Tuesday 26/8 – part two

I walked between the hills (and over some), soon coming onto a reindeer path that I followed for a bit. Out of the general bumpiness I went diagonally up, heading for a "corner" in the slope. The ground alternated between grass, heath and moss, and going was rather easy. Far behind me the clouds had parted just enough to give rise to the attractive angelic light effect, which was now centered upon the lakes close to Kungsleden and the fjelds further west, and that sight alone would have made the excursion worthwhile. I proceeded more steeply upwards, and now the percentage of rocks increased drastically. Above me the very stubborn cloud still refused to let go of the summit, and also before Báhkkabahokčohkka there remained a partial wall of white.

Once past the corner I aimed for the next one, which would be the northern edge of the mountain – I did not have to reach the actual top to get the view I sought, which was the delta of Aliseatnu as it flows into Rávttasjávri. Here the ground was better again, even though it was still stony, but suddenly long stretches of mossy grass appeared, and since they were oriented along the direction of the incline I found them most convenient. I was now drawing very close to the lower parts of the cloud, and indeed a few wisps were already blowing past below me. Rather suddenly I came to the edge, which marked the start of a near-vertical drop of some 700 meters.

All of Šiellačohkka

Angelic light...

...of to the west

Giegajávri below

Peak parts

The valley of Aliseatnu

The Cloud

More liquid light

Far below the delta spread out in all its glory, and the whole scene had definite similarities to the very famous and very frequently photographed view of the Lájtávrre delta from Skierffe at the border of Sarek National Park, with the same sharp drop and extreme sense of elevation. Aliseatnu is a silt-carrying stream, and the deposits reach quite far out into the lake – the boundary is visible in the bottom left image below. This was what I had come for, and I felt very satisfied; further up the cloud remained in place, but there was of course no reason to be sorry for this.

Still, the best was yet to come! First, as I turned my gaze westwards, the angels had started their song once more, and now the intensity was higher – and increasing. It only got better the longer I watched, and even though the breakthrough had started somewhere around the Norwegian border the effect was approaching, after a while producing a dazzling glare in the lakes. It was with this fabulous sight before my eyes that I started the descent.

The delta

Zoomed in

Precipice

Sensation of height

Notice silt line

Another light session

All of the valley

Reflection

Now I cut across the slope at once, since by doing so I could go around the stonier parts. Suddenly the light came rushing at me, and before I knew it the whole valley below was sprinkled with a warm glow in a most stupendous manner, and all I could do was look with my jaw at boot level. Well, that's not entirely true, for I had the camera snapping like crazy, and had I still been using film I would have finished a whole roll then and there. The sight was really an unbelievable one, and easy on the eye as the below depictions might be, they cannot capture the experience of being present while it was occurring. I counted myself incredibly lucky to have been dealt this card by fate, and as the whole thing faded I felt deeply moved and both excited and serene at the same time. Wow, just wow.

I continued walking higher up, passing above the steeper section on easier ground, later coming out onto very nice grassland. Thus I picked up speed as I progressed straight down, making some minor detours around smaller patches of rocks. I passed close by a cute little pool by which there were great campsites, and here the sun reappeared temporarily, although without the angels. I went on along what I judged to be a straight line towards my tent, finding the same reindeer path after a bit. My internal feel for when I should see the green canvas appear was only off by one little hill, and I entered my field home two hours after setting out on what proved to be an unbelievably well-timed evening outing.

Hithaeglir

The sun...

...racing...

...towards me!

A last...

...farewell

Back inside I just lay still and let the experience sink in, as well as rested my body from what amidst all had required some physical effort. I then had a considerable evening snack to compensate, and now the drifting clouds were obscuring more again – well-timed indeed. As there was nothing more to do I simply went to bed shortly before 22, thinking that with this in fresh memory, I could laugh a full day of rain and hardship in the face, should it come.