Saturday 26/8

As I was afraid of, the night did not offer much sleep. Not only was there the constant smouldering worry that the tent would not be able to cope with the ripping onslaught of the gales, but there was also the resulting sound to reckon with, not to mention the vibrations. I also had to go out to answer a call from nature in the middle of the night, but that gave me the opportunity to confirm that nothing seemed amiss from the outside. Later on there was a noticeable shift, where after a bout of even stronger gusts they died down somewhat, with lower peaks, and this state of affairs continued until the morning when it reversed.

There were quick clouds clinging to the surrounding peaks, and over the basin there was a monumental haze. I had breakfast inside (duh), after which there was a bit of sun, and when washing up afterwards I managed to drop my foldable cup which set off at high speed across the heath, but luckily it caught in a bush and could be recovered. I packed up inside as the wind showed no signs of relenting – quite the opposite – and then set about the difficult task of striking the tent under such conditions, wearing both jackets against the chill. It was indeed difficult, and one of the poles nearly broke in the process – it came out bent, but I couldn't be sure whether this had happened during the night or was a result of the stresses resulting from the teardown operation. Eventually I managed to get all constituent parts into the pack – even though the compression bag came close to escaping – being observed by one other hiker passing by on the trail, and left before 9.

I covered the remaining distance to the trail split towards Stensdalen in wind and rain, but as soon as I turned onto the Vålådalen branch the sun broke through. The ankle was also feeling fine today, with only a dull ache beneath my conscious level of perception, and the forest I descended into was of a nice character, so it wasn't a bad day out. Said forest offered a few possible campsites in its upper parts, but since those were necessarily open they were subject to the very same wind as further up, so I would have had to go much further the day before to attain appreciably better conditions than I had found myself in.

Back on the trail

Hazy!

Better

Going down

A cairn on the path

Lush

Giedtietjaerhvie

Lill-Stensdalsfjället

Further down the wind did eventually dwindle, but due to the chill in the air I kept my attire unchanged for the time being. Near the buildings of Skaftet – which I now managed to spot for the first time – the trail was muddy, but then I came out into the clearing hosting another trail branching point, and here I took a short break and finally removed the rain jacket and gloves. After that the forest was deep and pleasant, and the coolness it offered without the wind was comfortable. I made good time to the bridge over Stensån and decided to press on a bit further before stopping for lunch.

At the Skaftet clearing

Deep forest

Ruined hut

One of a series of open heaths

Lill-Stensdalsfjället in clouds

Open again

And again

Closed

The last bit before...

...the Stensån bridge

The sun came out again as I did so, having been mostly absent since I entered the forest, and soon after crossing the stream I met two people. Tracing the glittering water was nice, and I considered stopping there, but since it was still somewhat early I continued on after saying hi to another pair. In among the trees I passed more people, now in the company of children, and drops could be felt in the wind which had returned as soon as it had the chance. Just as I met the next two people I came to a campsite of sorts where the trail once again drew close to the stream, and I thought that this would be as good a place as any to stop for lunch, which I did around 11:15.

Uvberget (Owl Mountain)

Boarding

Going along...

...the glittering Stensån

Dry

The wind was a bit chilling as I sat there, being passed by a trio – no more solitude this close to Vålådalen – and not being in motion made my tired legs tense up considerably, so it was against their protests that I started walking again. From there the trail was in good condition, so once I had gotten my temperature back up I could hold a good pace. The forest was still of a pleasing character, now starting to bear the early signs of autumn. I passed a group of kids and their leaders, and then was joined by a couple of hikers coming from Kyrkstenen (Church Rock). The last bit to the Slope was muddy from all the cyclists who frequent those parts, and here I met three runners (sans tyres).

Autumn approaching

More openness

From the top of the slope the view was almost unhampered but the sky was mostly overcast. After that I made the mistake of taking a side path, wishing for some novelty in this most travelled of areas, which in the end had me bustling through untrodden woods, crossing a deep stream and climbing a steep slant – all with the result that I came out on the large field where all the trails converge. Bah. I reached the Vålådalen fjeld station before 13, and with about an hour and a half to go until the bus was to leave I examined the inside, noting a number of changes since my last visit, and just sat down to rest until it was time to limp over to the transportation device.

From the crest

On the field (at last)

Updated station

Dining-to-be