Friday 25/8

I walked along the northbound trail, breaking off westwards after the dry gulley of Bollošjohka. Here the ground was covered in small shrubs, but there were for the most part more or less open passages between them, and I noted a clear but still limited tendency of color shifts. When the shrubs grew higher the passages grew better, actually, and soon I came out onto the plateau overlooking the side channel where I had turned around last time.

Low clouds...

...all around

Colors deepening

Among the shrubs

Nearing the water

I made my way out to the main course and continued up to the next bend, where the water looked deep enough to start fishing. I did so while a weak sun started appearing, but the low clouds still would not let go. I continued upstream, mostly following a small path, and continued casting where conditions so allowed; it was often fairly shallow with a deeper part gorged out by the current. When the brink grew higher with more shrubs I took to small detours, and now the clouds were finally breaking apart and the sun came out for real.

Going past calm stretches...

...of Bealčánjohka...

...while the clouds...

...remained low

As I approached the high and steep sandy brink (nipa in Swedish) where Bealčánjohka makes a full 180-degree turn the water turned too shallow for comfort. Instead I saw fit to sit down for lunch on a patch of heath with an old fireplace right by the water at 12:00, having observed both a couple of hikers heading south up on the trail and some rough-legged buzzards floating on the wind above them. It was now quite warm, so no jacket was necessary, and after a quick meal I started fishing again upstream.

Brink in sight

Brink in light

Wide stream

Clouds loosening their grip

Sat here

Bealčánvággi coming out

There was still a strip of gravel running along the water, but it was moist and soft and eventually dwindled, so I then headed back to the lunch site and followed a path through the heath climbing the slope at a shallow angle, passing a couple of more fireplaces, and then passed through a shallow gorge up to the crest. From there I followed the edge of the brink – at a safe distance, since I had seen from below just how undermined the ground was – returning down to the water after the bend where there was another side channel.

Still passable

Fairer

Going up

Gone up

Atop the brink's crest

Bend

Going down

Past the bend

The side channel

Here I had to put the sunglasses on against the glitter in the water from the now unchecked sun. I also managed to get the spinner stuck under a submerged root, but succeeded in getting it loose by way of repeated lateral movement. I continued upstream, negotiating more shrubs, and had to climb the slope to get around a steeper section. I fished some more at the confluence of Bealčánjohka and Njearrejohka, and then went on alongside the latter, passing a region of larger rocks out in the water.

Shallow

Little bay

Brink behind

Njearrejohka ahead

After that I climbed the nearby ridge which blocked my progress, eventually returning to the water once more. Here the ground was mostly flat again, and a nice, low grassy brink greeted me. It was now quite warm, and the peaks had mostly shed their cloudy companions at last. The next section of the stream consisted of small rapids, and after a brief run-in with one of the narrowly submerged rocks I passed a series of small waterfalls.

Upstream Njearrejohka: calm, ...

...rapids, ...

...flat rocks, ...

...and little falls

Motionless

After another bend I came to a section of calmer water; here it was again shallow, but since the bottom consisted of sand I saw no particular danger in trying a few more casts. At the far end of the calm stretch was another small waterfall, and I was partially of a mind to go check it out, but my time was running out and I needed to get back.

I followed swaths through the low shrubs lining the area around the bank, soon intersecting the line of winter trail markers, coming to a wide grassy meadow-like hollow. I could see a single hiker making his way south on the trail further ahead, and I soon reached the ATV track myself. The other fellow had stopped on the last crest before the home stretch, but as he was quite intent on fiddling with his phone I just walked on by. I followed a fainter ATV track with more grass and less gravel and then kept to the smaller path tracing the crosses to the sauna building around 14:45, where I found no signs of visitors save for the one on my tail.

Leaving

More falls

Gravel

Grass

Reflective

Almost back

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