Monday 1/9

After a dark and starry night with some startingly uncomfortable dreams I got up around 06:30 to a pretty dawn light, which felt reminiscent of the last morning in Pältsa. It really was a fantastic morning, albeit a cold one at only 3°C, and the prognosis for the next day was still looking good. I packed up everything before breakfast, where I consumed most of the remaining foodstuffs, and did an extra round in the off-season compartment to make sure it was in proper order. Then all that remained was to clean my room, which took a fair amount of time, and to finish preparing all the recycling fractions for transport. It was warm and clear as I did one final round of the premises, and then left Pieskehaure behind around 10:15.

The rucksack felt noticeably lighter than on the way in – because it was – and I set a high tempo across the plain, where there were some smaller wet patches remaining. Walking was good and there was a light movement in the air which made things more comfortable. The ford was no obstacle as usual and soon thereafter a lake plane passed overhead again, doing pretty much the same round as on the previous visit. Labbájåhkå was swift as ever at the bridge, and on the stretch before the Lájrrojåhkå bridge I walked around on the hills looking for fresh photo angles. That next bridge was still slanting so I took care in crossing it, and then sped up on the westbound trail.

Departure

Last look at Varvvekjåhkå

Colorful

Nuortta Sávllo across the delta

New plane

Boarded

Ford stream

Bye-bye

Delta

First bridge

Labbájåhkå down

Labbájåhkå up

Panorama over the whole of Lájrrosläddo

Second bridge

Lájrrojåhkå up

Utilized campsite

Lájrrojåhkå down

The ground was now mostly grassy with some muddy areas every now and then, and many flowers were still in bloom despite the fact that it was now September. Behind me a helicopter approached along the northern trail and landed at the campsite close to the Lájrrojåhkå bridge, depositing several people who slowly walked around the immediate area. It shut down its engine rather than departing straight away, however, so perhaps this was a maintenance crew sent to repair the skewed bridge.

Soft

Wide

As I ascended the gentle slope the terrain was interspersed with more heathland, and soon the sun passed into a veil which increased my walking comfort. I could see the tire tracks from last week's bikers here and there, but other than that there was no company before I entered the bushier region where I scared up a group of ptarmigans. The sun reappeared as I found myself on what looked to be the correct path through the thickets, and I recognized the place where I had come back up from my detour in the other direction. The path was faint, however, and the sideways slant appreciable, so it was still a bit of a rough stretch. As the bushes gave way to heath again I saw that there were indeed several other blindly ending paths further down, one of which I had ended up on before, so this is a tricky part.

Heath and wetness

Surface

Slopes

Winding stream

Lone island

Going around

Going through

Gone past

Throughout it all the lake was one big mirror, and the air was much clearer this time around. The ground mostly consisted of dry heath for a good bit, with a few muddy patches, and after checking out a large hole in the ground I started ascending, passing more wetness before it was back to heath. Below me there were quite a noticeable number of boats on the shore close to the group of little buildings down there, but none actually in the water at present. Suddenly I caught sight of the bridge beside the trail split, and around 12:15 I paused for lunch on the rock faces beside the splashing stream which had so enamored me during my previous passage.

Into the bay

Flatter

Don't fall in

Verdant

Reflective

Up again

Back at last

I took off my boots and ate hungrily, looking out over the very wide lake view in full sunlight. After a while a patchy bank of cloud reduced the latter, and the air was quite comfortable. I donned the shoes again and walked downstream a bit, noting the "infinity pool" effect of a terrace in the stream, below which there was a series of small waterfalls, still over naked rock. I also noted that now there were a couple of people outside the cabin down at the outflow, which I guess explained the boats.

Eventually I put the pack back on and returned to the trail, taking a bit of a detour around the mire right above. The sun was now out again and the warmth was pressing, especially since it was also entirely still, but up on the next crest the wind returned. Since I now had more time I decided to go over to the border cairn, walking first over rocky heat and then around a somewhat deep canal that barred my way, where I almost slipped. From the cairn I could just about make out the main neighbors – Rr 237A and Rr 238A, respectively – and I went on to the next smaller cairn to the north before breaking off towards the trail again.

Marshy

Lake view

Sulidälbmá and the cairn

Same, closer

Next cairn

The ground was mostly dry as I passed south of a couple of tarns, crossing a faint path going down to a small beach at Loameluoppal. I then made my way towards the visible trail markers in the least burdensome way, following the shape of the terrain, reaching the path just as it rounded another mire. The surface of Muorkkejávrre suddenly popped into view just before Muorkihytta itself did so, and the scene with Sulidälbmá in the background was a very pleasing one. As I approached before 14 I saw that there was a boat lying up on the shore but the cottage itself was locked, so maybe it belonged to the people down at Bieskehávrre across the border.

One of several

Loameluoppal east

Peaks and pool

Muorkkejávrre and the massif

Same, plus tarn

Minus tarn, plus cabin

Old and new shoreline

I unlocked the door and entered my name in the visitors' log, noting that the last entry was by the Estonian/Polish couple who had stopped by in Pieskehaure four days ago, so no rush this late in the season (if there ever is). The interior was very nicely cool, but before it had time to affect me too much I went back out to have a wash in the lake. I chose the same place as last time, but the water was considerably lower – although just as cold, so I didn't stay in for long this time either. Back on the shore it was very nice in the sun, but after drying up I retreated inside for a while.

A bit later I went out again in the beautiful afternoon and walked a little circuit towards the northeast, where there was another faint path leading to Loameluoppal from the other direction. The terrain consisted of rocky hills with small cairns upon them, and the southeasterly wind was just weak enough that I could make do without the jacket. I returned along the shore and then spent some quiet time inside, sorting through the bookshelf and adjacent pile of assorted (or, rather, a-sorted) stuff. Upon reading through the guestbook I found that people from SOT, the local branch of the Norwegian Tourist Association, had renovated the trail markers between Muorkihytta and Fagerlibukta just a few days before, so that boded well in case of low visibility on the morrow.

Pair

Eidevatnet/Muorkkejávrre

Low red

Lájrrovárre

Glittering stream

As the sun started passing into clouds that were spreading across the sky I started preparing dinner, while also sweeping the floors of the common area which seemed not to have been done for a while, at least not very well. I made it an indoor meal this time, reading in a Norwegian comic book I had found in the bookshelf. Afterwards it started growing cooler outside as well now that the sun was mostly gone, and over at the massif Suliskongen was just touching the clouds.

There was no movement in the evening, and I spent most of it relaxing and reading inside. When the sun was approaching the southern ridge I went out for another walk, going up the slope to the tarn just above the cottage and then turned north over very dry ground onto a crest overlooking the whole lake. Up there it was quite windy, but it was still nice. I came down close to the privy and just as I walked the last few steps back to the cottage the sun finally disappeared, plunging the shore into shadow.

Clouds in the massif

Up on the crest

Loameluoppal west

The tarn

Back down

It was now getting cloudier on the whole, and less and less of the massif was free. After reading some more inside the wind also disappeared, and then there was a sudden burst of intense sunset glow across the lake. I finished the book and then prepared for an early bed with the feeling that it was later than it actually was, mostly because of the growing dusk for which the cottage's photoelectric lights came in handy. At 21:00 I turned out those lights for one final night out in the fjelds.