At one of the scenic photo spots along the way, we did our best to get a picture of the two of us together worthy to put on the wall, I don't think I need to tell you how many mosquito bites I got setting up the camera and posing for this photo...
In the afternoon, we arrived in Abisko by the entrance to the national park. Abisko is famous for being the place where the King's Trail (Kungsleden) begins, a 425 km long hiking trail, but you can also do shorter walks, or just enjoy the view of Scandinavia's largest alpine lake or the beautiful river Abiskojokk. We wanted to do some hiking here and after studying the map and talking to the staff of the national park, had a plan for a short 3-day route. We would walk the first 15km of the King's Trail, then take an unmarked but easy-to-follow path over the mountains, and then take another marked trail back.
We packed our camping stuff and enough food and snacks to last us three days and set off. The first part of the trail followed Abiskojokk and we really enjoyed the views. I was struggling a bit with back pain (probably hadn't adjusted my backpack correctly) but some breaks here and there on sunny rocks helped. A few hours later we arrived at the place we had planned to camp the first night. Like many other national parks in Sweden, you are only allowed to camp at certain areas, so we were expecting to have to share it with a bunch of other people.
What we had not expected, however, was that we would have to pay. Having passed one smaller tent area on the way which was free, and also not having really researched the King's Trail at all, we were a bit surprised to find the next tent area to have cabins, kitchens and staff - service for those who want it, unfortunately is was not possible to opt out. We decided to take a small detour and follow another small trail for about 2km in order to get outside of the border to the national park. As it was getting late and we were tired, we didn't walk to far after the border but put up our tent in the forest near a stream. Though again, we were surrounded by mosquitoes which rudely would even bite my face and scalp. In the end, we made a small campfire from damp wood and I stood in the smoke - despite knowing it would stick to my clothes and hair - in order to eat my dinner in peace.
The next day we had to walk back to the tent area where we had deviated from our planned route, and then headed towards the mountains. The steepness varied a bit, but we had about 700 meters in altitude to climb, so we just took our time. Despite not being officially marked, small human-made towers of rocks every now and then made it easy to follow. Getting higher up meant less mosquitoes and flies (thoug we were never completely rid of them) and more cooling winds. We had to cross some patches of snow as well, and at times the path felt long and winding - but the more rewarding it was to get to the highest point and look down over the valley where we would set up camp for the night.
At some point during that day we realised that we would later have to cross a river where there was no bridge. I was up for the adventure but also a little nervous, not having done anything like that before and not knowing really what to expect more than it being cold. And it was. Very cold. We took off our hiking boots and tied them to our backpacks. The river was several meters wide, and the water came straight from the mountains where the snow was melting. However, if the cold was the only problem it would have been fine - but we had not expected the rocks on the bottom of the river to be so slippery. So Valle went first, holding my hand to help me keep my balance, as we slowly made our way across, stepping up on top of dry rocks as often as we could to keep our feet from going numb. It was wobbly and slow, but eventually we made it across - definitely an adventure I will remember!
We did have to cross a number of smaller streams as well after that, but luckily they did not have any slippery rocks, and it was easy to do, and also actually kind of nice to go barefoot a while. It was still early in the afternoon when we set up our tent, and we enjoyed a few hours reading and napping in the sun before having dinner. The next day we were heading back towards our car. Another 15 km or so enabled us to have lunch by the Abiskojokk river only a few hundred meters from the parking lot.
It was time for us to starting heading south, having a long drive ahead of us, and we only made a few stops along the way. Just looking at the map, I never really understood just how long it would take to drive, but at least we didn't have to stress or pull any 12-hour drives. Our first stop was in Kiruna, which is not that far from Abisko. We took a short walk around the small town and sat down for a fika at one of the cafés for coffees and a cloudberry cheesecake (!). Driving in this part os Sweden we also saw quite a few reindeer on the roads.
Our tent spot for the night was in Muddos national park, a bit further south. Near a big, quiet lake, still plenty of mosquitoes but just as plenty of blueberries. The next day we started heading towards the coast, and the long drive was even slower due to roadwork on a long section of the road. Eventually we arrived in Luleå, where we took a stroll around the Old Town (Gammelstaden), a world heritage site where you can walk among old, traditional houses - a very cute and cool place to see!
We kept driving a bit further south before we set up camp by the water, about halfway between Piteå and Skellefteå. Valle discovered that there were berries growing along the seaside - small, ruby-colored berries that looked kind of like raspberries. Some quick research on google taught us that it was Åkerbär - a cross between raspberries and wild strawberries, typically found in arctic and alpine regions. They were super tasty and I spent a good part of that evening looking for these little gems.
The majority of the next day we spent driving, with our aim set on the High Coast (Höga Kusten) and Skuleskogen national park. When we arrived in the afternoon, around 4pm, the entire parking area was full except for one spot that luckily we could take. Most people seemed to be heading back when we set out on our walk, so it was not too crowded. We walked up to the top of the hill, then down to Slåttdalsskrevan, an impressive crevasse that you can walk through - and the finsihed with a long walk in the forest. Eventually we decided to stay in the national park for the night and set up camp at one of the dedicated tent spots, and we enjoyed a quiet evening by the water.
That was the last longer stop we made on the way back. We spent the last night by a lake in the Norrköping area, but otherwise mostly focused on driving back home. After sixteen days out, it was definitely nice to get back to our bed & shower.
Inga kommentarer:
Skicka en kommentar