Woke up early, first time at quarter to 5 and managed to doze off some more, when the sun rises over the mountains it gets really bright in the tent and my Buff over the eyes doesn’t keep it from waking me. Need to retire earlier in the evenings to get enough sleep.
Shouldn’t be any issue, though, as I from now on start a lot earlier in the day!
First night in the tent was very comfortable, the spot nice and soft and temperatures rather accommodating, I never had to close the sleeping bag at all.
Tried a spoon of PhatFibre in my morning coffee and I really like it, gonna have another one to load up MCT’s and help the body get into ketosis faster.
Yesterday was a little out of bounds food wise with the hamburger patties at the airport and then just a very small snack on the train with jerky, ghee and some pecans. From now on I control food entirely and eat to satiety whenever feeling the need to refuel!
Foods ready and cooling of enough for me to eat, feels amazing to have an early dinner. I’m aiming for a good night’s sleep and as the spot here will catch some sun in the morning that means getting into the sleeping bag timely.
Today’s hike started at 8:40, always takes a few days to get back into my mountain routine and everything takes longer than it will in a few days.
First part of the trail is neatly marked and easy to follow, just before reaching the first lake on the right hand side, there’s a path continuing straight on and the trail turns slightly to the west (right). Look for a sign that says ‘Lossi’ and for markers on the meadow just next to the lake.
The other path is also nicely marked with bright red pain on rocks, yet it will lead you astray far to the south leading to a private cabin next to Sealggajavri!
The trail towards Lossi is well marked until the western end of the meadow, after that it grows faint and markers are old and far apart with the red paint bleached by the sun, wind and snow. The valley is really hiking friendly, though, and as long as you keep on in the general direction, you will run into a marker every now and then. Just stay clear of the wet areas down at the lakes and you’ll be good!
I took it slow and easy, didn’t really care about the trail and explored the southern path some before turning back towards the trail. Aiming for lunch break at Leirvatnet I reached the river crossing just before the lake and that was it…
I had crossed one river earlier using my Crocs and here I once more changed shoes and went into the water only to have to turn around after about a third of the distance. Water is ice cold direct from the glaciers, the current was considerably stronger than normal and as it came up towards the knees and over, the murkiness due to sediment made it impossible to see where to step next.
Leaving the backpack and boots on the shore I tried to cross at a few other places and couldn’t find a safe way to get to the other side.
Water crossings are sometimes treacherous up here and the rule is always ‘safety first’, had there been two or more of us I might have stripped and found a way over.
Also, the amount of snow in the valley and me sliding down a steep snowfield when crossing and having to find another route across already made it rather far fetched that doing the pass would have been possible anyway.
Otherwise I would have camped at the crossing and gone over in the early morning hours when water levels are usually the lowest.
As for this time I took a break for snacks (jerky, coconut oil and some Mac nuts) and tea, totally enjoying the sun and a mild breeze.
I couldn’t down as much fat as I think I’d actually needed, after a few spoonfuls I started to get slightly nauseous and felt sluggish on my way back down the valley.
Sun was shining and I tested the new solar charger for the first time, worked satisfactory charging my iPhone back to 100% and giving the Ketonix some love after that. As long as I get a few hours of sun every now and then, there will be no power issues!!!
Just before the last climb I stopped for a short break and had a coffee with two spoonfuls of coconut oil and this really did the trick, very good energy on the way up the hill and only positive thoughts during the quick wash up in the icy creak.
I’m almost amazed about the total lack of disappointment due to these forced changes of plans. I’m so happy and grateful that I can just accept the change of plan, make the most out of it, and, finding my way back to this spot, once again enjoy the gorgeous view of Hunddalen!
And another thing – before I started the hike today I’d heard about the amount of
snow and water. Now I’ve seen for myself and this might save me some real trouble later on during this tour.I definitely need to check my planned route on the map again and, if safety calls for that, make adjustments.
There are so many beautiful trails and cool places here that, in the end, it really doesn’t matter that much!
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Peace // Claes
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