Friday 14/8

After a night of sound sleep with somewhat tough dreams I awoke sometime around 7, and remained in bed for about an hour longer. The German had arisen a short while earlier, and while he had his breakfast I made the bed and looked over the map. Outside the weather was largely unchanged, even though the clouds were a bit higher. After yet another quick shower had passed I had breakfast myself and then the sun suddenly broke through; in fact, the clouds were breaking up directly overhead. While everyone else was leaving I took it easy, following the weather's development – there was another shower that came in from the lake, but when it had passed the situation improved steadily. I cleaned up the cottage diligently and when I was almost ready to leave the warden came by, and we had a brief talk. The blue hole above had grown even more when I departed at 10, with both the wind jacket and the rucksack's rain cover for good measure.

Storage building

Aw, how cute

Calm Árasjåhkå

There was a bit of weak sunlight and I almost felt too warm at first, but once I had ascended the first slope a pleasant wind saved the situation. In the thickets between Áras and Miellädno I met a man, and we exchanged a few words before going our separate ways. The view over Virihávrre was improving all the time, and in the other direction the green water of Miellädno was a mesmerizing sight. Beside this river I counted two tents, the inhabitants of which were all in the process of packing up.

At the far side of the bridge the two older ladies from before were pausing, and I myself took a short break there and went to have a look at the local version of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier – an escaped POW from the German occupation of Norway in 1944. I then continued up the next slope in increasing warmness, and looking over my shoulder I got fantastic views of the lake. As I reached an intermediate crest the sun returned to some degree and I started scanning the terrain for a suitable rock against which to sit. Having found one on the other side of a rill in close proximity to the trail I then walked over and stopped for lunch at 11:45.

Leaving the cottages...

...and the encampment

Cottages from above

Encampment from above

Fjelds across Virihávrre

More, further south

Mini-panorama over Árasluokta

Green Miellädno

Allak with Miellädno and Ájajávrre below

Miellädno and Virihávrre

Sarek view

Fjelds to the southwest

The grave

Miellädno bridge

More of Miellädno

More of Allak

Lighter

As it was now quite warm I contented myself with placing the fleece jacket behind my back against the rock rather than putting it on. The gáhkko was rather a sturdy meal, and I remained in place for quite some time after finishing it. The weather was still improving by the minute, and for a while even Sårjåstjåhkkå could be seen far away. The two women passed by as did two of the campers, while two other people came down. As for me I sat still relishing the sun, and it was not until I spotted rain on the western side of Virihávrre that I had thoughts of leaving. Just about then the other three campers passed by, and with some interest I noted that one of them was carrying two rucksacks while one carried nothing.

With no jacket on I walked fairly closely behind this trio for a bit, meeting another two people, but when they stopped to examine an orchid that unlike all the others thus far was only half faded I overtook them. Behind me it had also started to rain behind Dijddernjárgga, and it was not long before Sulidälbmá, which had just emerged, was veiled. As I was reaching the crest I looked back once more and found that conditions out on the lake were rather bad, and the southern rain was on the approach. Closer at hand Allak was acquiring a cloud cap and before I knew it I felt the first drops on the wind.

I passed the two women once more and then the two campers at the brook where the old trail branches off, from where a nice view of Sarek appeared from behind Máhttoajvve. The flying drops were about to turn into a drizzle, so I stopped behind a rock to put the wind jacket and rain cover back on, but nothing much came of it after that, and instead the sun started making itself known again. Before long I came to the so-called Boarkka man, a peculiarly shaped rauk right beside the trail which from a certain angle looks like a partial humanoid figure.

As I started to descend again the northwestern lands emerged from their hiding place behind Mulkka, and I saw that it was raining there too. Closer at hand a reindeer stubbornly held a moving position in front of me, running off with a snort at regular intervals, and then I met another human who did nothing of the sort. The blowing drops that had come back some time ago suddenly turned into actual light rain, and I sat down on a low rock with my back against the wind to wait it out. Almost immediately the sun broke through in full and gave rise to a nice rainbow; it was not a long shower, and once it had passed things picked up quickly. Also off to the northwest it had stopped raining, although the clouds were descending over Sarek as if to uphold equilibrium. Låddejåhkå was also a very green stream, and on a high brink on the other side the tourist cottages were beautifully located. I walked up to these cottages shortly before 15:15, seeing no sign of life outside...

Cloudy again

Swedish Sulidälbmá

Rain over Stáloluokta

Gierggevárre beyond Áras

Peaks in Sarek

The rain approaching

More peaks in Sarek

The Boarkka man

Again, from another angle

Peaks around Nijákjiegŋa

Wider Sarek view

Misty closeup

Reindeer under rainbow

Fairer

Rainbow without reindeer

Vastenjávrre

Rainbow with cottages

Lådderåhto

Steep brink

Downstream Låddejåhkå

The cottages on the brink

A bridge...

...over a smooth canyon

Arrival

...at first, but at the entrance to the main building there were two rucksacks. Before entering myself, however, I went to have a look at the two smaller buildings, finding that the closest one was a slightly larger/newer version of the ones in Árasluokta, and that the other one was occupied by a couple with a dog. This indicated that they were Sámi, as there is a general ban on dogs in Padjelanta, and from what I could tell they seemed to be doing some work on the cottage site as such. I then went inside the main building, where two Americans were having a snack in the kitchen, and a brief chat followed. I took up position in a small room down the hall and then went back to the kitchen for some reindeer meat and more talk, after which the other two went out to find a suitable place for their tent – which was easy enough as there was a perfect patch immediately outside the door.

For a while the view into Sarek – and over Lánjektjåhkkå in particular – improved, but soon the clouds started sinking again, now also covering Mulkka, and a chilly wind picked up. The two ladies from before arrived, as did the camping pair, but the latter pressed on after a short break, and I took to talking with the former for a bit before turning to some pamphlets I found lying around. Now it had started to rain both out on Vastenjávrre and over Sarek, but only a few drops reached our location. I mostly relaxed during the rest of the afternoon and then started preparing dinner, where I was joined by the two women, who were the only ones to stay the night (save for the Americans outside).

After dinner a lone camper came in for a while, but he soon went on his way as it was getting lighter again. The American couple were slightly distressed because one of them had lost a spectacles lens, and despite thorough searching had been unable to find it, but whether by Poirotic wits or sheer luck I discovered it almost at once, underneath the stairs leading up to the kitchen door. Having thus incurred the eternal gratitude (or something) of one Miami art historian I set out on an evening walk, first going up a little ways along the northbound trail and then walking out to the western edge of the plateau on which the cottages are situated. Across Låddejåhkå, close to the bridge were some campers, and I assumed that these were the trio I had passed earlier. The clouds appeared to be going away, but they still hung thick around the Norwegian border.

Back inside the Americans were making dinner in the kitchen, and I spent quite some time talking to them. Later the warden came in to collect payment, and for the second time I delivered a letter to her; she was the same one who had been in Vaimok three years before. After she had left I continued to converse with the foreigners and then read some in my book. An evening snack and much more talk followed while outside the clouds had both grown more numerous and less high, but it was calm still and not very cold. Eventually I bade the others good night and lay down at 22.