Monday 24/8 – Sunday 30/8

Monday 24/8

It rained quite a bit during the night, but in the morning the clouds held their peace, as it were. Everyone left while I was still in bed, but shortly after my breakfast two new people arrived from the south, but they of course went on their way again after asking about the boat schedule and – surprise! – the weather. As expected the water reached even higher now, but it did not seem like any more rain was on the way. I needed to wash some clothes, but before I could do that I had to clean the washing tub, which had acquired quite a bit of grime out in the storage building.

When I was ready to start the wash proper the sun had come out, and I did the whole thing out on the porch while the clouds amassed anew. Rinsing took place below the bridge, where I used to brush my teeth, and then I hanged everything (save the toothbrush...) on the outdoor clothesline. When I was done a German guy came walking from the north, and since he was going to Kvikkjokk I seized the opportunity to have him deliver the Låddejåkkå letters. While he took a break I went down to the lower bath place to collect some stones I needed to adjust the bench's padding, and walking down through the forest I distinctly felt the advent of autumn. I then spent some quiet time with the radio, and shortly after noon I set out for another lunch tour.

Light clouds

Greater force...

...in both...

...the falls

Clouds before Áhkká...

...and Gisuris

I passed the huts up on the plateau and then proceeded along partial paths through the sparse and somewhat wet forest, eventually emerging at a large layered stone that had drawn my eye several times before since it looked like another hut from certain angles. This stone is located at The Spot I had come upon two days prior, and I walked around for a while before climbing up onto a nearby plateau, which showed a perfect cover of crowberry plants; a great place to put up a tent or five.

From there I proceeded around to the edge of the canyon, where the air was damp from the waterfall, which gave rise to a very specific type of vegetation. Through some thickets I then climbed down to the bathing place at the bottom of the cliff and walked over to the smooth rocks further downstream in search of a place to sit, eventually deciding to forego back support and just sit down on the ground with a view of the fall through the canyon. There I had lunch in growing warmness, and after some time the sun could get a few rays through. It was really nice, and I remained seated and/or photographing for about 45 minutes.

The interior of the non-ruined one of the upper huts

The hut-ish stone

Water falling into canyon

The plateau

The end of...

...the waterfall

The bathing place

Sun on foam

Spot

When I left I made my way up a blueberry-ridden slope beside the canyon, munching as I climbed, and then came upon a small path which I followed for a bit. Then I scrambled up a steeper section to another path – clearly of reindeer make – and kept on it until I reached the head of the waterfall. A short bit upstream there were more smooth rocks and a few nice bathing places, but I was not in the mood to try them out.

I came to a low plateau where another reindeer path took by, but I turned right when it hit the first osier thickets, walking through some lower shrubs until I reached the start of a miniature vale containing a brook running north of the rise I had scaled on my last lunch outing. Here there were more bushes but progress was not difficult, and more reindeer paths simplified matters. There were, however, some insects to fend off, and they increased much in number when I came down onto level(ish) ground. There was no wind at first, but when it finally came it took the flies with it. They returned when I came onto the side path above the privy, though, but vanished again as soon as I walked onto the "yard" after 14.

Middle

Top

Bottom

Above

A reindeer with Allak behind

Going down there...

...through this type...

...of vegetation

Kutjaure fiskecamp in the distance

The place was empty, but soon enough two Germans-who-were-actually-Swiss came. I had a small snack and then rested with the radio, feeling tired, and when the sun reappeared I went out to my new bench and had another light snack. The Swiss also exited and walked off in the direction of the fall, upon which a lone hiker came from Vaisaluokta. Said hiker also soon went out again, and was in turn replaced but yet another arrival from Låddejåkkå, followed by two more from the opposite direction. Also the second loner took off for the fall, while the first returned and sat down to read instead. There were four more arrivals, and the two people who had just come went on their way, so the guest count settled on eight. In the evening the sky cleared almost entirely, but a few light clouds lingered among the eastern peaks.

When I went over to the Swedish guests I was surprised to discover that another girl had arrived; she was known to them from Vaisaluokta, but had managed to sneak in without my noticing. I talked some with the assembled people and then stood outside with some others, enjoying the beautiful evening. As I went down to the stream after the evening snack I observed that the water had already started to recede. It was a perfect time for long-exposure photography, and obviously the girl had had the same idea for she sat on a cliff further downstream wielding a camera. Other people had contented themselves with sitting on the porch wrapped in duvets, and on the western sky there was a fascinating light. It was getting chillier but just the same I decided to leave the still damp clothes outside, crawling into my warm bed after 22.

Tuesday 25/8

During a nightly outing I noted that smoke was rising from the lake, and in the morning this had developed into full-blown fog. Other than that it was perfectly clear and calm, and frost was on the verge of forming. It quickly got warmer and I sat outside with various people, watching the sun dissipate the mists. When all but two had left I trusted them with making sure that everything was in order before leaving, and departed myself around 09:30, wanting to make as much of this beautiful day as possible.

Go to day tour report »

It looked as though someone had been inside during the day, but the guestbooks showed no fresh signatures. After ascertaining this I went down to the lower bath and submerged myself, which unfortunately took place in shadow as the sun had just passed the top of the cliff. I then had a light snack on the porch, during which two German campers stopped by. Right behind them there came three others, but they just pressed on ahead without even looking my way, and as everyone else who had attempted to pass by quickly they ended up on the wrong path; the actual trail goes right across the premises.

Left alone again I continued to sit where I was for a while, but then it got too hot against the wall so I snuck into my room which was pleasingly cool. Soon a couple consisting of a Swedish woman and a Danish man came from Kisuris, and I spoke some with them outside. After dinner I was feeling worn and so rested with the radio, and after paying a visit to the others (for them to pay me) I listened to Sweden win a game in the European football championships for women. Outside it was now rather comfortable, and when the sun set I took in the laundry, which was now all dry. I also found some jazz to listen to until it was time for evening snack, and then more or less fell into bed at 22:00.

The lower fall...

...now very big

The beautiful location...

...of the Kutjaure cottage

Wednesday 26/8

Cold light

Frosted blueberries

My bench

I slept through the night, going out at 06:15 to find the sky half-clear, with the least clouds off to the west. The morning progressed calmly, and since it looked to be another fine day I decided on another day tour, looking over the map for ideas. As I was ready to leave what clouds there were had started to shrink, and it was rather warm and still. The two overnight guests were just putting their boots on, and I made a quick check inside before departing myself around 10.

Go to day tour report »

Again it was clear that someone had been inside, but still nothing new in the guestbooks. I immediately went down to the lower bath for a most refreshing experience, and then had a light snack on the porch. The sun had just returned, and it was really warm, so soon I relocated to the bench. It was not long before a large bank of cloud swallowed the sun again, which gave rise to a nice light effect. I went in to my cool room and rested while listening to the radio, until some sounds alerted me to the arrival of two older ladies from Låddejåkkå. They were doing the round-the-lake tour that was apparently popular (Akka–Kisuris–Kutjaure–Vaisaluokta, or the other way around), but rather than doing it in three days they were to spend five; they had already extended it by way of going to Låddejåkkå and back, and now they intended to stay in Kutjaure for two nights.

After dinner the veiled sun made for extremely comfortable outdoor conditions, and we all sat outside, one of them painting the scene by way of real aquarelle. Later in the evening the clouds parted again, but a bank or two remained off to the east and southeast. I took it easy, feeling worn from the recent excursions, and the remaining time up until bedtime was uneventful.

Thursday 27/8

Sticking my nose out at 06:00 I discovered yet another still, beautiful morning with fog upon the lowlands, and the sun was hidden in a thick veil. Since I was still feeling tired I got back to bed, where I remained until all the morning forecasts had passed. I ate and then went over to the women, giving them some advice about where and how to go for a day tour, and because they had forgotten their map in Låddejåkkå I lent them one of the cottage's maps. The sun was growing in power, and when they left for a visit to the waterfall (and beyond) the sky was almost clear. As for me, I needed to bake more bread, and while the dough rose I cut some firewood as I intended to make use of the iron stove this time. After forming rolls I fired up said stove and then read some in another book until it was time to put in the goods. I also wanted to take the opportunity to bake a cake, so while the first batch was in I mixed the batter.

For some strange reason it had gotten very hot inside, and I opened up the windows to alleviate matters somewhat, even though working close by the stove was still a bit heavy. The finished rolls looked good indeed, and then it was time for the cake. This I had to watch more closely, as it did not require as much heat, and I even had to keep the over door open for a bit to achieve this. I tried reading some out on the porch, but it was much too warm there in the glaring sun so I returned inside almost at once. My adjustments were successful and the cake turned out fine. Having thus completed my self-appointed tasks of the day I brought a food pack down to the cliff at the start of the lower fall at 12:45, leaving the doors to the cottage open to vent the hot air.

Lunch site

Once there I sat down with my back against the blessedly cool cliff, and a bit of wind combined with some soft spray from the fall perfectly matched the sun. During the course of the lunch I still had to remove my shirt due to the heat, and after reading some more I lay down to bask for a while. After spending an hour mostly hidden from view in this way I returned up to the cottage, which had seen no visits in the meantime, and the room containing the stove had cooled off well. I rearranged my pack and then set off again, heading up to The Spot, which I have given the informal name Ruovdásjvuolle – the place beneath the canyon.

After the reindeer-watching hut I took a lower path until the wetness of the ground made me break off somewhat; I was wearing the sandals but no socks, so getting wet was not really that much of an issue, but I still wanted to see if it was possible to reach my destination in dry condition. I passed through some thickets and came out to the stream, where I found the other little path, and then went out onto the curiously layered, slanting rocks at the outflow of the calm section.

I then sat down on the heath with a full view of the fall, soon lying down to read in the sun. I sat still for quite some time, taking in the scene – right from the start I had associated its setup (waterfall, canyon, pool, lush slopes) with a tropical island or suchlike, and since both the STF buildings and the Sámi ones as well as Padjelantaleden itself were hidden from view it was not hard to imagine myself far away from, well, everything. I walked over to the bathing place to check it out more closely, and liking what I saw I went back to get the towel that I had brought; this would probably be the best opportunity to try it out.

It was indeed a terrific place for a dip, and the current was weak enough that if one wanted one could well swim upstream a little ways through the canyon, further exploiting the strong illusion of a secret place. The only drawback was in getting up, as there were large, slanting rocks on the bottom, but no worries. The little "beach" was also perfectly located, being sheltered beneath a cliff, and it only took moments for me to get warm and dry. I jumped back in for a longer time, floating right at the end of the canyon, with the roar of the fall just above. I have seen some mighty fine places on my journeys, but this one was more special than most, and I was tremendously happy to have stumbled upon it.

Below...

...the polished rocks...

...and little falls...

...downstream from Ruovdásjvuolle

Love this water color

Ruovdásjvuolle

Splash!

The top of the fall

Canyon end

Smooth rocks

I sat by the water for some time, and when I was finally ready to leave I first tried climbing straight up beside the cliff, but since the rock was rather loose I did not trust myself with that. Rather I took a roundabout route up to the top of the cliff where I sat down again and looked into the gushing water. Back down I packed up my things and walked up onto the nearby plateau, where it was somewhat windy but still warm, and from there I found a passable streak through the vegetation at the base, which landed me on one of the faint paths. After some short wet passages I came up to the Sámi huts and stayed on the path the rest of the way home, where I found no traces of activity upon my arrival after 15:30.

Closeups of...

...the gushing waters...

...of the great fall

Ascending onto the plateau

Panorama eastwards from the plateau

The good hut

Not occupied at the moment

The Sieberjåhkå bridge

I had a snack on the porch, finding the cake to be excellent, and after I had taken care of the dishes from the morning the others came back. I greeted them outside with a piece of cake each, which was the perfect finale for them; they had done a similar tour as I had done a week earlier and were more than satisfied with how it had turned out. It was still warm – 20°C – and it was a relief when the sun finally passed behind one of the amassing cumuli. Cloudiness increased throughout the evening, so the outside temperature only slowly dropped. I talked for a long time with the two women, who were to be the only guests also this night, speaking much about my recent Sulitelma tour. After my evening snack I happened to catch a radio program about/with limericks, and I listened to that for a bit after going to bed.

Furrowed Niják

Friday 28/8

I remained in bed for quite some time the following morning, feeling tired, and by the time I got up the others were almost ready to leave. The clouds were broken up and light shone upon Áhkká; it was still and 13°C. I said goodbye to the women outside, going over their stage on the map, and then had breakfast. Water levels were now the lowest yet, and filling the water bucket was not without problems. I went out to the storage building with some garbage and whatnot, and found that I had to do some extensive reorganization, as the previous sorting of the recycling stuff had not at all been carried out according to specification. This took a long time to rectify, and was not in any way pleasant. Back inside I turned on the radio and did some extra inventory, and then carried out some other household tasks until it was time for lunch.

In the afternoon the clouds broke apart more but it had grown rather windy instead. After playing some solitaire I went out for a round of berry-picking, breaking off the southbound trail after the first duckboards, heading to the cloudberry spot I had discovered previously. Here I took off my fleece jacket and started picking; the first patch was almost past its due date, but then I hit better ground. However, as the berry supply increased so did the insects, and I applied repellant against the latter.

In among the trees the distribution of berries was really good, even though at times a few of them had started to go bad, so this was sure to be the last collection of the golden knobs this season. I had brought a one-liter bowl which I filled well beyond capacity, and then carefully made my way back. As I was returning I observed two people going up to the cottage, and after a short pause they continued past, but at the same time two more came down from the north. When I passed the Sieberjåhkå bridge I saw yet another two coming out onto the porch, and I offered them some fresh cloudberries upon my arrival at 14:30.

I talked some with them before they headed down to the bath, and then walked over to the other two who were pausing by the ruined hut on the premises; they too were bringing a message to Låddejåkkå but could not deliver it themselves since they were just doing the Guvtjávrre circuit. Later in the afternoon one of the two men who were in fact staying came to visit me in my room; he was also an active warden – Ola – and as it turned out he was the one who had reopened Såmmarlappa for the winter after I had closed the place two years ago. While we talked I noticed a female voice speaking Norwegian, and it belonged to a woman who had just arrived from Árasluokta while I was not looking. She had been out for 90 days already and her journey was far from over, as she intended to go all the way to Nordkapp in the extreme north of Norway.

We all talked for a long time before it was time for dinner, and I was very conscious about the fact that with her arrival I had just passed the previous summer's guest turnout. I listened to another Swedish football game and then went back for more talk, mostly with the other warden, and we learnt that the last major piece of news the Norwegian woman had absorbed was the death of Michael Jackson. There was some weak evening sun and the clouds were high, but there was not much space between them. I read in the book and looked through some papers until bedtime, which occured around 22 as usual.

Saturday 29/8

In the early morning it was overcast and somewhat low, and after I had arisen later on it was also windy with drops in the air. The Norwegian woman left around 07:30, and after the others had gone not soon thereafter I went back to bed for another hour. I had cloudberries with my breakfast and then set about doing various indoor tasks, while the wind increased outside. Eventually it grow lighter and a patch of blue appeared above to the south/southwest, but at the same rain moved out of Ruohtesvágge. I read some in a magazine I found in a drawer, and as I did so the clouds split apart and revealed the sun.

Clouds on Áhkká...

...and in the Swan valley

Immediately after my lunch I noted the presence of four people just outside, and I went out to talk to them. They were four girls out on a camping tour, having flown to Stáloluokta some days earlier. While I was standing there with them a shower hit, coupled with mist drawing in from the east and south. As they left another hiker was approaching, and I waited for him to arrive before going back inside. He was very interested in my bus schedules in order to plan his return to Kvikkjokk, and while he pored over those the weather improved once more, creating an intriguing display of sun, cloud and mist in the east. The wind was, however, on the increase, and down on Guvtjávrre the waves broke in white crests. I continued to read until another four people appeared on the trail to the south, and after seeing them in I had afternoon tea and radio.

Now the eastern peaks were emerging, and the wind was not as bad as before. I took it easy listening to the radio, dozing off for a short while as I lay in bed. Then it was time for Finnkampen – an annual athletics competition between Sweden and Finland, and the third major sports event I followed during this wardenship – and after listening to this for a while I once again got wind of a Norwegian voice; this time it was a resident of Oslo who was conversing with the quartet, and I joined in after standing aside for a bit, and also took the chance to give this Norwegian the new Låddejåkkå letter as he was going that way.

Now it was time for everyone to prepare food, and I ate to Finnkampen. The clouds were breaking apart anew, but another large and dense bank was waiting in the southwest. As the evening went on this bank seemed to pass west of our location, but in the end it came anyway, starting its work by pulling a haze in front of Máhttoajvve. I followed the Finnkampen broadcast to its end and then went in to the Norwegian for payment and talk, and we continued to discuss this and that while we waited for his roommate the bus-bound Swede to return inside. A good long talk with the others followed, and a light rain fed by a stronger one in the Swan valley passed by. As I was going to bed at 22 it was almost still and rather cloudy, but the rain had stopped.

Sunday 30/8

Misty morning

Rain!

Rain, I say!

Some more rain!

Another rainbow

Another rainfall

Off it went

I awoke early again and noted a chilling, somewhat strong southeasterly wind blowing underneath an extensive cloud cover. After sleeping some more I arose to approaching rain, but in general the weather seemed to be improving slowly. When the foursome were about to leave I discovered a LED headband and a pair of glasses on a bed shelf, for which their owner was much thankful. The other Swede had left early, so now only the Norwegian remained, and we entered into a discussion of fjeld weather before I sat down for breakfast. It was raining over at the higher places, but at Kutjaure there was but an intermittent drizzle, which a bit later turned into sun-rain. This all moved off to the southwest before long, as did the Norwegian. Myself, I wanted to do another fishing tour, regardless of the broken rod, and went out for that purpose after 10.

Go to day tour report »

I found a single Dutchman inside, and I myself had reached the shelter of the cottage just in time, for moments later it really poured down outside. I listened to the second day of Finnkampen while waiting for the rain to pass, and when it did I went down to have a bath, being fortunate enough to get sunlight for the extent of it – but not a second more. Soon thereafter two more people came, and we talked a bit inside before I returned to Finnkampen. Glancing out the window I then saw an incredible rainbow before Áhkká and rushed out to imprint it electronically.

After dinner-and-dessert there was more of Finnkampen, which ended with a double win for Sweden which was as suspenseful as it was unexpected. I offered my last cloudberries to the guests lest they go bad, and after some quiet time I called upon the Dutchman for business transaction. He was planning on continuing along Nordkalottleden and then go north within Norway towards Narvik, which would involve a 52-km stage between Vaisaluokta and Røysvatn, so I hoped that he a) was very fit, or b) had a tent. I then sat with the Swedes for a long time, after which I wrote a partial report to STF which they got to bring with them the next day. The weather did not see any real change for the rest of the evening, save for the complete lack of wind when I retired after 22.

The Áhkká rainbow

Closer

Closest