Friday 26/8
Saltoluokta
The night was starry and fairly chilly, but no worries. On an outing in the early morning I noted a growing light, so I went down to the shore to have a better look, and was greeted by a grand show of the sun rising through fog over the lake to the east. Another great experience granted by Salto, and once again I counted myself lucky before returning to the tent for some more sleep.
When I got up at 07:45 next time the tent was soaked in condensation, but a weak wind was blowing which combined with the growing sun would surely rectify that in a few hours. I started out by walking straight down through the forest to another part of the shoreline, eating some blueberries along the way, and having had my fill of lake views for the time being I then went up to the main building for breakfast. There were quite a few people there, but I had no trouble, even though I found the food items on offer perhaps a bit on the scant side compared to previous occasions. Outside it was sunny and fair, but the wind was clearly on the increase. Several other campers had already left, or were in the process of doing so, but my plan was to let the tent stand for a while longer while I went out for a longer walk. I packed up what I could outside, and then left around 10, taking the wind jacket against the air.
Berries blue
Mushrooms red...
...and orange
New shore
Clouds still present
Camp in sun
I followed a diagonal path leading down to the closest part of the shore, and then followed that over to the jetty, which involved justling through an osier thicket. The boat was about to depart on its first tour of the day, and a few people were set to board it. I passed the firewood sauna at the edge of the water and then followed the wide track up towards the Sámi encampment, heading up to the church hut first which was empty at the moment. I then walked through parts of the encampment, which was in the same state, and continued along an ATV track up into the forest.
Leave-taking
Lulep Gierkav from the beach
Going past the sauna
Outside the church hut
Inside the church hut
Another hut
And yet another one
This forest was mostly dry and quite pleasing in its presentation, as always, mostly consisting of pines. At times there were two parallel tracks, where I followed the drier one, and it was rather warm with the loss of the wind. After a while I came out onto the winter trail part of Kungsleden, and after looking about a bit upwards I followed it downhill until it intersected with a wide path which I then followed upwards again. After passing a small dam in a brook I reached the summer trail part of Kungsleden, which was very stony and deeply indented, so I just crossed it and took another, smaller path that continued upwards at an angle.
Dry path up through...
...the forest
Gnarly
Winter trail
Another dam
Wider
When it ran along a series of rises with diminishing tree cover I left it behind and after crossing a bushy hollow I came out onto one of the sandy hilltops of the area, with a perfect unobstructed view over Sjöfallsdalen. There I sat down at a well-frequented fireplace and just enjoyed the vista – and the pleasant wind which was back in force – with only a single hiker who passed by downwards. After a while I set out along the path leading down across, beside and around the lower gravel rises, at times somewhat steeply, and emerged around the helipad around 11:30. I continued down to the campground on another path which took me by a privy intended for us outdoor residents, noting that there were now only a few tents left.
Perfect spot
Diagonally across Láŋas
Another fireplace
Straight across Láŋas
Mine was now dry as expected, so I struck it and packed up, and then went up to the service building where I dumped the rucksack outside while I went in to make lunch and prepare for my return journey. After a while a single Swede came in, having walked through Sarek and just like me had chosen to spend his last day at Saltoluokta, followed by another two. The sun was now passing into cloud, and the wind was somewhat lessened. I finished rearranging my pack and then went inside the main building, relaxing in the foyer with some other people.
That view again
Dining room
The wind had grown stronger again, with some rather strong gusts, so I put on the wind jacket outside. While walking across the yard I discovered that the bottom layer of the sole on one of my boots had started to come loose, so I secured it with tape for the time being, and then waited at the tables with a bunch of others outside the main building until it was time to go down to the boat for the afternoon crossing. The sun had now shed its cloud blockers, and it was back to warm despite the strong wind. This time I chose to sit down in the semi-open stern section, and the white-crested waves made the trip more bumpy than the last one. The bus to Gällivare arrived ahead of time, and thus I left the northern fjelds behind again – temporarily.
