Friday 3/8 – Thursday 9/8

Friday 3/8

And rain it did, together with thunder. The rainfall continued in the morning, with or without an accompanying haze over the lake, and things were rather wet all around. The tenter eventually saw fit to get going rather than trying to wait it out, whereas I spent the forenoon reading indoors. Around lunchtime the rain finally petered out, and before too long patches of sky started appearing.

Lighter

Preying

Later in the afternoon the clouds broke up for real and the sun came out, but on the other hand there was quite a bit of wind. There had been no movement during the day, save for the eagle above, so I was surprised to see someone come down the trail after 20. This someone was a Swede who had walked from Pieskehaure and found the trail quite taxing – or at least time-consuming – so he was quite happy to have reached a place of retreat and quickly decided to stay inside.

More water in the stream

Fair

Sun over the cottage

Sun over the stream

Looking east

Clouds were gathering around Stájggá, as they were wont to do, but other than that the sky was almost clear and it looked like it was going to be a cold night. Having taken care of business with the other fellow I had my evening snack and went to bed at 22:00, shortly after which the wind, which had been absent for most of the evening, picked up again.

Saturday 4/8

As it turned out the night was not clear, and neither was the morning, even though there was quite a bit of sky to be seen. The outside temperature was a modest 10°C and the wind was still at it, which made for rather chilly conditions. After the other man had left I set about doing some chores in and around the guest cottage, and then an older German couple came by from the east. They were, unsurprisingly, camping out and so we talked a bit about what lay ahead.

In the afternoon I baked another batch of bread, of a different type this time, while outside conditions slowly deteriorated. Later on there was a bit of sun here and there, but also a very light passing shower or two, and after dinner it looked like the clouds had finally decided to break up. They never fully did, however, and by the time I went to bed the weather could still be termed "cloudy", but the wind was back to weak.

Sunday 5/8

During the night the clouds eventually did lift, and when I awoke there were only high veils left. As the morning went on there appeared smaller wads of cloud at lower altitudes around and between the peaks, but I judged that this was a temporary process and that conditions for extensive visibility remained good. I therefore decided to take the opportunity to ascend Tsähkkok, and left shortly before 10 to do so.

Go to day tour report »

I went down to have a wash in the lake at once, coming upon a single man who was sitting on the guest cottage's porch. This was Pär whom I knew from Utsidan and Unna Allakas, and I talked for a bit with him after a cold immersion. Another couple of people came from the east, which turned out to be two Swedish fishermen who took a food break outside before continuing towards Varvvekjåhkå, and the four of us spent a long time outside talking as the latter two prepared and ingested their food – during which another single man stomped past without a word or even missed step. It was now getting cloudier all around, which together with the increasing wind made for a distinct chill in the air, so I was glad to return inside to eat myself when the pair had left.

In the evening I went down to talk with Pär inside, who was the only overnight guest – he had walked west of Padjelanta in various challenging parts of Norway close to the border for close to two weeks, and was now on the home stretch. Eventually the expected rain arrived, and it poured down quite extensively when I tiredly hit the sack.

Monday 6/8

The rain had moved on in the morning, and the sky was more blue than not. Pär was up and about, and I spoke some more with him before he left. The fair tendencies of the morning were now being retracted, and Stájggá was hitting the ceiling as usual. The chilly air of the last few days had finally worked its way inside my cottage, so I fired up the gas heater for the first time, especially since the weather service spoke of the possibility of frost the coming night.

I took it easy reading and listening to the radio, and later in the afternoon when the sun came out again I went out for a short walk in the immediate vicinity. This was only temporary, however, for soon it was back to thick clouds and some drops in the strong wind. The radio informed me that the warm summer had finally brought about what everyone had been expecting for years, namely that the altitude of the glacier-capped South Peak of Sweden's highest mountain Giebmegáisi had now sunk below that of the solid North Peak for the first time ever in recorded history – as clear an indication as any of the changing climate.

After dinner I listened to the European athletics championships which had just begun, while outside conditions improved somewhat again, but the peaks still attracted large masses of cloud. The failing light was nice to look at but it was rather cold in the strong wind, which was quite noisy as I turned in at 22:00.

Tuesday 7/8

The wind had mostly died down in the morning, and most of the clouds had dissipated as well, even though there still remained caps around the peaks. The sun grew in power and the clouds shrank back more and more so I prepared for another day tour, this time aiming for Bajep Skájdásj in the high valley to the east, and left before the clock had struck 10.

Go to day tour report »

I talked with the other two people who had taken up position at the bench on my way down to the lake; they were Germans who were just taking a break. The water was as cold as expected, but the warm air mitigated the experience well. Back up in my cottage I rested for a bit and then started preparing this season's pizza, which turned out really well.

Sunny

Dinner is served

Two people were approaching from the east and I went down to meet them, finding them to be Swedish. They were staying for the night, and they also alerted me to the fact that there was an older man with a dog also heading this way. Some high clouds were starting to arrive in the sky, but it was rather a splendid evening.

Eventually I spotted a man and a dog approaching, and the diminutive canine was the first to arrive. Its master soon caught up, and I noted his rather ancient – but still quite functional – gear. The man himself was 75 years old, and he planned on staying for two nights. After some more athletics I went down to collect payment form and talk with the guests, and then returned to the sports report before it was time to go to bed at 22:15 in a still and very beautiful evening.

Dog on rock

Dog on porch

Wednesday 8/8

It was a quiet night, and when I arose it was warm, still and mostly clear. I went down to check on the others, finding that the pair had already left, but the man'n'dog were outside. Two new people were also coming down the slope east of the stream, having camped up on the heights so as to get the evening sunlight that is denied the cottage, and now aimed – after being tipped off about it – for the beach for breakfast. At long last I could have a breakfast of my own, after which the man went on a day tour up Vájmokbákte to look at Sulidälbmá.

I took it easy out in the sun or with the radio, and after a while two Germans stopped by for a short break. The sun was now passing into veils, which was actually rather pleasant, and I had my lunch outside on the chair. In the afternoon I finally set about moving the piles of firewood outside into the woodshed – I had wanted to give them time to dry as long as possible, but now there was another rain on the way. This was warm work, but the increasing wind cooled things off. I could only fit about half of the combined number of logs in the remaining space while maintaining both order and future workability, so two piles had to remain outside for the time being.

Campers on the trail

Piles to move

Piles moved

I slumbered through the afternoon, and was later surprised to see another man-dog pair make their way down the trail. The resulting encounter went rather well, as the new dog was old, tired and almost entirely uninterested in the advances of its younger, spryer counterpart, and they had no problem sharing the one and only dog room – and neither did their masters. The new man was also a warden who had been visiting Anna-Lena in Pieskehaure and was now on his way home. The sky was now growing more and more overcast as the rain front slowly approached, but no precipitation yet.

Sky turning to steel

Canine interaction
(or lack thereof)

There were no other guests, and the three of us (quadrupeds not included) spent the early evening talking in the kitchen. Later, as I listened to the athletics on the radio, the rain finally arrived, soon bringing an impenetrable haze as well, and the wind howled in the chimney – the combined sound of this and drops striking the roof causing me to raise the volume on the radio to be able to hear anything.

Thursday 9/8

This day also began with low clouds and rain, which intensified after breakfast. The second dog-man had left early in the morning, but the first one waited until the rain petered out. He was quite right to do so, for the cloud cover quickly broke up. Having cleaned out all the dog hair from the guest cottage I sat down with the radio, and now more rain was rolling in from the west – quite powerfully, too.

First rain

Breaking up

Re-amassing

Next rain

From then on it shifted back and forth, and every now and then there was sunlight upon the lake, the surface of which was disturbed by a progressively stronger wind. In the afternoon there was less rain, but the clouds were quite low at first, only slowly lifting. A single hiker was coming down the trail at a quick pace, and I met him outside the guest cottage. He was a foreigner of indeterminate origin who had spent the last 20 days walking all of Nordkalottleden; he had come from the Háddit ford today and was now headed for (or beyond) Tarrekaise – and after reaching Kvikkjokk he considered going to Hemavan to walk all of Kungsleden as well! I talked with him as he had lunch outside, putting up his lightweight tarp tent to dry in the wind, and then returned up to have an afternoon snack. The clouds were now dispersing for real, and the wind was decreasing.

In the evening it was back to strong gusts, however, but the celestial clearing process continued. I went out for a walk in the slippers, noting that there were blueberries up on the slopes that had survived the drought. Later on I espied a single hiker moving on the eastern trail, taking quite a long time to get nearer with frequent pauses. When he finally arrived I met him outside, and he decided to stay inside albeit under some protest with regard to the on-site price for non-members. He was quite talkative, though, and I spent the remainder of the evening in conversation.