Distance: 27.5km / Elevation Gain: 857m / Elevation Loss: 404m
Before we set off we had the obligatory weigh in and we were both happy with our very respectable total pack weights … mine just under 14kg and Maurice’s a fraction under 15kg. Looking at some of the monsters parked outside of the mountain station, we were practically slack-packing. A couple of trail start photos and finally we were off!
The going was easy on good a good surface, with a gentle elevation. We were hiking through dense alpine birch forests and the autumn colours were a gorgeous kaleidoscope of golden yellow, orange and red. Thrilled to be on the trail at last, we walked with a spring in our step and made excellent progress. In no time at all we had passed all of the hikers that had arrived on the Bussgods with us.
A little after 1pm we reached the small lakeside STF Stuga at Parte where we stopped for lunch. The host was not home and so we had a quick snoop around. The hut was absolutely charming. Totally disconnected from the world, lighting was provided by candles, warmth from the wood burning stoves and water in pales fetched from the adjacent lake.
Outside on the table we cooked our lunch and chatted to a very over enthusiastic Swiss Frenchman who we nicknamed Francois. He had camped along the trail on the previous evening and said that he was freezing during the night. As he faffed about with his kit and I caught a glimpse of his sleeping bag as he was wrestling it back into a C&A bag that had somehow discovered a new lease of life as a dry bag … it wasn’t such a shock that he was so cold in the night. I was great full that we had great kit!
After lunch the trail climbed steeply up from the lake. Still in the forest, it was somewhat disconcerting not being able to see the top or get a gauge on how far was left to go. As we went higher the trail became more technical and we had to concentrate hard to pick our way through the rocks and boulders. Finally after a good 90 minutes of steady climbing the forest began to give way to the fells, the sun broke through the clouds and from a rocky outcrop we could look down on what we had just hiked through. To say that the view was breathtaking would do it a disservice. It was simply stunning and the pain of the long slog up hill quickly vanished.
Now up above the tree line, we pressed on across the plateau. The trail became easier and we suddenly spotted a couple of reindeer in the distance. As we looked harder and drew closer, the few turned into a herd. We stopped and watched in awe as they picked their way across the trail, passing right in front of us. It was a magnificent sight and the perfect start to our Arctic adventure.
After a few more bridges we finally made it to our destination for the night; Jagge Hut, a small emergency shelter that would have been a blessing in poor weather. We found a clearing and shared the space with another solo hiker who we’d been leap frogging with for most of the day. It had been a fantastic first day and we feasted on chilli beef mac’n’cheese followed by rice pudding and sultanas … this was the life!
ZENLIGHTENED VOYAGER 