signpost marking the border stood. Visibility was very bad behind me, but the haze had yet to obscure most of the closest peaks.

One of the ravines

Entering Norway

Even worse at the back

On the crest of the slope the terrain turned to hilly cliffs, or cliffy hills, which made it tricky to spot the cairns, and there was more roundabout motion to find the best way. I had to negotiate a somewhat tricky portion of rocks close to a cold pool on the other side of which was a snowfield; it was rather hard, but my boots provided enough traction for unhampered progress. After that I realized that I was holding too low a line, so I adjusted my heading and shortly found better cairns again. Then I caught sight of Biernajávrre, but the Røysvatn cottages were still nowhere to be seen. A short descent on good ground followed, and then they suddenly appeared behind a bend, just a few tens of meters away; smoke was rising from the chimney and I could see movement inside. I made a small photo-angle detour and then entered the vestibule of the larger cottage at 13:45, glad to be out of the rain again.

Rocky crest

Muvrrajávrre

Biernajávrre

There they are!

Another angle

Inside were five people, who turned out to consist of a German couple, and Swiss couple, and a lone German girl, so there was plenty of space yet. I took off all the wet things in the vestibule, hung up most of them to dry above the heater, and then moved into the larger of the two bedrooms, which had two alcoves with two bunk beds each. I then returned outside to have a quick look around the site, and as hoped there was indeed a sauna, something I had seen indications of – albeit a small one, built into a corner of the woodshed. It was now raining heavily and the clouds were mostly low all around. Back inside I sat down for some afternoon tea, speaking some with the others. Three of them had also walked Gränsleden – two had performed the balancing act on the bridge wires, while the girl was the one who the boat people had ferried across before me – whereas the last two were about to.

The outside world had mostly turned to fog, which was constantly in motion. I took it easy while the others chatted on in German, reading a bit in my book. The rain kept falling and everything was just wet outside, but the clouds were a bit higher now. A bit later a single German arrived from Paurohytta, having walked all 26 km in one go, and just upon entering the cottage he was joined by a young Dutch woman who had also come along Gränsleden. There was smoke on the water, sans guitar riff, as I started dinner, during which I secured the participation of the newcomers in a sauna session, since the others seemed content to let it be. The German guy also said that there were two more people coming behind him, and he was quite sure that they were very much into it as well.

I therefore went over and fired up the sauna heater, and the temperature rose quickly in the small space. Outside the fog lay dense over the land, but now the rain had been reduced to a drizzle. Me and the Pauro-German then availed ourselves of the cleansing heat, which felt jolly good, utilizing the adjacent pool for cooling off. The rain was back in full force and the fog maintained its grip, so it was otherwise quite a dreary evening. As we were finishing up the other two from Pauro finally emerged out of said fog, easing the German's worried mind. While the new newcomers wiggled out of their wet clothes the two single girls took their turn in the sauna, where they were soon joined by another newly arrived Norwegian guy – three was really the maximum in there if any sort of comfort were to be maintained.

Sauna lit

Main cottage in light

Main cottage shrouded

Smaller cottage

I spent the rest of the evening relaxing in the sofa, speaking with several of the others in turn while the fog shifted outside. Later on a German woman also arrived, and with her the place was now fully occupied. The fog was now lifting but the cloud base remained very low, and the rain was back to drizzle levels. An evening snack and more conversation followed, while people started drifting off towards bed. I soon did the same before 22:15, thankful to hit the sack in a cool room given how warm the common room was due to the drying fire.