Tuesday 26/8 – part one

I slept almost unnaturally well, and after waking up I stayed in bed until 07:45, when the others stirred. The weather had taken a sharp turn for the worse during the night, for now the clouds covered all the sky and they hung low enough to hide even the lower rises in the immediate area. I packed up various things while the other two made breakfast, and when it was "my turn" they were already leaving. By then minute amounts of rain had appeared in the air, and visibility southwards was very bad, so I hope they could make the passing of the pass alright (not to mention the Germans!). There was a bit of wind as well, but as my own departure drew near this decreased a bit; on the other hand the falling droplets could now almost be called a drizzle, but I still did not deem it necessary to put on the rain clothes.

At 09:45 I was already on the track – according to the map there is an official marked trail that runs to (and ends at) the Mårma cabin, and at the very least I found the raised cairns to be of sufficient frequency and robustness to merit such a label. Where the ground so allowed there was also something which could be called a path, and after a rocky portion this path drew closer to Vierrojohka where the ground was mostly level. Shortly before the second connecting stream from up Vierročohkka was a nice patch which could hold a few tents, but the stream itself looked tricky even with the current low water levels since it splashed across smooth rock faces; luckily it was much easier just a short bit upstream.

Once across it I found two paths, and I took the one closer to Vierrojohka since this stream was just here entering a canyon, and I had a mind that it might be worth looking at. At the lower end of this canyon – which finished off with a great waterfall – the path descended onto stone-strewn grassland, and I spotted at least one acceptable campsite. The trail was good for a while, but then the marking cairns turned my heading closer to the water where there was nothing but stones, and what followed was a cumbersome portion of loose gravel at the base of a considerable slope. A bit further ahead there appeared a dent in this slope, and I elected to employ this to climb up from the stony shore; marks in the ground and a few smaller cairn-like structures made it evident that others had done so previously, but it was still a taxing thing to do.

Once up on the crest, however, there was not much in the way of trails or suchlike, and when the slope down to the stream grew less steep I returned downwards, coming onto the main path just as a bit of bush vegetation started appearing down at the bottom of the vale. Behind me the weather just grew worse, but I was subjected to nothing but light drizzle (if that) and very little wind. Here where the ground was softer the path was very good, and even though a bit of osier sometimes hung across it this was very nearly dry, so no worries.

When the path split into two I took the one that went up the slope rather than staying beside the stream, and when I had gained some altitude I saw that off to the northwest visibility was much better; further behind the sky was actually clear! When the incline lessened I broke off the path and aimed for an interesting feature at the base of the northernmost rise of Vierročohkka, which I identified as a group of old (as in very old) reindeer fences made out of stone, and I thought I could have a look at them.

By now the precipitation had ceased, but instead a headwind came at me up there as I passed between two corrals – they were actually in rather good shape still. Off to the west the clouds were lifting somewhat, but things were still very bad up in the direction of the Mårma cabin. I now had Alip Vealevárri before me, but the clouds only permitted me to see its lower half, and worryingly close in the east there was a distinct haze. I passed over stony ground and then around wet ground, going between a couple of pools to the marked trail coming all the way from Årosjokk. This trail I followed eastwards for a short bit, and even though the red marking crosses were all in place and all that, it was clear from the state of the path that this is not a very frequented route nowadays.

I then turned off and went straight towards Giegajávri, coming into a region of small hills between (and upon) which the ground was bumpy almost in the extreme, so conditions for tent-pitching were very far from optimal. Now it looked as though the eastern haze was growing lighter, and there were some very weak glimpses of the sun above Vierročohkka. After skirting many a hill I suddenly found a nice enough (and large enough) patch just after a brook which not far from its outflow from the lake dived underground, and there I decided to make camp at 12:30.

Up I go

Rock fence

The cleft of Vierrojohka

Passing by...

...the old fences

Bumpy Suorivárri

Corral and Suorivárri

Better weather over there

Alip Vealevárri cut off

The opening of Šiellavággi

First time seeing these

Slightly better behind me

Giegajávri

Difficult tenting conditions...

...on land strewn with small hills

Now, this is rather an early time to do so, but the reason was that I had an ascent of Alip Vealevárri in my sights, and since I saw signs of improving weather conditions I had resolved to "wait out" things in the tent, aiming for an evening excursion. I pitched the tent in quick fashion, and being most pleased with the result I sat down in the vestibule to have lunch, letting the interior dry from the dampness on day 2. Now a bit of drizzle had returned, and things actually looked somewhat worse for a while, so I just took it easy in the meantime.

At the next change I went out and up onto one of the adjacent hills, from which I saw that the clouds were lifting over both the western peaks and Vierročohkka, but out of the niche between the latter and Rássebávttáščohkka showers were passing one after the other. Looking north I observed a large drifting cloud pulling in before Báhkkabahokčohkka, and this appeared to be spreading, but in general everything was getting lighter except in the direction of Vealejávri.

After a visit to another hill I went in "for real", taking out the crosswords again, later accompanied by the deck of cards and the book. A few more hill climbs also took place, and still the weather was slowly getting better with a few hints of blue at places, but the low drifting clouds only grew more numerous and extensive. I went on reading and looked over the map before having dinner immediately outside the tent, for wind protection. Now the low clouds seemed lighter, and while I was standing on yet another hill the sun finally broke through, and even though the top of Alip Vealevárri was still hidden in cloud the cut-off level was significantly higher than before. I therefore decided to start the ascent at 18:15, this time having the rain jacket tied around my waist in the event of a sudden shower.

Twitterer

My campsite

Another part of Vierročohkka

Báhkkabahokčohkka temporarily out of the clouds...

...like Godučohkka

Wee bit of sun upon
Alip Vealevárri

Rássebávttáščohkka, Vierročohkka, and clouds

Sun! Woo!

Sheltered