Day 30/30 of the 2017 Keto Hiker experiment

19:40 Abisko Tourist Station

Clean, warm and cozy – my feelings this evening comprised into three words.

Woke up in a soaked tent, had a lazy morning hanging out at the cabin in Abiskojaure and getting an interview done with one of the cabin hosts.

The 14km to Abisko are a really easy hike and the weather was hugely better than the last days, almost to the point where I regretted heading for the mountain station.
Yet the prospect of checking in a backpack containing wet equipment and dealing with the stuff back home was motivating enough to finish the tour today.

Arriving in Abisko I got the last available room in the hotel part and could get all my stuff dried out inside the facility. Ignoring the eminent restaurant I dined on my last portion of dehydrated ground beef for this tour, enjoying the comfort of doing my dishes in hot water from a faucet.

Looking back at the tour of 2017, it has definitely been one of the best ever, though the weather has been way worse than most years.
From a subjective point of view, the ketogenic way of fueling has been absolutely outstanding for comfort and performance and, regardless of test results, this is the way I fuel my hikes (and, frankly, most of my future life).
The abundance of energy, mental clarity and resilience combined with wonderful sleep and lack of hunger during the day makes it an ideal fit for me and I cannot recommend enough that You try it out.

Let me just end this with a huge shout out for my sponsors, Ketonix and Nourish Balance Thrive, I’m incredibly grateful for the support and there’re no words to endorse their products enough.
I definitely continue to use them!

That’s it for this tour, I hope You enjoyed tagging along just as much as I enjoyed completing it.
Stay tuned for a few shorter tour suggestions building on my hike, as I want to make the area accessible to more people.
And remember, Lapland is still here next year and I´ll be back!

Planning to lead a small group of people through some beautiful nature on week 1 so let me know if You’re interested. More on this later!

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Peace // Claes

Day 27&28/30 of the 2017 Keto Hiker experiment

06:15 Camp near Vistas cabin

I slept fantastic, such a wonderful feeling to go to bed really clean for the first time in almost a week. The temperature es really pleasant during the night, I had to close my sleeping bag and then I had perfect conditions inside. I almost slept through, only remember waking once during the night .
The morning is slightly moist with low clouds and I have some condensation on the inside of the tent.

 

It’ll just have to stay here waiting for some wind while I go over to the cabin for coffee.
Usually some wind comes up in the morning and that will dry the tent in no time, and if it I’ll just have to hang if inside for an hour or so!
Today is planned to be a slow day and I right now really hope that the weather forecast will support that plan. My legs are weary and I don’t feel like doing anything more exhausting today!

20:30 Camp at Vistas Cabin

After all I decided to grant myself the first real rest day of the trip, my body needed to recover some more, the people in the cabin were friendly, interesting and pleasant and the snow at higher altitude did not at all invite to do the exit over Mårma that I originally had planned.


Interestingly enough my good friend Helge from Freiburg showed up unexpectedly during the afternoon and we got the opportunity to catch up over a cup of tea. Turned out his cell phone had stoppet working properly and none of us had received the messages from each other. Him turning up here in Vistas was just another of the inexplicable things that happen all the time in my life these days.

Anyway, later in the afternoon I pitched my tent right next to the cabin and enjoyed the sauna for the second day in a row before having dinner and planning the next day. Depending on the weather I might just go for camping next to cabins on my way out, I need my stuff to be reasonably dry when I come home or my cats will just have too much fun claw-climbing my tent in the apartment…

Day 28th – August 24th 2018

20:30 Camp next to Alesjaure cabin

Slow relaxed hiking day up Vistasvagge, I started mid morning together with Mikael, one of the guys I met at Vistas and we took it really easy hiking up the valley.
A day full of pleasant conversations, a couple of tea breaks and totally acceptable weather conditions.

We had a couple of showers hitting us yet nothing serious and, to be frank, I wouldn’t have had to camp here in close proximity to the cabin. It´s just that the next good camp site is found quite a few km farther down the trail and going there would have rendered tomorrows hike ridiculously short.

 

Hiking in Vistasvagge is always beautiful, the valley itself is stunning and the trail soft and friendly most of the time. And they really put in some work marking the trail when approaching Alesjaure, earlier years there has been some confusion as the Sami village right next to the cabin has produced an abundance of intertwining trails.

 

Arriving at the cabin mid afternoon I picked a spot and pitched my tent on semi dry ground, enjoying the warmth of the cabin reading and talking with other hikers.
One of the cabin hosts I had met a few years earlier in Unna Allakas and seeing him again was a really pleasant surprise.

 

As I managed to keep myself dry and warm most of the hike I didn’t feel any need for sauna but checked out for an early evening in the tent instead!

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Peace // Claes

Day 26/30 of the 2017 Keto Hiker experiment

06:55 Unna Reitas cabin


I woke up a little over an hour ago, pleasantly enough to the first beam of sunlight!
Fantastic feeling to get outside and greet the morning sun at the elevation, instead of wiping the tent dry from rain drops as I’ve become accustomed to.
So grateful for this beautiful morning!!!

Funny enough my old experience junkie personality immediately jumps up and tells me to use the good weather and do this and that ant those cool tours over there…
It’s so good to be able to just observe what’s going on in the mind and then ignore it, staying in the moment and just enjoying the gift of this day in peace and gratitude.


I’ll just stick to my original plan for the day, pass Nallo for an interview with the cabin host and then continue to Vistas and a long, slow afternoon just resting. I have to admit that I deeply look forward to sit in the sauna and soak in the heat for a long time later today. My muscles are pretty sore from the last days and I took a couple of lighter falls on the wet stones yesterday, rendering me some bruises to tend to.

Anyway, I look forward to start my hiking day sunshine and, knowing the route, anticipate a pleasant and rather relaxed hiking day!

22:00 Camp near Vistas cabin

So nice to be clean again, I spent quite a lot of time in the sauna again and really let myself get soaked in the heat. Feels amazing for my worn out ligaments and tired muscles!

The hike down to Vistas was really just as relaxed as I remembered it to be. The first 8km to Nallo took me two hours and fifteen minutes and I spent about an hour there at the cabin, chatting with the host and getting another video!
First part of the trail from Unna Reitas is rather stony and the snow fields were frozen and pretty slippery this morning.


Some water puddles were covered with ice, showing independent proof for the cold of last night.
The river crossing was a little tricky and needed some rock and balance skills to get over dry.

 

 


From Nallo on the trail was beautifully easy to follow, incredibly faster than finding ones own line in nature. After the recent rains it was considerably more wet and muddy than I’ve seen it before, yet nothing that presented a real issue. The 10km took only another two and a quarter hour, and upon arrival I raised the tent and left my sleeping gear in it before proceeding to the cabin.

Again I met some really nice people and enjoyed a pleasant afternoon and evening, it felt great to arrive early and I even got an extra meal in today to refuel a little extra before the last few days of my tour.

Weather forecast promised good weather tomorrow, after that it’s supposed to go back to ‘unstable’ – same forecast as most days this trip…
I’m waiting for in update tomorrow morning and if it’s still states the same message I might do Mårma already tomorrow to get over the pass in good conditions. Then I have ridiculously much time on the other side of the pass to relax or do some extra few km, depending on the weather.

Anyway, no point speculating – tomorrow I’ll make the decision one way or another!

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Peace // Claes

Day 25/30 of the 2017 Keto Hiker experiment

07:00 Camp at Darfaljavri

I woke up about half an hour ago and lingered in the sleeping bag for a little while, the morning is cold enough that I felt some resistance leaving the cozy warmth and get out into the day.
The many days with rain and lacking the opportunity to really dry my stuff thoroughly has left about everything just slightly moist. Not bad enough to impact the functionality of the sleeping bag etc, yet still easily detectable.

I hope that I can get that sorted during my rest day in Vistas!
Yes, I’m gonna have a rest day – tomorrow I’ll get down to Vistas or close by and Wednesday I just hang out at that cabin before hitting the last part of the tour.
I figure that I could really use a slow day before hitting Mårma and starting my way out of the mountains for this time.
There are definitely some mixed feelings about ending the tour, on one hand I look forward to sleep in my bed, have my cats and friends around me again and get back to work. On the other hand I feel a slight anxiousness to go back to ‘the real world’, being out in nature just feels so much more real than dealing with ‘civilization’.
I’m contemplating some strategies to cope with everyday life and still keep the peace, serenity and contentment that comes from being disconnected from just that modern everyday life. I’ll let you know what works!

Anyway, it stopped raining sometimes during the night and I already wiped my tent so hopefully I can pack it up decently dry when I’m ready to get started on today’s tour.
Though the sky is overcast it looks like we’re gonna have a dry morning, the forest predicted better weather today than the last few days.
I’m planning to do all three passes today yet have never done any of them from this side before for some reason. So I really don’t know how hard they are and don’t want to be too cocky, this is a pretty tough day tour and, though I’m very confident I can do it, I’m not gonna feel bad if I have to stop and camp in Kaskasavagge.

20:30 Camp at Unna Reitas cabin

What a day – not only did I make all three passes, I did them in just under 7 hours with two breaks of 60 and 30 min.
I’m gonna be candid with you, though, it was hard – more mentally than physically. I’m just tired from being focused on slippery and unstable rocks and stones for hours at a time and my eyes and brain need a break…

To be frank I’m totally not sure I would have made it if it wasn’t for being in nutritional ketosis and having the PhatFibre to rely on for energy when needed. After a good three weeks out here the boast of energy supplied by the MCT powder has become absolutely invaluable for me. It´s such a superior substrate than hitting myself with simple sugars on a regular basis and the raise in energy levels is so much more sustainable.


I’m really convinced about this product and can highly recommend it for endurance purposes that require extraordinary stamina and resilience.

Anyway, I started at 08:35 this morning and soon had to stop and add an additional layer of clothing. The wind was just brutally cold, blowing down from the glaciers.
First part up towards Guobirvagge is a long, rather slow climb and I have to admit that my legs really disliked this start of the morning. Higher up it got steeper and I could use a snow field for quite a stretch. Reaching the highest point of the first pass my legs had become warmed up, yet my hands and feet were still freezing in the wind and low temperatures.


The decent into the valley was rather easy and I decided to take a break and have a PF coffee before continuing. During the break a group of five men from Switzerland caught up with me and we chatted for a while before they continued.
I took it easy and left after an hour long break, feeling rather energetic. Actually a lot better than when approaching the first climb of the morning.
Climb went well and the only issue were clouds gathering and wetting the rocks, making them slippery and slowing my progress. The decent offered ample opportunity to use snow fields and was swift and fun.


After the descent into Kaskasavagge I caught up with the Swiss group again and joined them for their break. Naturally we then continued together and I really enjoyed having company through the last climb, I started feeling mentally really tired and chatting with the nice people kept me focused.

After taking some pictures at the top we started the decent and it didn’t take long before all six of us were sliding down the large snow field using our boots as make shift skis – rather risky, of course, yet all went well and we had a blast. Needless to say it cut the time it took getting down considerably!

We all decided to camp at the cabin in Unna Reitas and spent a nice evening chatting, having dinner and drinking tea.

Tomorrow I’ll do the 18km down to Vistas via Nallo, were I’d like to stop and get another cabin host video. Once at Vistas it’s relaxing time, I plan to stay the night and most of the following day. Only aiming for the first lake on the way to Mårma sometime before evening – I need some time to unwind and regroup my focus and concentration before I hit the pass at Mårma!

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Peace // Claes

Day 24/30 of the 2017 Keto Hiker experiment

10:20 Kebnekaise station

Wow, what a breakfast!!! Waking up in time to be there at 06:00 when they opened was a non issue, I frankly didn’t sleep very well or much at all. There was a heavy rain falling most of the night, the noice of drops falling on the tarp keeping me from getting any real deep sleep.
Thankfully I’ve slept amazingly well all throughout the tour and one night won’t matter that much!

I took it really slow and easy with breakfast, staying with keto friendly foods and intentionally eating well past satiety to refill some reserves. The last few days have been taxing and I know I didn’t eat even close to enough yesterday.
What a marvelous timing to sit in a dry and warm restaurant and watch the rain continue poor down outside the window. As I only plan to do the easy 9km to Tarfala today, there’s no need at all to rush getting started. It looks like the rain stopped just half an hour ago and next I’ll check on the tent to see if I can wipe it off and get packed reasonably dry. I might have to wait for some help from the wind and the forecast says it should be dry now for quite a few hours.

I have to admit that however much I appreciate the breakfast and the comfort of the station here, I’m eager and excited to get away from civilization again. Grateful to be able to connect with loved ones briefly and report that I’m well and enjoying my time here!

20:20 Camp at Darfaljavri

Getting the tent down and packed reasonably dry went considerably well and I had all my stuff together by 12:30.

Then I stayed a lot longer at the Kebnekaise station than I originally planned as I wanted to wait for the manager and get an interview for the Cabin Host series. Finally at 14:30 I departed towards Tarfala and did the 9km in just under three hours. Rushing was not on my agenda!

 

 

Met some people on the trail who treated me to some really nice salami (I think it was Italian), and this was the only piece of food I ate between breakfast and the dinner later.

I stopped briefly at the Tarfala cabin and the host was kind enough to volunteer another interview for the series, once again two videos in one day – great flow.
Tarfala is just amazingly wild and ancient, surrounded by a whole bunch of glaciers creating a very special atmosphere. It’s a very important place for climate studies in Sweden due to the uniquely preserved ice masses.
Right now it’s again too rainy to go out and make a video for you, so I hope I can do my ‘Day 24 video’ tomorrow morning. The clouds quickly squeeze away the last daylight from around here.
I’m probably not going to be up very late tonight anyway, last night I didn’t sleep much due to the heavy rain and I’m looking at a rather rough day tomorrow and will need to be as rested as possible!
I also need relatively good weather to pull the tour of in a safe way so let’s hope and pray that the rain stops before daybreak.

Going down steep snow fields in rain without crampons is a clear no no!

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Peace // Claes

Day 22/30 of the 2017 Keto Hiker experiment

08:00 Camp in center of Kaskasavagge

The night here in Kaskasavagge was cold and comfortable, what a difference when not having to make an effort to just keep the equipment dry.
Frankly I can’t remember when I woke up with a dry tent last time, I’d have to go back and look through my journals.
Today is overcast yet it looks like it will stay dry for now at least, the clouds give this valley a more sinister atmosphere and a feeling of ancient times. It would not be surprising to see a woolly mammoth turn up behind a huge rock.

I’m setting out to start the day going over the pass to Goubirvaggi, then follow that valley westwards back to Tjäktjavaggi and enter Sinnivagge. A few km up that valley I know a really good camp site that I intend to use the coming night.
Then the weather will determine how I continue towards Kebnekaise.

As the afternoon snack yesterday really bumped both my Ketonix readings and my energy levels I chose to complement my fat coffees this morning with some nuts, jerky and ghee. We’ll see how that turns out during the day!

17:05 Camp in Sinnivagge

First let me break the news that I hiked in my normal hiking pants all day, can’t even remember the last day I had no need to change into rain pants!
I’m so incredibly grateful for this beautiful weather, it’s been a little on and off all day yet dry all day through and now I have the sunshine hitting the tent from the east and a beautiful view over the Ruskkas mountains I past on their eastern side just days ago.

The hike today was marvelous, first the ascent to the summit – beautiful views and quite a lot of snow to walk on. I prefer the snow though it’s more physically demanding than rock as one has to kick hole into the snow for each step. It’s just so much easier on joints and ligaments!
It took me about an hour to climb the pass and I made a little video at the summit.

The way down was a lot of fun yet very demanding – I could utilize a few huge snow fields to avoid descending on rocks and it takes an enormous amount of concentration to stay in control on the snow.
Once down at the bottom I hiked a few more km before my eyes and brain needed a little rest and refueling so I took a snack break right down at the lake.


Continuing 45 min later I was perfectly ok with having to go all the way down to Kungsleden and use the bridge to cross Guobirjohka. Fortunately that wasn’t necessary, I kept pretty much south and soon after clearing ‘Drakryggen’ (the mountain is called ‘dragons back’ due to its shape) I saw not only Rabots glacier and a grassing herd of reindeers, but also a wide area of the river where it looked passable. It was indeed and I didn’t even have to get my feet wet!

After the crossing I went down quite some in elevation to round Guobircohkka and turn back east into Sinnivaggi. Nice soft grass to walk on and very easy to find reindeer tracks to follow.

 

 

The actual trail along Sinnjijohka is on the south side of the stream, yet that’s a well worn out trail and I prefer to hike on the north side instead. The first ascent into the valley is physically much more demanding as one needs to climb up to avoid a steep field of rocks. After that it levels out and follows the stream up to the grass field in Sinnivagge.
Once arrived here I just set up camp and got myself some hot tea so now it’s time for an early dinner and probably an early night as well. I’m a little weary after the last two days, more mentally than physically.
Most guide books recommend doing one of these passes per day only and there’s been quite some additional hiking these days.
I guess I just need some rest and recovery and we’re all good again!

Time to relax and enjoy the beautiful spot here in Sinnivagge!

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Peace // Claes

Day 21/30 of the 2017 Keto Hiker experiment

20:15 Camp in center of Kaskasavagge

Sitting in my tent looking through the valley towards Kungsleden in the far distance and enjoying the reflection of the beautiful evening sky in the perfectly still water of the lake in front of me. For the first night in quite a while I don’t need to hide in my sleeping bag to stand the cold or camp by a cabin to get dried up.
And that’s not the way this day started out…

I woke up rather early around half past six to the sound of… (drumroll!) raindrops falling on my tent again. The rain that started during my hike yesterday hadn’t really stopped – rather just taken very short breaks during the night. I even had a light rain falling when I put up the tent last night.

During one of the breaks I grabbed most of my stuff, except sleeping bag, mattress and, of course, the tent, and relocated into the kitchen of the closest cabin to make some coffee and start the day.
Naturally I met the same people as yesterday and had a very sociable morning and was able to help quite a few people with tips and ideas for the continuation of their tours.

Twice I was out wiping of the tent before finally it stopped raining for about half an hour and got my stuff packed reasonably dry.
In the meantime I got an interview with one of the hosts, which we had to do inside due to the weather. It was after half past eleven before I finally got away from Sälka and onto the trail towards Nallo.
Using the trail kept me roughly away from the wet bushes and scrubs, thereby helping to avoid soaking the boots within the first few km.After about 7km I left the trail and started working my way up the mountain side and turn into the western part of Unna Reiddasvagge. The ground was almost inconceivably drenched were there were no rocks and the rocks themselves were wet and slippery. Approaching the opening of the valley I suddenly found myself at about the same elevation as the clouds and really thought it’s have to hike in fog for the rest of that part.


Thankfully the clouds lifted and I had a wet and cold hike with good visibility up to the Unna Räitas cabin. This is one of the few cabins without a host and frankly it is pretty worn down and would definitely need some love and construction work. Now it’s more like an emergency shelter, I can’t imagine anyone wanting to sleep there except for a real emergency.

Location is just fantabulous, though, with a view of the Reaidda glacier, a beautiful meltwater lake and several summits at around 1900m.
Here I had my midday break with some tea and snacks, and while I was inside getting my stuff prepared out of the cold wind the miracle happened.


Within less than an hour the clouds opened up and revealed blue sky and sunshine, I dare to admit that I had to really look around to believe the change that had happened. This I had been wishing and praying for for days now and finally we got a nice and clear afternoon sky again.
Knowing that I’d be doing the pass crossing, I still had a thorough break before departing from the cabin and approaching the climb.


Not only was the snow field large enough to allow the crossing, most of the ascent could be done on snow, which is so much easier on joints and ligaments then hiking rocks, and I reached the summit of the pass after just an hour. The view was marvelous and well worth the climb, unfortunately pictures can’t show how steep it really is. I really had to kick my boots into the snow wall to be able to climb it without slipping and sliding back downhill.


Naturally the decent into Kaskasavagge was less physically demanding, yet it’s quite taxing mentally to keep focus on where to step next. There was some snow fields on the way down as well, yet mostly rocks, which thankfully had dried completely since the rain stopped. And what a different experience it is to walk on dry rocks compared to having them wet and slippery.

Already on the decent I spotted a possible camp site and even if I checked a few others I ended up in the place. Right in the middle of the valley and close to a stream it makes a perfect spot for me and a good starting point for tomorrow’s hike.
Now I just hope and pray that this preferable weather change will stick for a while. I’d love the weather to be like this for the remainder of my tour!

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Peace // Claes

Day 19/30 of the 2017 Keto Hiker experiment

07:15 Camp at the most northern small lake in the valley west of Unna Ruskkas

It’s been a cold night, I’ve been wrapped up in my sleeping bag wearing t-shirt and socks and still never got really warm. The wind and rain stopped at some point during the second part of the night and it all went quite up here. This got me some deeper sleep which feels amazingly good this morning!
Right now there’s some wind, no rain and a few specks of blue sky are visible through the clouds. I even caught a tiny little ray of sunshine right of the bat when going out first thing in the morning.

Hopefully these are signs that the weather is changing preferably, yet still I made the decision to spend the next night by the cabin in Hukejaure. I had this weird dream of entering the changing room of a gym I trained at years ago, still wearing all my hiking gear. After undressing I went to the sauna and the moment I opened that door, I woke up here in my tent…

Not really being into dream works at all, I still interpret this one as a clear message from my subconscious to go somewhere and get warmed up!

Actually I’m gonna make this day as easy on myself as I can. I’ve been hiking every day for 18 days without a rest day, averaging almost 20km/d over mostly rather rough ground. The last few nights I haven’t slept my best due to the rough weather, having to get out in the middle of the night to secure the tent with rocks against the wind didn’t help at all, and I feel more tired than I would like.
I know that the next few days after tomorrow are gonna be physically tougher than anything I’ve done so far this tour and so I just want to be as well prepared as I can.

21:00 Camp at Hukejaure cabin

Today in the afternoon we had a shift in weather and right now the sky’s blue, the sun just went behind the mountains and the temperature is still at +9C. Last night down here it was +4, which means two or more degrees less at the additional elevation I camped at.

No wonder that, with the impact of the wind, I had a hard time getting warm.

 

I got started just after 10 this morning, for the first time with a rather moist tent in my backpack. The 10km down to Hukejaure were as easy and smooth as anything can be up here, wind still rough and cold and a few pretty decent rain showers hitting me on the way.
In just two and a half short hours I’d made the trip and went inside for a coffee before putting the tent up to dry in my favorite camp site here.

After coffee and a chat with the cabin host I started taking care of my equipment, wet rain gear got hung up to dry, socks and underwear washed and shoes cleaned and dried. Then some wood chopping and water hauling for the sauna before I fired it up and spent well over an hour just relaxing in the heat. Wow, was that good after literally being cold for two days and nights!
My left calf is still slightly swollen yet much better than the days before.

Olle, the cabin host had gone fishing and was successful, bringing home a huge trout. Having half of it himself left the other half to be shared between myself and two other guests at the cabin. Around 100g of super fresh trout file fried in ghee became an awesome starter for my dinner!
The extra protein seams to have kicked me slightly out of ketosis, though, which was perfectly worth it. I’m pretty sure I’ll be right back there when I wake up tomorrow.

Not much more to report from this day, it’s a tired and very content hiker sitting here in his tent ready for a good night’s sleep. Air is pretty warm and it is quite, no wind shaking the tent and no splashing from raindrops falling. There’s been a few nights since I had an equally peaceful evening!

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Day 18/30 of the 2017 Keto Hiker experiment

08:00 Camp at the eastern lake in Sanarvaggi

It’s been a very windy night with some rain and, for once up here, I did not sleep very well. The wind made the tent shake heavily and though I have total faith in it taking a beating like this, the noise and movement still disrupted my sleep again and again.
So, after waking up at 06:30 in the morning and taking a look outside, I actually went back into my sleeping bag and went under for another hour.
The good thing is that my left calf looks almost back to normal which is reassuring after the slightly rougher hike yesterday.


I have to see how the weather develops today, right now there’s no rain and the wind is still strong. If it keeps up I probably go towards Hukejaure to get away from Fjällräven classic yet still have shelter if the weather goes really south.

As long as I don’t get really wet today and need to dry stuff, especially my boots, inside, I’d prefer to camp away from the cabin and get another night for myself.

Still I want to pass by Hukejaure as I heard rumors in Vakkotavare about the cabin host, Bosse, gotten sick and having been replaced. Would be good to know what actually happened as I got the distinct feeling something was off with him as we met.

For now I’m very content and happy having a PF coffee in the tent, wearing double sweaters, one down and one fleece, and keeping my legs in the sleeping bag!
That said, it has become rather chilly up here already…

19:45 Camp at the most northern small lake in the valley west of Unna Ruskkas

Wow, what a hike – I’ve now spent 3.5 hours in the tent just trying to get reasonably warm again… Seldom feel as alive as out there with the elements!
Let me take it from the start!

The rain finally took a break around 09:30 and I wiped the tent and packed all my stuff together pretty swiftly. Got everything down dry and started hiking right about 10AM.
First I followed the northern shore of the lakes westwards and kept slightly to the north to gain some elevation. Wind was hard and icy and it soon started raining again, I was quite happy I started out wearing my rain jacket and some gloves.
As I wanted to check out Battajavri and look for camp sites around that lake for future purposes, I kept my elevation after reaching about 950m and went around the mountain. Soon I had to go down some again to get off the super slippery wet rocks higher up on the mountain side.

There were a few snow fields I could utilize to make the hike softer on joints and ligaments.
The lake lies beautifully kind of in a bowl and on the northern side I found a ton of good camping grounds on soft and level grass.

Originally I planned to stay east of Rusjka and merge with Neasketvaggi at its northern end, yet the wind was to strong to safely hike a steep mountain side I didn’t know from earlier experience. So I turned west to go pass Ruskajavri on its eastern side.
As soon as I faced west the wind, that I’d had against my back while rounding Battajavri, now hit me full force heads on again. Very fast I felt it was too cold for my clothes, yet not until I was almost up in the valley I found a protected spot where I could dig into the backpack for an extra middle layer sweater and some liner gloves. After changing I immediately felt a lot better and also the sides of the valley broke of the wind now and then and provided some protection.
I found several suitable spots along the lake, yet still didn’t really feel like stopping and call it a day. I already knew I wouldn’t go to Hukejaure, just wanted to cover a little more ground before setting up camp. I also already spotted this small lake on the map and wanted to give it a shot, knowing there are sites farther down if this one wouldn’t work.

 

Anyway, I found a nice spot for my tent and the rain stopped for long enough to get everything set up and ready.
Though the weather is still rather rough and the wind really cold I’m so grateful to have one more night off the beaten track to just unwind my mind and thoughts before returning to more populated areas tomorrow. Looking at the map I’ve been planning a route to Hukejaure that takes me away from the marked trails and over a more remote area.

Unless the weather changes considerably in my favor chances are that I will camp at the cabin again and enjoy the benefits of being clean and warm. Next planned cabin visit would be Vistas and that’s another seven or eight days down the track. And chances are that, except while having breakfast at Keb, I won’t meet to many people on that tour!
Well, that’s all for now – time to get ready and into the sleeping bag for real, I need to get warmed up again!

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Peace // Claes

Day 17/30 of the 2017 Keto Hiker experiment

08:35 Camp 1km northeast Teusajaure cabin

What a wonderful morning, I woke up after 9 hours in the sleeping bag by the sun warming my tent. The night has been rather chilly and my breath has left some condensation on the outer tarp that is now drying of in the sun and light wind.
When undressing yesterday I found my left calf pretty swollen down to the rim of the boot. Don’t know if I somehow tightened it too much when leaving Vakkotavare, yet today the leg looks about normal again and I’ll just have to keep an eye on it.

Looking at the map yesterday night I found a possible route to explore once I passed by Kaitumjaure cabin. I’m gonna ask them if they know the area and probably I’m gonna try the idea anyway as it keeps me well out of the way of Kungsleden and the ‘Fjällräven Classic’ event. This is an event organized by Swedish outdoor equipment manufacturer Fjällräven and they have about 2000 people hiking from Nikkaluokta to Abisko, usually during the second week of August. This year the event started yesterday and I really want to stay clear of all these people.

This tour should also give me perfect timing for getting down to the Kebnekaise area with enough days in reserve to manage everything I still want to experience!

For now I’m just enjoying my coffee with coconut oil and the nice cold air of the morning. For some reason that I don’t know (yet whatever it is, I’m grateful) the peak in mosquitoe activity seems to have passed and it’s possible to have the inner tent opened up and indulge in the view!

18:50 Camp at the eastern lake in Sanarvaggi

I got going just about 10am and the first 8km to Kaitumjaure cabin were done with in little over two hours. Kungsleden is not that inspiring to hike as it is very eroded, yet it is fast and the surroundings are really beautiful!
Today I also got to see an elk cow with two calfs, 1 from this year and one from last year. The latter surprised me a little as I didn’t know they stay with the mother that long. They seemed to be used to people, standing just 20m from the trail and not showing any direct shyness.

At the cabin I didn’t get much information about the area I was looking to hike, I did get another interview for ‘The Cabin Host Series‘, though!
And in the cabin a met a girl, Anna, doing her 56th day on the ‘gröna bandet’ hike, covering the entire mountain chain from south to north. Looking to fining her tour within two weeks she is going for the fastest way up through Abisko and on. I really don’t envy her passing all the ‘Fjällräven Classic’ people.

Anyway, another girl coming from the north told me that the birch forest grows really thin north of Kaitumjaure and I decided to head west and away from Kungsleden.
Turns out that just about a km from the cabin I find a trail leading west up to the summit of Sanarcohkka. So I followed that trail until I was well clear of the tree line before turning northward and returning to follow reindeer tracks.
After some time I found a very well defined trail, probably originally a reindeer track that has been used extensively by the indigenous Sami people, that I could follow for quite some time. It still takes so much more effort to hike outside the ‘real’ trails, yet it’s so much more pleasant for the soul and heart.

The wind that kept my camp free from mosquitoes last night and this morning increased steadily throughout the day. Coming from northwest and being rather chilly it made this day feel a lot more like early fall than late summer. Also I saw some yellow leaves on the birches already so it seems Lappland got a quite short summer this year.
Then again, no one knows how the weather changes up here, tomorrow might be warmer again!

It seams like my breakfast frenzy yesterday got my hunger signals triggered again, I’ve been eating a lot more today than I did the days before. First a snack at the cabin and then a huge dinner after finishing here. We’ll see tomorrow if this balances itself out again.


My left calf swelled up again during the hike, not as bad as yesterday, thought. No pain involved at all and I’m not too concerned, more curious what is happening as I’ve never experienced anything like it. I guess as long as it doesn’t hurt or effects the hiking it’s not a big deal.
Gotta do some research back home and see if I can find a cause, though.

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Peace // Claes