Saturday 18/9

Upon arriving in Vallbo, I spent some time searching for the parking-lot-and-trail-central, and once I had found it I had a strengthening snack. The weather was very nice – dazzling sun, only a few clouds, comfortable walking temperature, and no wind. I commenced the trek at 10:45.

The trail soon entered the forest, and immediately began to ascend substantially. The shadows of the trees made for a good cooling effect considering the bodily effort expended, and after a while of not too burdensome climbing the terrain levelled out and the trees dispersed enough to render some nice views. A bit further ahead, I came to Vargtjärnflätet, which is a large, flat, boggy region where duckboards provide aid for hikers. I passed a family just before stepping onto the first of these, and then several other people along the way (some of the boardwalks were wide).

Leaving Vallbo in full sunlight

First bog

A bird sitting still long enough for me to get a shot of it

Lunndörren in the distance

Fjelds to the southeast...

...and the east

Middagsvalen and its antenna

More trees

Lill-Stensdalsfjället

Stor-Vargtjärnen

Peculiar bog patch

Into the forest

After Stor-Vargtjärnen, the plain comes to an end and the trail reenters the forest, only to arrive at another stretch of mostly open land after just a kilometer or two. This is due to the proximity to Grönvallen, which is a settlement from the olden days, when there was an agricultural presence in the area. There's not much of that nowadays, though, so I just stopped for a short break, complete with some nibbling of dried reindeer meat and a visit to the functional privy.

Clear traces of agriculture...

...while approaching...

...the old settlement...

...Grönvallen

Right after Grönvallen, the trail splits up into one branch which passes by the formation known as Pyramiderna, and one branch which goes through Issjödalen, which is where I turned east. Soon the land started to rise, eventually levelling out on the extensive heathland leading up to, and continuing through, the valley. Fjeld heaths typically display a lot of color, and since it was autumn at the time, what I saw was a veritable splendor. Nice!

Having passed the second bridge before the entrance to the valley proper, I walked to a slope a bit off to the left, where I sat down to have lunch. The weather was continuously fair, and life was good. Before returning to the trail, I climbed the slope and broke through the thicket there, which gave me an open view north, towards Ottsjö.

Ascending to the...

...heathland...

...that stretches out...

...in all directions...

...in the beginning of...

...Issjödalen

Still sunny

Ottsjö (I think)

A bit along the trail after I restarted, I suddenly realized that I had dropped my map. Since I hadn't gone particularly far since the last time I could remember that I had detected its presence, I dumped the rucksack and jogged back along the path. Sure enough, a few hundred meters back it was lying on the ground, in plain view. Phew.

As for Issjödalen itself, it really is a unique area. The ice cap has sculptured the land in ways one would otherwise have identified as the result of human involvement, particularly reminiscent of mining operations, and it was a great experience walking through it. At the far end of the valley lies Issjön itself, the ice lake which is the last remnant of the glaciation per se – the trail does not pass directly by it, so I naturally had to deviate for a bit to get a look at it.

Going further...

...into the valley

Pretty stream

The sun above the southwestern wall

The royal hunting cabin above...

...Issjön, the small lake giving the valley its name

Just behind the royal hunting cabin seen above, the trail goes up a steep slope beside a small rill – or, actually, in the small rill. I managed to hop around sufficiently to avoid getting wet, and then I stood on the vast plateau stretching out below Stor-Gröngumpen. A bit later on, the trail crossed the stream Grönan at an unmarked, rather wide ford, but since I was walking in regular sports shoes, and changing into the rubber boots I had brought would be somewhat of a hassle, I continued along the shoreline to see if I could find a suitable crossing among the numerous rocks I could see further ahead. I had no luck, though, so after some futile searching I returned to the ford, switched to the boots and just walked across.

A wind which had picked up down in the valley blew relentlessly, growing stronger all the time. It was still rather warm, however, so it was of little concern. I kept the boots on for the remainder of the walk, which after passing Pyramiderna went alongside a somewhat striking ravine before trailing off into a sparse forest again. Suddenly, I caught sight of the Lunndörren cottages, but just as suddenly the lay of the land obscured them from view again, and it was surprisingly long before I actually arrived there, which was at around 15:45.

Up into the light!

Did someone drop a paint bucket?

Some fjelds

Perfectly flat plateau

The aptly named Pyramiderna (Pyramids)

Some other fjelds

Fjelds to the west

Skirting a ravine

A tarn just before the cottages

There were a few persons outside the larger cottage when I got there, two of which continued towards Tossåsen with the intent of spending the night in a tent – despite the warden's best efforts to persuade them to stay. I needed no persuasion, however, and requested a bed of my own accord. Having dumped my stuff, I went for a little walk along the southbound trail, to get a better view of the surroundings – the cottages have trees around them – and then turned back.

Bunnerfjällen far away

Returning to the cottages

Next, I prepared dinner – I carved little pieces of the dried reindeer meat to flesh out the mushroom sauce, since I was feeling rather hungry. By then more people had begun arriving, and the main cottage started to fill up. The wind had continued to increase, and eventually brought with it rain and gloom, so it was nice having completed the day's stage in good time. The sauna was fired up, and I paid a visit to it shortly after dinner; there were a few other guys there, and we agreed that that was the proper way to spend an evening with such weather conditions.

When I was leaving the sauna in the last feable light, a group arrived from the Anaris cottage, seeming pretty worn. Close call, that. With the latest addition, the two cottages were brimming, and even with the spare mattresses some had to share a bed. There are 24 beds in total, and there were 32 guests, plus two tents and a couple of dogs – this was the penultimate weekend of the summer season, and STF's fjeld facilities are always under heavy load then (in contrast to the weekdays of that last period, when they're usually practically empty). I sat reading for a while before having an evening snack, and then went to bed listening to the wind howling in the chimneys.