Thursday 24/7

I found the trail after Sturebadet – which I had thitherto not trodden – to be nice and dry at first, and then followed a shorter portion of wetter ground. I passed over the Gruvsmällen stream on rocks, and then the pleasant heathland took by once more. The sky was now almost entirely clear, but some clouds remained in front of the top of Stora Härjångsstöten. Just where the winter trail splits in two I met a couple who had spent the night at the bridge over Härjångsån, and now they were headed towards Gåsen, having been told time and again how beautiful Härjångsdalen is.

Myself I proceeded to said bridge and crossed it, and in the slope on the other side low flowers appeared en masse. The climb up beside Gåertiestjaerhvie was actually not that taxing, and the expanding vista would have made up for any exertion anyway; when coming from the other direction one might in fact have the opposite reaction, since the cottages are clearly visible from here on, but there are still several kilometers to go. That did not concern me as I was going southwards, and the trail soon started tracing the elongated crest of a low gravel rise, from which I had a nice outlook over Vålåsjön. After a bit I broke off to the right and started gaining height on easily trodden ground riddled with other flowers, coming up onto the hill which the trail turns around further down. As I did so the Helags massif rose majestically in the not-too-remote distance, and it was with a sigh of contention that I seated myself on a miniature ledge with that sight before my eyes at noon.

Sturebadet

On the trail

Stream with Gråsjödörren in the background

Härjångsfjällen rising above the land

The way to Lunndörren

The way to Gåsen

Snow gentian – the bluest there is

About to ascend beside Gåertiestjaerhvie

Panorama from the top of the slope, from north to east (cottage site just left of center)

First sight of Vålåsjön

Another sight of Vålåsjön

Still on trail

Mountain avens off the trail

The pass between Lievkiesåajja and Vuelie Livkiesåajja

In addition to Helags itself this sight encompassed a more nearby network of pools interconnected by small brooks, and the combined result was very eye-catching. Up there the wind could do its thing unchecked, and even though it was rather warm in the similarly unchecked sunlight I put on the jacket before eating. After eating I remained seated for a long time – I could hardly do otherwise under the circumstances – only rising to put on the wind trousers for the aforementioned reason. I saw a couple of reindeer passing below, but other than that (and the wind) everything was entirely still. A bit later the effect of the sun was noticeably higher, so when I got up I removed the wind dress and then started down the other side of the hill.

Helags and an intricate network of pools

Far-reaching southern vista

Dunsjöfjället behind the southern end of Vålåsjön

Skardsfjella beyond the Norwegian border

Another panorama from north to east, this time from the lunch site

I had no more come down the slope than the wind died down, so from there on things were warm indeed. I returned to the trail for a short bit but quickly broke off towards the northern end of Vålåsjön, crossing a number of small brooks sprung from the still melting snow further up, which made the ground rather wet in general. I crossed two lines of winter trail markers after which the ground got drier as I approached one of Vålåtjärnarna. This I went on to round at close range, aiming for the northernmost one, which involved more wet patches, but here and there reindeer paths facilitated progress.

I reached the mere close to a rather nice-looking beach with a similarly nice-looking bottom extending outwards, and close by there was a low plateau which seemed ideal for tenting. From there I followed another reindeer path northwards up and down the low hills that had started appearing, and at the northern end of the mere, right by the outflow of Vålån was another beach that was bigger both in regard to extent and constituent pebbles. Unfortunately the look-and-feel of the place was blemished by quite a large heap of rubbish some idiots had left behind only half concealed in a discarded fireplace, and I took as much as I could with me.

Vålåsjön absolutely calm

Still some snow left

Helags and snow

Another look south

One of Vålåtjärnarna

Pretty flowers, these are

Mere, and Helags

Getting hillier

First beach

Second beach

On the second beach

The beginning of Vålån

The outflow itself is, as outflows go, unusually deep and swift, but after a few hundred meters the already quite significant stream calms itself down and can easily be crossed. Very soon thereafter it speeds up again, and then throws itself waterfall-fashion into/through an impressive rock canyon. I remained close to the water, going across a large flat field that could easily have supported any number of tents, but at the start of the ravine I increased the distance; all the time there were several reindeer paths to choose from. I followed the ravine for some time yet, looking at several of the various foaming and roaring waterfalls before turning westwards.

It was my intention to return to the bridge, and I only slowly descended in order to avoid the bushes closer to Härjångsån, but suddenly a terrain feature right below caught my attention and I decided to make directly for this instead. After making my way across some wetness I came to something which was precisely what I had thought it was: a natural pier. From the main bulk of this there broke off a line of rocks that nearly went all the way across, with the result that the narrow passage held a swift current, but on either side the water was almost dead calm. The bottom was also very smooth and even, and therefore I decided to do something I would otherwise be very loth to do, namely ford a stream barefoot.

I did so below the passage, carrying my boots in one hand, and the water reached well up onto my thighs at the deepest place, but it did not feel very cold at all and as mentioned it was hardly moving. The brink on the other side was such that I had to look for a place where it was possible to scramble up, and having successfully accomplished this action I dried my feet in the dry grass before putting the boots back on. I crossed yet another area of severe wetness in such a way that I reached the nearest edge as soon as possible, and then traced this edge until I found drier ground, landing on the trail just above the winter trail split. During the remaining bit back to the cottages the sun did its best to subdue me, but I was still both alive and sane when I stepped onto the yard at 16:00.

Descent follows

Descent in progress

Descent completed

Crossing location

« Return to Vålåvalen report