Saturday 3/4

As soon as I came out onto Visttasjohka an appreciable headwind made itself known, but snow conditions were good and progress was easy. Ahead of me Duopmačohkka soon appeared in cloud-capped form, and behind it the sky was dark indeed. There were some holes in the ice as well as small regions of open water, but it was clearly full winter still. Just before the mouth of Unna Reaiddávággi the track left the stream for the northern shore, and I did the same; here there were quite a few bare patches on the sides, but the track was good. Inside/over Unna Reaiddávággi the sky was clear, with Pyramiden and Knivkammen showing in full, but Reaiddáčohkka still had clouds around its peaks. Before the next bridge the track, which had returned to the stream again, went up the other side as the ice in that region is typically not snowmobile friendly.

Once back on Visttasjohka, however, I met three snowmobiles, which upon closer inspection turned out to be members of the fjeld rescue service out on a monitoring tour. Behind me the upper parts of Šielmmáčohkka et al were still shrouded in clouds, and over Govggečorru which was coming into view another cloud was crawling. I met another three snowmobiles – Sámi this time – and then the sun, which had been absent for quite some time, reappeared just as I left the stream again for the last time. Up there "on solid ground" the track was all but solid, as it had gotten rather warm, and the stretch was longer than I remembered. Eventually, shortly before 11:45, I skied up to Lisa's cabin just as a snowmobile arrived from the other direction.

Following Visttasjohka

Leaving Stuor Reaiddávággi

Dark prospects

Pyramiden (Pyramid) and
Knivkammen (Knife Ridge)

Unna Reaiddávággi

Rescuers

Govggečorru and cloud

Catching sight of Lisa's cabin

Carried by this snowmobile were a man, a woman and a child, and the older two checked out the interior of the tiny building as the sun went away again. I spoke some to them and then sat down on a little bench against the wall, and in short fashion they headed back towards Nikkaluokta. There was some wind to reckon with and drops were also falling from the eave, so rather than remaining in place for very long I went inside. It was just the way I remembered it, save for a guestbook which I leafed through and then made an entry in myself. Here I also made the discovery that the camera was set to much too high an ISO level, so I rectified that at once. Back outside the cloud content in the sky had lessened, and Duopmačohkka was now free. I stood waiting for the sun to return, and after sending some text messages (signal's good at Lisa's) I started the journey back.

Guestbook entry + sketch

The inside...

...of the cabin

The outside, with Njunni behind

Up the valley

Cleft in the side of Govggečorru

As expected the side track was even softer now, but no worries. For a short while both Bossosčohkka and Kugghjulskammen (Cogwheel Ridge) showed themselves, but then the persistent clouds realized their error – and covered up the sun too while they were at it. I thought the stretch to the bridge was a bit tedious, and once there it was apparent that all of the peaks in/overlooking Unna Reaiddávággi were now hidden in cloud. Passing the mouth of this valley was warm due to a sudden solar reappearance, and it was a relief when it disappeared once more, and behind me the clouds had grown denser and lower again. Here the land appeared to have been shaded most of the day, for the snow was much better, and I covered the last bit easily enough, returning to the cottages at 14:45.

Among the trees

On the stream

Duopmačohkka by itself

No peaks in Unna Reaiddávággi

The sun shining above Bálggástakčorru

Still cloudy around Siehtagas

Nállu appearing

Nállu having appeared

Appearance of cottages

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