Tours › 2012 › Kaitumjaure: Day Tours › 9/7

Monday 9/7

Sáŋarvággi

Horizontal distance:	17 km
Vertical distance:	+340 m, -340 m
Time:	5 h
Lunch break:	30 min
Dinner:	–
Night accommodation:	–
Stage classification:	Easy

I started out by crossing the heath behind the house, and after some following bushes and wetness I came out onto the open heathland where the Sáŋarčohkka path runs. After that there were some more bushy patches as well as a line of trees, and then I came up onto the open heath again. The sun had been passing into and out of cloud, and there was a bit of wind, but now it was nicer all around and walking was very pleasant. I saw one person on the trail, and as I "approached" the bridge I saw some people apparently in the process of striking a tent camp. I soon found myself on a small path which led to a perfect grassy shelf beneath the rocky face above, with small lines of water trickling down the stone – a perfect place for a camp-with-a-view, had I been looking for one.

Departing in shadow

Up Čeakčavággi

Sunnier

Higher Čeakčavággi view

Higher Kaitum view

Wanna camp here!

The path soon dwindled, and the sun passed more and more into an increased number of clouds coming from the south. After a stretch of bumpy grassier ground I passed the first more major brook, which from the size of the rocky course looked like it could be quite considerable at times. After that it was back to heath, complete with cloudberries-to-be, and there were more smaller brooks. The wind was chilly, but as long as I kept a high tempo I did not quite feel the need for the wind jacket. Further up Čeakčavággi all the peaks were hidden in cloud, as was Sáŋarčohkka, now, but all the same it started getting sunnier again. I maintained my altitude as I rounded the northeastern outrunner of the latter fjeld, where it was rather stony, and having thus entered Sáŋarvággi I found myself upon a large stretch of level land strewn with rocks. I proceeded over to a larger one of those and used it as shelter from the appreciable wind around 12:30.

Outrunner

New flowers

And another one

Stuor-Jiertá across the valley

Gávgulvággi

Peak

Tarns before Stuor Avrrik

Rounding the corner...

...into Sáŋarvággi

When I had had lunch the weather improved further, and as long as I remained in the shelter of the rock it was nice and warm. The view up the valley was limited but still tantalizing, and after looking at it for a while I decided to press on a bit longer. I passed a small pool and came to the easternmost of a couple of tarns, beside which was a series of narrow tongues of rock. I went up a snowfield to another rocky crest overlooking the next, smaller tarn, and then continued up onto the northernmost outrunner from Sáŋarčohkka. The slant was appreciable but it was a simple climb, and once I had reached the ridge proper the ground turned to nice heath once more. From there I had a good view of Sáŋarvággejávri and the fjelds to the northwest – Guorggučohkka being the most prominent one – and I also caught glimpses of Viddjájávri and Stuor Ruška. The palette was one of cold but clear colors, and the vista was beautiful in all its harshness.

Lunch site view

Sáŋarčohkka outrunner

First tarn

Panorama westwards from the first crest

Bells

North

Panorama over Sáŋarvággejávri etc. from the next ridge

After sitting against another rock for a while I walked straight down and then return eastwards closer to the waters. In the hollow the wind died down and it was warm, but that soon changed as I was passing the lower tarn. After rounding this I walked on cracked earthy ground with many a rock in it, but then found that there were too many rocks for comfort near the stream, so I kept my distance until conditions improved. Just then the stream plunged into a small canyon still covered by a snow bridge, below which an area of nice grassland spread out. Here I saw fit to remove the wind jacket, even though the wind itself was still as it, and followed the meadows downstream past a family of golden plovers.

Exiting Sáŋarvággi

Confluence

Mini-canyon

Stuor-Jiertá again

I walked between the two larger tarns, and after a small mire it was heathland again. It was getting warmer as I aimed straight for the southern end of Čeakčavággi, holding a lower course than before as I followed reindeer paths where applicable, passing just below a marked rocky hill. There were a few low shrubs and a snowfield or two, but nothing major, and the larger brook posed no problem down here either. After that the low shrubs grew more numerous, as did the wet patches, and eventually I emerged onto the trail right in the middle of a family of four. I walked ahead, passing another two people, and now it was really warm and summery and dry. I walked a little bit on the side of the path at the end, and noticed the presence of a number of people as I approached the cottages at 15:30.