DAY 1 - Friday, July 20, 2007
Stockholm-Kiruna-Abisko-River Camp (9 km)
We started the day by shouldering our pack in our
apartment in Stockholm and hiking across Haga parken to
the airport bus. At the check-in counter we met the
Lithells (Per-Oskar, Markus and Gustav) and boarded a
flight to Kiruna, about 1000 km north of Stockholm.
There we soon found a bus (#91) to Abisko Tourist Station,
which was our trailhead. We bought fuel for the stoves
(you can not carry it on an airplane) and a last ice cream
and stepped out on trail at 5:00 pm.
The Kungsleden Trailhead |
Will and Markus have been friends since we moved to
Hanover and there are both going into 11th grade. Robin
and Gustav have know each other, but they are in different
grades (entering 8th and 9th, respectively). But they
are both soccer enthuses and actually act very similar.
They are the 'Tiggers' of the crew, with a lot of bounce
and energy. Per-Oskar is soft spoken and a good companion
for a long hike. I often saw him smiling as he watched
our boys. I think it was a good crew and we traveled
well together.
The trail was easy at the start, and we ticked off
9 kilometers following the Abiskojåkka (river) which is
lined with willow. Farther from the water the trees are
almost all birch. We made camp near the water, and cooked
our supper. In the evening I climbed a rocky ledge and
watched a hawk circling over the river.
Our hike is at 68.5 degrees north latitude - above the
Arctic circle. This does mean that the winters are
hard, but now in the summer it remind me of the landscape
above the treeline in Colorado or Montana. I think
the strongest Arctic attribute which we say was the
amount of light. We started hiking at 5:00 and did
not worry about dark - because it never got dark. It
is true the sun sets (they had their first sunset in
about two months a week before we arrived), but the
sun is just below the horizon and it was never dark.
This meant that we could have long evening walks,
but it also made it hard to sleep at night.
DAY 2 - Saturday, July 21, 2007
River Camp - Abiskojauestugorna - Lake Camp (21 km)
It was cold overnight and I slept with my fleece on.
I was stiff in the morning, and so went for a walk before
getting everyone else up. Oatmeal will be our breakfast for
the whole week. We didn't get on trail until 10:45 - but with
all the daylight we could want this made little difference.
Water Break |
First Pass |
Lunch on the Tundra |
Lake From Hill Top
Evening Walk |
We hiked past a lake and stopped at Abiskojauestugorna
just to set what it was like. "Stuga" is a hut or cabin.
Along the major trails these are really support stations,
like the huts in the White Mountains.
We now turned away from the lake and climbed into our
first pass. Actually I think it may be more of a gap, since
a single stream flows through it. The valley and stream are
called Gárddenvaggi and the hill next to it Gárddenvarri.
The boys say that this hill, bare and rocky, reminded them
of "Weathertop" from Lord of the Rings. We have left the
trees behind and will not see any more for a few days.
It has started to rain a little, a cold drizzle, and
the entire landscape is damp. We drink straight out of the
streams here, and the Swedes in our crew do not even carry
water bottles because there are so many streams everywhere.
After the gap we came out into a valley which has a lake
20 km. long. Actually, according to my map it is a chain of
half a dozen lakes. We also see a Sami summer village
used when herding reindeer. Later, in the distance we
see some reindeer. Evidence of the deer is everywhere,
hoof prints in the mud and snow, and droppings.
After about 20 km. of hiking we had hoped to find a
willow thicket to camp in because of the rain and wind.
But there are none. So we found a place where a bank gave
us some shelter from the wind and we pitched our tents.
After dinner it was not raining, although there are
still mountains next to this lake I have not seen the tops
of because of clouds. We climbed a hill behind our campsite
and reached the top at about 9:00 pm. Our tents are tiny
yellow specks 1-2 km below us.
The Sami are the native people of this region. There
are the people who have often been called "Lapps". The
word Lapp is apparently Finnish and may mean "people
living on the edge, or outsiders". Recently it is
sometimes used in a derogatory way - much like the word
"hick".
The Sami language has named most of the geographic
features around here. My map often has two names,
such as "Kebnekaise" and "Giebmegáisi", the first is
the Swedish spelling, the second the Sami. I can
not type in this email all the alphabet of the Sami,
they use some Cyrillic letters - but I'll do my best.
Also when I look at place names like "Gárddenvaggi" and
"Gárddenvarri", I expect that the ending is telling me
"river" or "mountain". So I'll try to avoid the mistake of
adding English endings and writing "Rio Grande River", by
instead writing "Rio Grande (river)", with river not part
of its name - but rather just an indicator of what it is.
The Sami heard Reindeer, and I am told use very modern
techniques because reindeer meat is becoming trendy. They
stretch fences across valleys and use ATV and even helicopter
to heard them. The main thing we saw were the fences and
the occasional summer village of tiny huts.
Morning of Day3 |
Across The Tundra |
Alesjaure Hut |
DAY 3 - Sunday, July 22, 2007
Lake Camp - Alesjaurestugorna - Meadow Camp (15 km)
The morning was still cold and windy and we made our
breakfast huddled against the bank which gave us a wind break.
Markus is feeling ill this morning and we had long discussion
as what to do. But time is on our side. We have an extra
day in our schedule and we have made such good time that
we can just hang out this morning and see how he feels.
At noon we shoulder our packs and head towards the
south end of the lakes. By the time we reach Alesjaurestugorna,
the "hut" at the south end of the lake, Markus is back to
normal. At Alesjaurestugorna there are half a dozen buildings
including a small store. I am delighted to see that the prices
are not too expensive and that they take credit cards! We
buy tea, hot chocolate, crisp bread and dried soup. We also
sat inside, out of the wind, for our lunch.
Our trail now continues south along the Aliseatnu (river).
This is open country. Kilometer upon kilometer of tundra. By
the way, the word "Tundra" is Sami.
That evening we set up camp in an area where the terrain
is rolling. We tried to find a place where we are out of the
main blast of the wind, but nor so sheltered that there would
be clouds of mosquitoes. Just as we finish supper it starts to
rain and we all crowd into the Lithell's tent. They have a
four-man tent, with a large vestibule. It is cozy for the
six of us. Actually it is nice to be warm.
DAY 4 - Monday, July 23, 2007
Meadow Camp - Tjäktjapasset -
Sälkastuorna - Mosquito Camp (17 km)
Meadow Camp |
The Whole Crew |
Trail To The Pass |
Down Tjäktja |
I woke up to a bit of mountain paradise! The sun was
shinning, the air was warm and there was hardly a mosquito
to be seen! I set my stuff outside of the tent to air out
and ran around barefoot for awhile.
Once on trail we hiked up past Tjäktjastugan (hut) and
on to Tjäktjapasset (pass). The last four kilometers of this
was over broken stone, and was not easy. But from the top
of the pass -- what a view! We are high up above the head of
the next valley.
We had our lunch just below the pass, and one of the
resupply helicopters buzzed overhead. This valley is a classic
glacial U-shaped valley. In fact just about everything I have
ever heard about glacial geography is on display here. Moraines,
hanging valley, and so forth.
We stopped at Sälkastugorna for more food, and then
established what I have named "Mosquito Camp". Actually the
mosquitoes swarmed, but didn't bit as much as I would have
expected. In the evening Will, Markus, Per-Oskar and I walk
across the tundra to the east following the Gashkkasjohka
(stream), until we climbed a moraine which separated the side
valley from the main one. The stream has cut a sharp V-valley
through the moraine - just as the text books say it should.
Will found a good place near the stream and sat quietly
carving long into the evening.
I had been warned about the mosquitoes in northern
Sweden. Actually I think that they are no worst then
in the woods of New England or many other places. In
fact I meet a number of swarms which flew about you,
but didn't actually land! I am use to the idea that
mosquitoes are worst at about sunset, and I tried
to look for this pattern, but with a questionable
"sunset", I never really found a pattern.
DAY 5 - Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Mosquito Camp - Eagle's Nest (14 km)
Headed South |
Will Prefect Camp |
Robin Snowfield |
Per-Oskar & Rainbow |
The weather was clear when I got up, but there are lots
of mosquitoes. I slipped a cup of tea to the boys to help get
them up. Soon we have had our oatmeal and are on our way.
We crossed a stream which was almost milky in color. I
asked the boys why they thought it was colored. Gustav eventually
figured it out. This is what is called "Glacial Milk", and
comes from streams which drain from active glaciers. The
whiteness is actually powered stone, ground between the mountain
and rocks frozen in the bottom of the glacier.
Our original plan was to hike to Kebnekaise fjällstation
(mountain station) today, and then climb Kebnekaise as a side
trip tomorrow. This makes today a short and simple hike.
Instead we turn off of Kungsleden - the main trail - and head
cross country up the Sinnijohka (stream). Actually our map
show this as an "unmarked trail". In fact there are cairns
marching across the tundra. The main point of the "unmarked
trail", I think, is that it indicates that the route is passable,
there are no 5 meter cliff which might not show up on the
map, but would mean you might not be able to cross.
Will At Eagles Nest |
Boys With Rocks |
We had lunch on a boulder field from a landslide, and came
across a beautiful meadow and lake. This would be a great place
to camp, but we have a lot of the day left and would like to
be in a good position to climb Kebnekaise tomorrow if the weather
permits.
As we continue to climb the world becomes stonier and we
tramp across more broken stones, boulder fields and snow. The
snow is a relief to walk on - it is somewhat flat. There are
rushing streams under part of the snow fields, so we move with
caution - and do not cross the snow above the water.
At about 5:00 pm we start looking for a camping places. We
don't want to camp at any higher elevation and rain clouds
keep rolling through the pass and up the side valley towards
us. But it is hard to find anything but rocks and snow. Finally
we spot a nearly level shelf 20-30 meters above the valley
floor, just large enough for our tents. It even has a bit of
grass and moss on it! Per-Oskar named it the "Eagle's Nest"
because of the way is looks out over the valley floor.
After supper Will carved a reindeer horn he found and the
other three boys tossed rocks down a cliff face trying to crack
them. What is a few more broken rocks among the millions in that
valley? It has been raining off and on all evening.
DAY 6 - Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Eagle's Nest - Kebnekaise - Last Camp (14 km)
Eagles Nest |
Unpassbale Side Valley |
Kebnekaise Peak |
Boys On Top |
Starting Down |
We are about 3 km to the peak of Kebnekaise. We are camped
at about 1400 meters, the peak is 2111 meters. So I have
estimated that we should plan on three hours to make this climb.
If it is raining in the morning we have time on our side and we
can just hang out in camp for a few hours before we have to decide
want to do. If the peak is weather bound we can climb back
down to that camp site by the meadow, and follow that valley
to the Kebnekaise fjällstation.
It has stopped raining at 3:00 am and I was tempted to get
the crew up very early, but I also think this would have lead
to a revolt. Still, we got up at 7:00 and shouldered our packs
at 9:00 - which was early for us.
It took us an hour and a quarter to get to the pass between
Kebnekaise and Vierranvárri - the next mountain south. This
is only a kilometer horizontally and about 200 meters vertical
from our camp at the Eagle's Nest. We still have 2 kilometers
and 500-600 meters vertical. So we cache our packs and continued
with two light packs containing only rain gear and some food
and water.
Vierranvarri Cairns |
A Long Ways Down |
Kebnekaise |
Out Of Mountains |
We switched the pack carrier every 10 minutes. While the
second person is carrying we find ourselves level with Vierranvárri,
which means we have climbed to over 1700 meters. After the third
carrier we pass a pair of hut perched on the side of Kebnekaise.
Also it is not so steep as we approach the top.
And then we can see the peak - and it is dumbfounding. We
have been tramping across stones for hours now, but the last
fifty meters is snow and ice. The peak looks like a miniature
model of the Matterhorn, a spike of ice, a crown on top of the
peak. A ridiculous design!
The peak is on a knife edge between the Björlings glaciär to
the east and the Rabots glaciär to the west. Rabots was the first
person to climb Kebnekaise. We crawled up the snow to the peak,
which was covered with flags people had left behind. The flag
of Sweden, Norway and the Sami flag were on the peak. Will waved
the Troop 45 "field flag" (class-B neckerchief) on the peak.
We could not really see the Björlings glaciär because the clouds
below us in the east, but to the west we can see down hundreds of
meters to the Rabots glaciär.
After ten minutes we returned to the rocks and ate chocolate.
The decent to our packs was fast, and then we cooked lunch in the
rain. After lunch we climbed Vierranvárri. This mountain is nearly
as steep as Kebnekaise, but not as tall - which is good since we
now have full packs. On the top - in the mist - are hundreds of
cairns. It is a bit surreal. The boys add one more to the
collection, and then it is time to descend. It is all down hill
from here. We can drop the last hundred meters to the valley
floor by sliding on a snow field!
Now it is a straight forward decent to Kebnekaise fjällstation.
We resupply but leave as soon as we can. This mountain station
is very busy with many more people then we have seen this last week
and we are happy to escape. Another 2 kilometers and
we set up our last camp site.
Kebnekaise is the tallest peak in Sweden. It is also the
tallest peak in Europe north of the Arctic circle. The
name from Sami Giebmegáisi, means "Cauldron Crest", which
I think refers to the cauldron formed by the Björlings glaciär.
The ice of this glacier extends even to the peak. Of course
classic glacier ice comes from being compressed under
a thick layer of snow. I expect that this ice is just
clouds colliding with the mountain top.
DAY 7 - Thursday, July 26, 2007
Last Camp - Nikkaluokta - Kiruna (17 km)
Last Camp |
Trail Out |
Will At Nikkaluokta |
It was pouring all night and I thought it might be hard to get
our crew up and on trail in the morning. But I think everyone
understood that we had 17 kilometers to go and that the bus left
the trail head at 5:00 pm. We were on trail by 9:30 and the boys
set a very good pace.
We are back to the willows along the water and the birch
trees, much like the landscape of our first day. I was concerned
about how fast we could hike because I knew that there were a
number of blisters in the crew, but that didn't seem to slow
down anyone as we started logging 15 minute kilometers. We
stopped as noon for a quick snack of cheese, crisp bread and
chocolate, and then continued. At one point you can ride in a
boat for five kilometers. On foot we made nearly as good a time
as people in the motor boat. And finally - Nikkaluokta at
2:00. We walked 17 kilometers in 4 ½ hours! We now had three
hours to wait for the bus. We bought and ate soda and ice creams,
and then ate everything in our packs (lot of soup, crisp bread,
cheese and ost-in-a-tube).
That is the end of the hike - but I think I'll also give
a quick account of our return to Stockholm.
The bus (#92) took us to Kiruna where we stayed in the
"Hotell Kebne". That night, after lots of showers and soap, we ate
at a Boston style sports bars called "O'Leary's".
Summary of Distances
| from start | total for day |
| Abisko | 0 |
| River Camp | 9 | 9 |
| Abiskojaurestugorna | 15 |
| Lake Camp | 30 | 21 |
| Alesjaurestugorna | 35 |
| Meadow Camp | 45 | 15 |
| Tjäktjastugan | 48 |
| Tjäktjapasset | 52 |
| Sälkastugorna | 60 |
| Mosquito Camp | 63 | 18 |
| Eagle's Nest | 77 | 14 |
| Kebnekaise | 80 |
| Kebnekaise fjällstation | 89 |
| Last Camp | 91 | 14 |
| Nikkaluokta | 108 | 17 |
Total: 108 kilometers
(67 miles)
| 
