The last weekend of August me and my wife went for a hike. Here is a few words about it.
It all started with a discussion over a glass of wine, where we discussed what to do for next years vacation. We soon agreed to enter the Fjallraven Classic (when we later tried to register at the FR webpage, it broke down and when we again tried to enroll, it was full. Bah.)
Without having an exact route we started preparation one year ahead of time. I got myself a new pair of hiking boots and the wife got her first pair- The plan was to break in the boots well ahead of the trip. In my case, I got the job done...as for my wife....well...two weeks prior to the trip, her boots were mostly unused. She ended up using them to work, which caused some amusements at the office. (I added quite a lot of Compeed and socks to be prepared for the blistering I envisioned. Her feet were fine, throughout the hike though)
We also got a the rest of the kit ready well ahead of time, but we did not do much in the way of walking with a heavy back pack...
As the trip drew nearer, we arranged for the kids to spend some quality time with their grand parents - but in order to avoid coming home to two spoiled brats, we had quite early on decided on a five-day trip (4 hiking + 1 reserve)...
Off we went.
Leg 1
We started from Vakkotavare with a game plan seeing us in Nikkaluokta four days later, some 71 kilometers down the trail. And what a start it was. If my memory serves me correct it was a 300 m uphill hike in the first 1,3 kilometers. You really pay the price of a Be-prepared-for-anything-and-everything kit list. Puh. But it is a labour of love, we told ourselves and humped along. We really had to drink alot of water to stay hydrated as the sun was rather strong.
The trail itself is well marked (It is quite good to know what summer trail markings looks like, as the winter markings will take you across marsches and lakes) and mostly easy to walk. In the pic below, the markings are emphasised with sticks. This is not the case everywhere, though.
As we started out a bit later than we wanted we had to make an earlier stop than planned. As soon as we stopped we were enthusiastically greeted by the locals - mosquitoes and their smaller cousin which I think is called Gnat (?) Vermin nonetheless....they showed to add quite a lot of protein to our dinner. A quick meal and then off to bed.
Camp 1
Leg 2
The next day greeted us with excellent weather and after a quick breakfast, we broke camp and got going towards Teusajaure lake where we planned to get a ride across the lake. It was easy and mostly gentle down hill march. I had misread the timetable so we missed the ride with a couple of minutes, but when the Kings Trail crosses lakes there are row boats and life jackets that can be used. I manned the oars and the wife worked on the tan.
At the opposite shore of Teusajaure lake we had ourselves a cup of coffe and we talked a bit to the people at the STF (Swedish Tourist Assosciation) cabin. A quick look at the map showed an almost as steep ascent as the day before so we made sure that bottles and bladders were filled to the brim.
After profuse sweating we reached the crest and had an almost flat surface to negotiate. Felt really good. Durning the lunch break the weather shifted and we decided to reach for the comfort food....tasty!!
After lunch the weather changed again and the sun made an appearance....but it started to get quite hot. Although that we filled up all water containers, we reached our half way point STF Kaitumjaure utterly dehydrated.
Kaitumjaure lake
One tired camper....
After refueling, we headed out to reach our camp for the night. It was a rather easy hump getting to the place suggested by the very kind STF staff. The pictures does not do the place any justice (also, you feel extremely small and at the mercy of the elements in such a setting).
After dinner I washed up in +4C water....it gets the blood flowing! Felt good to crawl into the sleeping bag afterwards, though.
Before falling asleep, we decided to leave the trail for a bit for some more uphill walking to get to a lake that supposedly was really beautiful.
Leg 3
The next day we started out on the trail for a couple of kilometers before going native. A this point you could really feel the sun. It was scorching and almost no wind at all. Puh.
After a couple of kms I was hit by dehydration. Again. So we had a bit of a break filling up on water. It is not that much of a hassle as water is everywhere.
After the much needed rest we marched on and finally reached the lake....and wow...They weren't lying..
Lunch time.
After lunch we started the descent, which took us over field of rocks. With a heavy back pack, I was really happy that I brought my walking poles. Good for the knees and for balance.
Our aim for the day was STF Kebnekaise and just possible a beer, a shower and a hotel bed.
It took quite a while going down hill (harder than going up hill IMHO) and by the time we did reach Kebnekaise, we both agreed that tent wasn't an option. We were extremely tired. Later in the sauna I talked to this guy, who had a thermometer stuck on his back pack - he told me that it had been 35C during the day. It had not been that hot there for 40 years. Explained a whole lot, I thought.
The shower and bed was worth every penny, even if it was quite expensive.
The next day we planned to go to Nikkaluokta instead of going for the Kebnekaise summit (highest in Sweden). That is for next year, we agreed.
The hike to Nikkaluokta was really easy and compared to the sights on the other legs, rather boring. I decided to take a boat ride on Laddujavvri lake for 6 kms, just to mix it up. The wife went along on foot, and she actually got to the shore I was heading before me.
Chillin'
The remaining kms was a breeze and we got to Nikkaluokta in time to catch a bus to get to our car.
We will do this again, but then I will bring some of the fly fishing gear...and perhaps change some of the kit, to ligher equivalents. The back pack was on the heavy side...
EDIT: Tried to add a KMZ file (for Google earth), but no luck with that....
EDIT 2: A zipped .kmz file worked...View attachment Kings Trail 2015.zip
Cheers,
Greger
It all started with a discussion over a glass of wine, where we discussed what to do for next years vacation. We soon agreed to enter the Fjallraven Classic (when we later tried to register at the FR webpage, it broke down and when we again tried to enroll, it was full. Bah.)
Without having an exact route we started preparation one year ahead of time. I got myself a new pair of hiking boots and the wife got her first pair- The plan was to break in the boots well ahead of the trip. In my case, I got the job done...as for my wife....well...two weeks prior to the trip, her boots were mostly unused. She ended up using them to work, which caused some amusements at the office. (I added quite a lot of Compeed and socks to be prepared for the blistering I envisioned. Her feet were fine, throughout the hike though)
We also got a the rest of the kit ready well ahead of time, but we did not do much in the way of walking with a heavy back pack...
As the trip drew nearer, we arranged for the kids to spend some quality time with their grand parents - but in order to avoid coming home to two spoiled brats, we had quite early on decided on a five-day trip (4 hiking + 1 reserve)...
Off we went.
Leg 1
We started from Vakkotavare with a game plan seeing us in Nikkaluokta four days later, some 71 kilometers down the trail. And what a start it was. If my memory serves me correct it was a 300 m uphill hike in the first 1,3 kilometers. You really pay the price of a Be-prepared-for-anything-and-everything kit list. Puh. But it is a labour of love, we told ourselves and humped along. We really had to drink alot of water to stay hydrated as the sun was rather strong.
The trail itself is well marked (It is quite good to know what summer trail markings looks like, as the winter markings will take you across marsches and lakes) and mostly easy to walk. In the pic below, the markings are emphasised with sticks. This is not the case everywhere, though.
As we started out a bit later than we wanted we had to make an earlier stop than planned. As soon as we stopped we were enthusiastically greeted by the locals - mosquitoes and their smaller cousin which I think is called Gnat (?) Vermin nonetheless....they showed to add quite a lot of protein to our dinner. A quick meal and then off to bed.
Camp 1
Leg 2
The next day greeted us with excellent weather and after a quick breakfast, we broke camp and got going towards Teusajaure lake where we planned to get a ride across the lake. It was easy and mostly gentle down hill march. I had misread the timetable so we missed the ride with a couple of minutes, but when the Kings Trail crosses lakes there are row boats and life jackets that can be used. I manned the oars and the wife worked on the tan.
At the opposite shore of Teusajaure lake we had ourselves a cup of coffe and we talked a bit to the people at the STF (Swedish Tourist Assosciation) cabin. A quick look at the map showed an almost as steep ascent as the day before so we made sure that bottles and bladders were filled to the brim.
After profuse sweating we reached the crest and had an almost flat surface to negotiate. Felt really good. Durning the lunch break the weather shifted and we decided to reach for the comfort food....tasty!!
After lunch the weather changed again and the sun made an appearance....but it started to get quite hot. Although that we filled up all water containers, we reached our half way point STF Kaitumjaure utterly dehydrated.
Kaitumjaure lake
One tired camper....
After refueling, we headed out to reach our camp for the night. It was a rather easy hump getting to the place suggested by the very kind STF staff. The pictures does not do the place any justice (also, you feel extremely small and at the mercy of the elements in such a setting).
After dinner I washed up in +4C water....it gets the blood flowing! Felt good to crawl into the sleeping bag afterwards, though.
Before falling asleep, we decided to leave the trail for a bit for some more uphill walking to get to a lake that supposedly was really beautiful.
Leg 3
The next day we started out on the trail for a couple of kilometers before going native. A this point you could really feel the sun. It was scorching and almost no wind at all. Puh.
After a couple of kms I was hit by dehydration. Again. So we had a bit of a break filling up on water. It is not that much of a hassle as water is everywhere.
After the much needed rest we marched on and finally reached the lake....and wow...They weren't lying..
Lunch time.
After lunch we started the descent, which took us over field of rocks. With a heavy back pack, I was really happy that I brought my walking poles. Good for the knees and for balance.
Our aim for the day was STF Kebnekaise and just possible a beer, a shower and a hotel bed.
It took quite a while going down hill (harder than going up hill IMHO) and by the time we did reach Kebnekaise, we both agreed that tent wasn't an option. We were extremely tired. Later in the sauna I talked to this guy, who had a thermometer stuck on his back pack - he told me that it had been 35C during the day. It had not been that hot there for 40 years. Explained a whole lot, I thought.
The shower and bed was worth every penny, even if it was quite expensive.
The next day we planned to go to Nikkaluokta instead of going for the Kebnekaise summit (highest in Sweden). That is for next year, we agreed.
The hike to Nikkaluokta was really easy and compared to the sights on the other legs, rather boring. I decided to take a boat ride on Laddujavvri lake for 6 kms, just to mix it up. The wife went along on foot, and she actually got to the shore I was heading before me.
Chillin'
The remaining kms was a breeze and we got to Nikkaluokta in time to catch a bus to get to our car.
We will do this again, but then I will bring some of the fly fishing gear...and perhaps change some of the kit, to ligher equivalents. The back pack was on the heavy side...
EDIT: Tried to add a KMZ file (for Google earth), but no luck with that....
EDIT 2: A zipped .kmz file worked...View attachment Kings Trail 2015.zip
Cheers,
Greger
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