Monday 20/8

This time I turned south almost immediately after the ferry, passing through some shrubs in the vicinity of Goahtnjunjesjåhkå. Once at that stream I looked for a suitable ford, and after a good deal of looking I decided upon a straightforward crossing. At that place the stream was divided into two courses only loosely separated by a gravel bank, and reaching that bank went well; the remaining distance was somewhat deeper, and after taking a few steps I decided to simply "make a run for it", resulting in a very mild intrusion of moisture into my boots. On the other side there was a region of osier, after which I came into a sparse forest that was growing even sparser as I ascended Rivggonjunnje in a westward direction.

It was now rather warm, so I had not gone very far before I removed a layer of clothing; the weather was steadily improving, but a local rain in Fierrovágge sent out emissaries in the form of short bursts of droplets. I passed a shallow ravine higher up the slope and followed its western edge up onto the crest of the ridge, where there were some reindeer about. Now that the basin between Rivggotjåhkkå, Bajep Gurátjåhkkå and Skájdásjtjåhkkå lay before me I saw that also to the southwest there was the threat of rain, and as I proceeded along the eastern bound of this basin – maintaining my altitude – there was a shower, so I put the jacket back on. I climbed Rivggotjåhkkå head-on, and on its summit I had a marvelous view of lower Tarradalen, with Darrávrre as a central eye-catcher.

Crossing the heathland...

...next to one of the many rainbows

Ascending

Northern Tarradalen

Panorama over northern Tarradalen from Rivggonjunnje

Going over the ridge

W-w-what's up, doc?

Rainbow!

Panorama over southern Tarradalen from Rivggotjåhkkå

The time was now 12:30, and it did not take long before the western cloud masses passed overhead bringing quite a bit of rain, and it just so happened that I had just found a long horizontally protruding rock formation under which I could lie waiting for it to pass, all the time having the great albeit veiled view before my eyes. At long last the clouds had moved on, but it took some time before everything was "back to normal"; the peaks of Darregájsse were only slowly emerging. I then raised myself into an upright position and had lunch, during which the sun came out. I walked around a bit on the hilltop, noting that it was still all grey in Gurávágge and that it was raining far to the north, and eventually the sun was concealed again. I remained for a while longer, but when more clouds were creeping in from the west I prepared to depart.

Goahtnjunjes with Fierro and Vuoksákvahta behind

Looking north over Rivggonjunnje

The eagle has not landed

The unbroken surface of Darrávrre

Såmmártjåhkkå

Southern Darregájsse

Southern Tarradalen free of cloud

It was fairly windy as I descended Rivggotjåhkkå on its western side, turning northwest over undulated and uneven terrain down in the basin. I reached the brook that comes from the eastern parts of Bajep Gurátjåhkkå a bit above the point where it joins Skájdásjjåhkå, and I followed its ravine to the larger stream. I continued alongside the larger ravine in which Skájdásjjåhkå flows, and now there were short glimpses of the sun and less wind. When I was nearing the even larger ravine of Goahtnjunjesjåhkå I turned east, remaining fairly high in the slope but still significantly lower compared to when I went up earlier. I passed some flattened rises which jutted out from the slope, and between some of them I came upon a field of blueberries so inviting that I had no choice but to stop and set about picking, while the weather cleared for real.

When I could fit no more into the plastic bag I had brought for this purpose I ascended a little bit, since the ravine was now getting more precipitous, and after passing through some thickets of various kinds I entered a region of easier forest – in which I stumbled upon a large collection of very large cloudberries, which resulted in some fairly extensive on-site consumption. I reached Goahtnjunjesjåhkå a little bit above where I had crossed it before, so I went down to that location where I tried to facilitate the passing of the deeper portion by throwing in some large rocks, but it only helped a little. This time the splashing was more pronounced, and the amount of water in my boots afterwards much more noticeable, but since I was only a few minutes away from the cottage it did not matter much. I was back at 16:30, by which time the weather was very nice even though the top of Måskásjgájsse was still cut.

Tjievrak across the basin

A stream that joins...

...Skájdásjjåhkå...

...which has gouged out a ravine

The more impressive ravine...

...created by Goahtnjunjesjåhkå

Sun over northern Tarradalen

About to cross Goahtnjunjesjåhkå

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