Saturday 19/7

I walked along the nortbound trail in light attire, soon passing two of the guests who had left a bit earlier. There was sun on and off, and once I got out onto the open land beyond Roupe some wind also made itself known. I meant to go through the little pass just south of peak 1162, and I continuously scanned the slope to see where best to start the ascent. As I saw it, this was just after a small pool close to the trail, so I broke off the path and took to untrodden ground. Actually it would not remain untrodden for long (if indeed any ground is untrodden at all in these parts), for as I was going upwards I observed another lone fellow coming down, and we passed one another at a safe distance.

It was now sunny and warm, but the wind provided adequate comfort as I walked across terrain which was first very nice and easy, and then turned somewhat stonier after I had passed a few brooks. I kept to the left up through the saddle, and then I stood looking out over Låtedalen and the southern face of Lill-Stensdalsfjället.

On the move again

Partial light on Gruvsmällen

Ottfjället

To cross

Going up

Looking down

Brook in passing

Both of Kroktjärnarna

Vålåvalen+

Gråsjödörren+

S Kyrkstensskaftet

Mini-panorama of Lill-Stensdalsfjället

I maintained my altitude as I passed into the valley, coming onto a patch I immediately thought of as offering great campsites, with the only hassle that the nearest brook was several hundred meters off. After passing said brook I started a slow descent to get around some osier, and now more clouds were covering the sun at times. I crossed a short portion of rocks and soon thereafter reached the upper parts of what becomes one of a handful of streams in the area that are called Tvärån (this one is also known as Hilrehkenjohke). I had come to it just at a confluence, and I crossed both arms easily, noting that here it would also be good to pitch a tent.

Once on the other side I followed the water fairly closely as I climbed the slope, later aiming more directly for Stensdalstjärnarna. I passed over some wet sections and some vegetation that reached a fair bit up onto my shins, and rather suddenly I came upon the easternmost of Stensdalstjärnarna just at the outflow of another arm of the stream.

The view was a pretty albeit fairly limited one, and I thought that I would go on to the western lake before stopping for lunch, so I started rounding the first one in a clockwise direction. This lake has three small bays along its eastern side, and the middle one sports a nice-looking but narrow strip of sand which continues well out into the water, making it perfect for bathing sessions – and the nearby little headland can easily support a number of tents. I continued around the shore, coming upon the other lake from the south, and as expected more of the background was visible here. I went down to the water and located a rock of suitable size to have lunch by, seeking shelter from a fairly keen wind right at noon.

Åreskutan far away

Låtedalen close at hand

Vuelie Livkiesåajja

Låtedalen in the other direction

Having crossed Låtedalen

Vuelie Livkiesåajja with Lievkiesåajja peering out

Västra Bunnerstöten making an appearance

Furry family

Lievkiesåajja

Distant Hottögsfjället

The steep slope of
Lill-Stensdalsfjället

Last look back before...

...coming to Stensdalstjärnarna

Lill-Stensdalsfjället in the background

Panorama over the western lake, with Västra Bunnerstöten,
Östra Bunnerstöten and Stor-Stensdalsfjället

The scene with Västra Bunnerstöten and Östra Bunnerstöten rising above the near sub-horizon, with a dark water surface in between was a most appealing one, and I opted for a long, calm break. In the other direction, however, ominously dark clouds were looming over Lievkiesåajja, and it was not long before the sun disappeared anew. From the properties of the day so far, and the "detailed" look of those clouds, it was my judgment that they would not be bringing rain, and might well be temporary in their extent and density – and, sure enough, towards the end of my immobility they started breaking apart in places, intermittently letting the sun through again.

This whole business appeared to stem from a much larger and more held-together system of clouds in the southwest, for everywhere else the weather was quite fair, thank you very much (except for the far northeast, but that was of no concern). In any case, I started feeling a bit cold what with the wind and all, and as I left the lake I left the wind jacket on.

Panorama of Västra Bunnerstöten

Panorama of Östra Bunnerstöten

Lunch company

Västra Bunnerstöten across the water

Stor-Stensdalsfjället and Kyrkstensfjället

I had right from the start decided not to take the same way back, but instead to go through the pass between Lievkiesåajja and Vuelie Livkiesåajja, so I aimed straight up the slope. Here the terrain was much stonier but still easily trodden, and the wind was a force to be reckoned with. I walked mostly in shadow but the sun played on the various mountainsides all around, giving the scene a nice non-uniform look.

I drifted off a bit to the west, passing a number of small pools before coming to a somewhat larger one which on the map marks the start of one of the Tvärån arms. The outflow itself consisted of a water-drenched rock field and put no obstacles in my path, and from there I held a more easterly course towards the pass point. Turning my head westwards at precisely the right moment granted me a great view of the peaks of Sylarna, which I had calculated should just be possible somewhere along the route. For a while there were some very light drops in the air, but they soon shrank back; having reached the pass, however, I saw that some actual rainfall was occurring around Vålåsjön further ahead, and it appeared to be approaching.

I turned east and mostly kept at the same level on the southern slopes of Vuelie Livkiesåajja, walking on ground the "quality" of which was gradually improving. The wind kept at it, and soon it brought touches of the rainfall that was now passing up Härjångsdalen. As I myself was approaching Gruvsmällen I descended a little bit, and then steered towards the southern side of the next pass. Now the rain had moved out of reach, and seeing as how I was so close and that the slope looked as easy as it did, I made a spur-of-the-moment decision to go to the top of Gruvsmällen. A little bit of sunlight reached me while I climbed the last bit, and I removed my jacket again.

The eastern lake...

...and the western one

Kyrkstensfjället zoomed-in

Eastern lake +
Lill-Stensdalsfjället

Östra Bunnerstöten

Down Låtedalen

Ottsjön in the distance

Sylarna in the opposite distance

View southeast from the pass

Good-bye to Lievkiesåajja

Härjångsdalen with Sylarna beyond

Lievkiesåajja and
Västra Bunnerstöten

Of course I regretted doing so almost immediately, for the moment I stepped onto the plateau-ish summit I was struck by hard wind, but the views all around were enough to distract my mind from such petty sensations of purely physical nature. Still, I did not remain up there for long, and going down I went northeastwards, crossing a snowfield and then descending fairly easily towards the stream that starts around there. Soon I caught sight of the cottages, and adjusted my heading slightly. There were a few more drops in the air, so the jacket went back on.

The stream quickly grew in size, speed and noisiness; it consists of a long series of small waterfalls that are both seen and heard from the cottages, and between some of these I found a place where I could easily get across. I went straight down over several patches of wetness and/or low shrubs, but mostly the ground was good. Closer to the trail there were some more cumbersome portions, but before long I reached the path just before Sturebadet. The sun had then come out in full again, so the ascent of the last slope before 15:45 was a warm one.

Vålåsjön etc.

Sylarna etc.

Lunndörrsfjällen etc.

Vålå forest etc.

The many waterfalls...

...in the noisy stream

Almost there

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