Monday 25/8 – Sunday 31/8

Monday 25/8

It was a dark night, with stars showing in a hole in the clouds. In the morning those clouds remained and so did the hole, and it was no more than 6°C outside. The German was somewhat of a late riser, and I completed several daily tasks before touching ground with him; he planned on going north through Padjelanta next. I went through the shop stores, taking preliminary notes in preparation for the coming weekend's closing procedures, during which I noticed the bridge fellow appearing to come this way, but in the end he turned northwards and disappeared out of sight along the trail.

Later on while I was doing maintenance work inside the guest cottage a couple of people did approach from the west just as the German left, and these were another couple of Germans the other man had met along the way and "warned" me about. They were heading towards Kvikkjokk and after that their plan was to cross Sarek to Akka, so they were glad to hear the currently favorable forecast. After a visit to the shop they went on eastwards while I performed some more maintenance inside, and now the wind didn't feel quite as cold anymore when I returned outside.

After lunch I continued with my maintenance, since the weather was dreary enough not to invite much else. I started making concrete plans for the end of my stay, and then read in my room as a shower came and turned into actual rain for a good while. As dinner approached so did the sun, but it was accompanied by both cloud and wind still. There were no arrivals in the pretty evening, so I just took it easy inside. Suddenly I became aware of a bright blue tent that had sprung up between the bridges, so I wasn't completely alone. Eventually the wind died down, and it was growing quite chilly when I drifted off to bed at 21:45.

Tuesday 26/8

The sky cleared during the cold night, leaving only a bank of cloud in the massif which was slowly lifting in the morning. When I got up it was mostly still with more traces of frost – in the shadow it was still only 2°C – and as it looked to be a fine day I prepared for a day tour. The forecast spoke of light to no wind so I decided to take another trip with the canoe – the first since the start – this time out to the delta, leaving at 09:15.

Go to day tour report »

I first tried shoving the canoe under the sauna porch, where it is stored during winter, at an angle, but was eventually thwarted by the combination of a supporting pole and the shape of the ground. A straighter approached worked, but only just; the thing just barely fit as it was larger than it seemed. It was very warm work in the relentless sun and lack of wind, so it was a relief to go down to the stream to wash; it was as cold as ever, but felt really good. I had an afternoon snack out on the steps, where I was assailed by quite a few flies, and then retreated into the cool interior for some proper relaxation.

Stored

Low water

Nuortta Sávllo had acquired a small cloud cap again, but other than that the sky remained clear and it was warm in the sun still. Later in the afternoon I espied a trio at the northern trail split, and they soon came my way. This was a group of two Finns and a Swede, two of whom had walked Nordkalottleden from Kautokeino. Initially one of them wanted a bed and the other two planned on tenting on their own, but when they learnt that there was a sauna I could almost see their Finnish souls glowing, and they ended up choosing the service fee as this was the first sauna they had had a chance to avail themselves of for quite some time.

I had a quick dinner while another two people approached from the north; as expected these were the only other people who had made a reservation during my whole period, having walked from Lomihytta. They were another Swiss male/female pair where the man spoke Swedish – being an Uppsala resident since many years – and they had a tradition of going on hikes in Norrland every other year. Having finished my meal I went to light the sauna in the quite lovely evening, but when the sun descended into cloud it grew chilly at once.

I spent the evening reading, going out again in the last sunlight, and spoke to the Swiss while the others were in the sauna. When the former had also had their turn I went in myself, after which the cool evening felt quite comfortable, and then tiredly hit the sack after another good tour day.

Wednesday 27/8

I woke up early and remained in bed for a good while before starting the day. The sky was once again clear and the wind weak, and the 2°C temperature brought the familiar melting shadow frost. The trio left while I was having breakfast, and after some morning cleaning I spoke with the Swiss who were staying for another night, giving them some tips about day tours. I then prepared to go for one of those myself, this time aiming for a run across Adámvallda and (probably) up a bit on Muorannjunnje, and left after 09:45 in light running attire.

Go to day tour report »

As usual no one seemed to have stopped by in my absence, and just as usual I started off by having a wash in the stream. What was not too usual was that I then followed this up with a lunch out on the steps, which I hungrily devoured after my exertion. I observed a couple of swans flying from the nearby bay towards the northeast, and then a single hiker coming down onto the plain from the north. The latter was a German who was just passing by, so as is my wont I provided some trail tips.

The wind was increasing somewhat, but it remained warm in the sun, and the lake was glittering almost in the extreme. The Swiss soon returned, having been up onto Dälbut, but other than that there was no movement during the rest of the afternoon. After dinner it was time for another go at the sauna, with me following after the others again while the sun passed into high veils, swiftly bringing the outside temperature down (good for cooling off).

It was another fantastic evening and it was mostly still again as I chilled out on the porch. A pretty light was growing on Vuobmegietjtjåhkkå off to the east, over which I had a great view from the washing room, followed by glowing clouds in the west. It was now dusky enough that I employed the candles again for my evening reading, and then turned in at the end of yet another satisfying day.

Thursday 28/8

The morning came with high clouds and almost no wind, and despite the lack of sun it was quite light. During breakfast the clouds broke apart, and the Swiss left in sunlight. After cleaning I turned to laundry, with a larger number of clothing items than before, also this time out on the sauna porch.

After hanging everything up to dry I brought the clean linen in from storage and started changing everything in the guest cottage. There wasn't enough to go around, and some of the covers were too small to fit the beds due to a misdelivery of some sort; others were just barely large enough and so required quite a bit of force both to remove and put on. This all took quite some time, and I took a lunch break in the middle.

During it all two people came from the north so I took another break to speak with them; they were Estonian and, as I later learnt, Polish, on their way from Muorkihytta to Lomihytta (the long way around), and wanted to check out Pieskehaure now that they were in the area. They wouldn't be staying, however, so after they had visited the shop and had a look inside the cottage they sat down for lunch out at the table while I continued changing. A lake plane flew northwards overhead, and shortly returned southwestwards, but there was no other movement. I donated some sugar to the pair's impromptu cloudberry jam and then they left again, and I finally finished up everything that I was able to given the material at hand. It was very warm outside in the still air – and inside, too, when working – so it was a blessing to return to my considerably cooler room.

There were no further visits, so in the evening I went out for a longer walk in the area, wearing the slippers since it was rather dry. I started out by walking the path past the tent spot and then over the nearby hills to the trail. It was quite an incredible evening and the air was very comfortable now that the pressing heat was no longer pressing nor hot. As I approached the little saddle on the northern end of the outrunner from Dälbut I left the path and cut through some dense osier thickets to reach a stretch of very dry heath, which I followed up onto the next larger crest.

Tent spot view

Southwest

Pieskehaure

Hilltop

Dälbut across a pond

Nuortta Sávllo across the pond

Nuortta Sávllo sans pond

Pond and cottages/massif

Almost at the top I sat down in the heath and looked out over the perfectly calm waters of the lake in the lazy late-summer evening, and just enjoyed myself fully. The scene was reminiscent of my perch above Stádák across the massif many years earlier, but with more space – and more mosquitos, which were still around despite the date. From the adjacent hilltop, which was actually split in two, I followed the edge of the heath down to the path in the middle of the saddle, and then walked the trail back at 19:45 just as the sun started setting behind Lájrro. What an evening!

Higher

Upstream Varvvekjåhkå

Framed

Past bloom

Ruddy

Calm

Mirrored

Row of peaks

At the top(s)

Bright

Going down

The sun setting...

...behind Lájrro

Last light

With the loss of the sun things cooled off at once, so I took the drying laundry inside. Not having much to do what with the lack of guests I just went to bed after an evening snack, noting that temperatures were falling further as the sky grew clearer.

Friday 29/8

I didn't sleep particularly well and awoke only half refreshed to a semi-clear and still morning. A low bank that hung off to the southwest spread eastwards while I had breakfast, covering the sun on and off, and an easterly wind picked up – the first from that direction for quite some time. I had already decided that I would make one final fishing attempt, and left to do so at 10:00, wearing the running shoes and the wind jacket.

I passed south of the adjacent cabin and crossed an area of mostly dry grassy earth, and after a low hilltop I skirted the edge of a mire to the rocky shore where I had stopped on my previous attempt, once again startling a group of loons. I tried casting from some rocks out in the water, but as it was shallow I attempted to construct a missing step to reach a larger rock a bit further out, and eventually succeeded in getting there without slipping; no luck with the spinner, though, and I just barely made it back ashore dry-shod.

Lájrrosläddo

More colors

Turquoise

Bumpy

At the shore

Flying loon

Construction

The sun made repeated visits but the clouds dominated the weather for the most part. I continued southwards, making a few casts here and there but shadows beneath the surface limited my choices. When the shore turned sandy the depth suddenly increased and casting was easy from a large rock, but still to no avail. I progressed along the shore, casting from different places and admiring the deep hues of the partly lit lake. After the beach I went up around a corner of sorts and then walked out onto a flat rock face which oversaw a great depth the surface of which was broken by waves in the appreciable wind.

Rocky

Sand bars

Tinted

More tinted

Even more tinted

Landed

Next up was a passage through low shrubs to the next rock faces right before a short strip of beach, and while the water was still deep the wind was now angled such that casting properly was becoming more of a problem. The sun was now fully clouded and the combined result was a growing chill, so when I approached the sand bar guarding the bay and was thus running out of deeper waters I started heading back, walking across the hilltops in the direction of the cottage which promptly appeared in my sights.

Li'l cove

Going up

Sand bar stretching wide

On the hills...

...heading back...

...to the cottage

I passed west of the buildings down to the bridge, and now it was both sunny and warm again with very little wind. The water had sunk considerably since my first visit – and especially since my last visit – and I now had an absolutely clear view of the bottom, also due to the much reduced current. Here I came very close to catching a fish again as I could see one that looked of ample size swimming after the lure, but it never bit and I couldn't get it to show up again – not for a lack of trying, though. The upstream basin was noticeably smaller and didn't provide anything either, so in the end I admitted defeat and packed up, walking the trail back up in a renewed shadow at 12:30.

Light & dark

Clear!

Not so swift

Creeping clouds

Unsurprisingly no one seemed to have stopped by while I was out of sight, so I sat down for lunch inside. After that I started what was to be my last bread baking session and began preparing for closing the shop while the dough rose. Having finished everything up I went out to the slope to pick some more blueberries, but found that many of them had gone overripe so I had to pick and choose – and there were some lingonberries too that were on the other end of the ripeness spectrum. Most of the low plants were nicely red, bestowing a feeling of autumn even though most bushes and trees were still green.

Back inside I started preparing for the return journey, noting that the forecast for the coming Tuesday – which was to be the longest day with the most exertion and tightest timetable – was getting steadily worse. Bah. Outside the sun was returning out on the lake, and after some more preparations I had pancakes with cloudberry jam and fresh blueberries. Not bah.

I spent the evening doing more end-of-season things and read for a while when not. Outside the weather was improving again, and the sun broke through one last time just before it set. I was in need of a wash and had hoped for visitors so that I could have one last sauna, but since I hadn't seen a living soul all day I just did the washroom thing instead; it was still fairly warm so lighting the whole place up just for myself didn't feel justified. Once again I had a nice view over Vuobmegietjtjåhkkå, which was hugged by a large cloud, and by the time I was done the wind had died down. One spectacular last glow and an evening snack later I went to bed early as I literally had nothing better to do.

Saturday 30/8

The morning came with a fairly strong easterly wind and a mostly clouded sky, but there was some sunlight peeking through in places. After breakfast I did some more closing tasks in the guest cottage and closed a couple of the rooms, this being the penultimate day. Outside it continued to be windy but still pretty mild, and the patches of sunlight were still in evidence. I then took to pouring out most of the unsold soda and beer cans, since they would otherwise explode as they freeze come winter, which took rather a long time and made my fingers and nails hurt from all the opening.

The weather was steadily improving, and as I was nearing completion the clouds broke apart for real and the sun came out in full. In the afternoon I took final(?) inventory in the shop while also keeping an eye on the rather red surroundings, but there was no movement. Upon checking the news I learnt of the landslide outside Levanger earlier that same morning which had swept away both the car road and the railway, which was sure to affect my return journey just a few days later, but there was no updated information as of yet. Uh-oh.

As I was doing some outside work someone walked up the old path from the south, and from the looks of his (very large) pack I guessed that he had packrafted his way into the bay. This guess proved correct – he had paddled part of the way from the glacier, and was now headed up through Padjelanta, Sarek (without paddling, as such activities are forbidden there) and ultimately Rago. Right now he was only interested in stopping for lunch, so after having an afternoon snack myself I went back to departure preparations.

The sun passed into a large bank of cloud which after some time started breaking up, shining upon the reindeer that were moving around somewhat close to the cottage. After dinner the clouds increased in number, and with the sun gone it was almost dusky already. I kept preparing for the final day, and now it was more and more evident that there wouldn't be any final guests so I could be a bit more "aggressive" in my actions – such as moving most of the items out of the shop space into storage. The wind had died down and there was a pretty light on the western clouds, but after it had faded it was really quite dark as I read by candlelight and eventually drifted off to bed at 21:45.

Sunday 31/8

It rained during the still night, and a drizzle from the low clouds remained in the morning. The forecast for Tuesday now seemed more favorable, but still no news on the trains. A weak sun appeared as I started closing up the place for real, working my way through the sauna first and then firing up the incinerator with all the burnable trash amassed during the summer.

The guest cottage was next, where I went from room to room while the sun reigned outside, taking the kitchen last. A single hiker from the north then stopped by; he had walked the full length of Nordkalottleden and was now on the home stretch to Kvikkjokk. He wasn't interested in the shop, however, so after a chat and a visit to the privy he moved on while I went in for lunch.

I then finished up in the off-season compartment, which until recently had housed the shop, and returned to the guest cottage where now only half the floors remained to take care of. That done I had an afternoon snack and checked the news once more – and now there was an announced replacement bus the timetable of which would still work with the rest of my planned journey, so I could relax on that front. Next up on the task list was the privy and various outside things, plus some finishing touches here and there, and then I could lock up the (no longer) public spaces. It was now quite warm outside, and carrying various heavy items was a bit taxing.

After a last dinner with dessert I wrote a letter to the coming winter warden(s) and then went to empty the last few cans I had saved on the off chance someone would want to buy any during the day, proceeding to prepare all the recycling stuff as far as I could. I put in more finishing touches in the warden's cottage, checking off things on my list, and then packed up most my things. After my last evening snack I summed up the visitor stats, and this was apparently the worst summer accommodation-wise for a long time, but no bottom record as such. All that was left to do then was to turn in for a final night at Pieskehaure.