Having most of the summer off, I was on the lookout for tour opportunities since before Midsummer, but since spring was very late and slow in pretty much the entire mountain range – to the chagrin of many a tourist (especially foreign) who did not expect to meet full-on winter – options were not as varied as I would have liked. When the forecasts showed warm and fair weather on the way at the onset of July I started looking more closely at the available alternatives, and concluded that a shorter tour around Vålådalen here at home would be my best bet.

However, recent cuts in bus tours severely restricted my access to that starting point, making me turn to Storulvån as the origin instead – which also made Gåsen a natural stop along the way, where warden colleagues of mine (from the course) were presently doing their thing, as usual. I had already decided that it was going to be a cottage tour rather than a camping one, which meant that I could get away with a small pack – like my usual spring-time tours in the area (1, 2, 3, 4) – and I also felt that it would be nice having a light load what with the prognosticated warmth.

My packing list was as follows:

Add to that half a liter of warm water in the thermos, and a 525-g birch walking stick.

Before making the final decision to go (which took place the day before I actually went) I was fairly hesitant about the whole thing, since prognoses varied quite a bit right up to the moment of no return (i.e. when I had to book the transfer bus), and also between forecasters. There was no doubt that it would be warm and fair on average, but there was also a high probability of passing rain, clouds and fog during this window. I followed the development of the weather patterns closely, postponing the possible start date until things seemed at their most favorable – and then kept my fingers crossed that I had made the right call.

Here, then, is the account of what transpired during the subsequent four days. Each section has a header consisting of a short overview of the stage in question, complete with a map showing the route travelled. A ring marks the starting point, a square the lunch break location, and a star the destination. Vertical distances have been calculated from the map and have an accuracy of 20 m. All cottage breakfasts consisted of oatmeal porridge, tea and a sandwich, and all lunches of two cups of instant soup and a sandwich.