Saturday 31/3

Sleep was interrupted by a loud snorer, but after a moonlit outing the noise subsided. As before people were up and about early, but I stayed in bed until around 07:30. It was another cold morning, and what few shrouds of cloud had appeared the evening before were now mostly gone again, but there was a weak but chilly wind. Breakfast progressed without incident despite the guest count – the final tally was 58 inside and two in a tent outside, plus a number of dogs – in no small part thanks to my having mine between two larger groups. Seeing no reason to linger I packed up my things and left before 09:30, at which time the sun had begun to warm the air.

I set out along a set of tracks behind the main cottage, immediately meeting a man coming out from Stor-Stensdalen, but then I turned right on snow perforated by animal tracks – including a wolverine – for a while before I ended up on the summer trail just before a somewhat steep slope where there were more tracks of human origin. As I ascended out of the forest the views opened up more and more, both of the fjelds to the west and the larger Vålådalen basin with its encircling wall of peaks. I continued along the mostly invisible trail, keeping below the bare slopes of Giedtietjaerhvie, and then went down towards Tvärån on very nice, soft snow, coming to the well-covered stream an appreciable distance above the bridge.

Setting out

Tracks of various kinds

In the slope

Giedietjaerhvie

Lill-Stensdalen and
Stor-Stensdalen behind

Vålådalen forests on the side

Ottfjället ahead
(note wolverine tracks)

Across the basin

Kyrkstensfjället emerging

From there I aimed halfway up the slope extending from the southern outrunner of S Kyrkstensskaftet, at times worming my way between stony crests, and all the while the panorama view grew in width and splendor. I followed the snow upwards, ending up higher than necessary to reach Kyrkstenen (Church Rock) where I was headed, but I certainly couldn't complain about the weather. Once the terrain allowed I went out to the eastern edge to try to get my bearings, and then took the first opportunity to descend towards the edge of the forest. For a bit I was unsure whether I had already passed the rock, but it soon became apparent that it was still some distance away, which I covered beneath the steep cliffs that make up its immediate vicinity, arriving at the menhir-like formation at 11:00.

Going up again

Kyrkstensfjället about to be hidden

Perfect wolverine prints

Shining

Leaving this behind

Going over there later

Rekdalen opening up ahead

Nulltjärnarna below

I see it!

After taking a detour to get a better photo angle I sat down on a patch of snowy heather for lunch, but gave it a few minutes before digging into the food, just savoring the warmth and stillness. There were also no other tracks in the area, nor was there any kind of movement to be seen, heightening the feeling of "alone in the wild". Instead I made my own tracks down through perfect snow across the first slope some time later, subsequently passing over an area where more heath was pushing through the snow cover. As I reached the trees I came upon an old ski track and shortly thereafter a fresher snowmobile track, but I elected to stay with the former which also followed the trail markers.

Closer to Kyrkstenen

Further away from Kyrkstenen

Leaving Kyrkstenen

Into the forest

The sparse forest consisted of semi-low pines and was very pleasant to ski through, and I was glad for the shade. Soon the snowmobile track returned to the trail, but I mostly stayed on the unbroken snow on the side. At Nyhemmen I broke off to have a closer look at the ruins, going back to the trail at the edge of the adjacent open field. After that the forest turned denser, with more spruces, and things also got warmer. After the hut-in-the-woods the snowmobile track broke off again, and I could just hear/see someone approaching from that direction, but once again I stayed on the trail. Having passed the top of the hill I had been climbing for a while I descended with good speed (whee!) and then the snowmobile track came back – and also this time there was a skier approaching upon it.

Vålå forest

Fjelds in the distance

Ruins...

...at the old settlement...

...of Nyhemmen

The woodland hut

A look back from a crest

Another speedy (and chilly, due to the headwind) descent followed, and then I found myself at the edge of the mires around the first of Nulltjärnarna. Here I took a short break and then set about crossing both the mire and the mere, heading for a well visible track at the far end in the blazing sun. There were a few winter fishers out on the ice, but it was nothing compared to what waited on the next mere, for there their number was staggeringly high. There was also a barbecue going, and as I passed the main gathering by it became apparent – if it hadn't been already – that this was an event organized by the Vålådalen fjeld station.

At the mire

On the meres

Still on the meres

Like everyone else!

The crossing was a very warm affair, with a complete lack of wind, and it was a relief to glide into the shadow of the trees upon the eastern shore. I shortly reestablished contact with the trail, which hosted a machine-made ski track that was a bit too hard and polished for my skis, so I stayed on the side. In the following ravine I met a number of people belonging to various groups, and further on the tracks were more worn down and so fitted me better. I took the main ski trail when it made a sharp turn to the right, skiing out onto the large mire I soon reached before once again sticking to the markers for the last stretch. I met a couple of skiers with a dog before the last steep slope, and another two without canine company after it, and then reached the large field where all the trails converge.

Prepared

Crested

On the field

I came up to the station after 13:30, peeking inside to find both Easter-themed table settings and two of the people who had been at both Gåsen and Stensdalen. I then spent some time outside in the sun until the taxi-bus arrived ahead of time, which constituted the end of a very good return to my Easter tours of yore.