Wednesday 13/8

I felt in good shape as I left the cottage in a weak wind, despite (or because of?) yesterday's run, and I set a brisk tempo. I splashed straight across the ford at a lower location compared to last time, and then turned up alongside Lájrrojåhkå. Here the ground consisted of low shrubs for the most part, but there were often reindeer paths to utilize.

Clouds around Nuortta Sávllo

At the Labbájåhkå bridge

Under the Labbájåhkå bridge

Below the Labbájåhkå bridge

The terrain was hilly in the small scale, so it was a fair bit of up-and-down, and there were also some insects about. I passed a somewhat sizeable tributary brook on rocks and then it was back to vertical motion with many intersecting hollows, and a high blueberry content in between. After a cairn-adorned hilltop I came to an area that would be great for tenting, and now Lájrrojåhkå displayed a wide rocky course. It was mostly still and warm as I progressed upstream, keeping close to the water for the most part across heath and moist grass and the like.

Silty Lájrrojåhkå

Rapids

More rapids

Lájrro tributary

Calmer

Open

Wider

Scepters

Marked

Next up was an area of low ridges and dry canals, the latter of which turned watery in a very flowery grassy hollow. I followed reindeer paths where they presented themselves, and after a series of plateaus I reached a sharp bend in Lájrrojåhkå where it splashed over rock faces in a narrow little gorge. Ahead of me the massif, which had been in my sights the whole time, had started to acquire some clouds around the peaks, so I hoped they wouldn't have time to hide completely. Above the gorge the stream spread out over gravel beds, and up on land I now walked on grassy dirt with some overspill from up Labbá.

Going over there

Green

Purple

Flowery

In the gorge

Above the gorge

Flatness

Blueness

Wetness

After crossing a proper brook I started gaining altitude as I was nearing a corner in the terrain, which was growing stonier. Up there were a series of large hills which I tried to go around as much as possible, and there were also a few snowfields which made the wind markedly cooler. I maintained my altitude as I crossed a couple of intersecting shallow rocky ravines, and now Sálajiegŋa was finally coming into view.

Starting to ascend

Panorama over the massif and the barren terrain

I saw that I still had a ways to go before I would actually reach the glacier lake which was my goal, and I thought that there was no point in not going all the way now that I had come this far, so I pressed on. The ground mostly consisted of broken rock faces with loose stones on them, so I chose my steps with some care. Another limiting factor was that my ankle had started hurting again, despite polstering precautions, so I made some lacing adjustments as I went. My route took me fairly close to the stream, and I passed several large rocks with painted markings on them – possibly historic distance measurements to the ice tongue. The sun was passing into small clouds as I crossed the last tributary without trouble, and then climbed the last rocky incline beside an impressive gushing semi-fall...

Sálajiegŋa ahead

Markings...

...on the rocks...

...on the flat expanse

Arctic

Outflow

...to a small hilltop overlooking the shore of the icy lake beyond which the current end of Sálajiegŋa loomed at noon. It was now sunny and warm again as I took in the scene, which was starkly Arctic with (almost) nothing but rock, ice and water. This lake and the ice edge have gone through dramatic changes in the past decade, with a large chunk of the latter collapsing and completely reshaping the former – one used to be able to cross westwards south of the lake on the ice itself here, which is obviously no longer a thing.

I had a substantial lunch sitting on a rock upon the hill, wearing the jacket against the wind. While the clouds had grown to envelop some of the higher parts, they only did so partially and also not statically, so during the time I spent up there most parts of the peaks were visible at some point or other – and I could spot all border cairns in the area, as the Sulidälbmá massif is shared between Sweden and Norway. The water was heavily silted, of course, and there were a couple of icebergs off to the west. Up on the glacier I also espied some reindeer on the Norwegian side, but nothing else moved.

The ice front

Plus outflow

Plus peaks

Bergs

Creviced

Border cairn

Icy

Full view

Swedish side

Hardy!

Hydropower

Duck rock

When more clouds began rolling in I set out for the retun trek, without the jacket again. Also this time I had to remove the polstering and tie the boot loosely to save the ankle, but it went fine from then on. I held a higher course further from the stream this time, which turned out to be somewhat easier across the rocky section. Behind me the clouds now actually lifted enough to show the whole massif for a while, but overall the cloud content in the sky was increasing – just as prognosticated.

Sterile

Lifted

Cloudier

Clear

On the crest overlooking the very green vale of Lájrrojåhkå the wind came in full force, and I could see all the way to the cottage from there. I maintained a high course as I rounded the larger hills, landing me in a nice little hollow with a brook leading down to the valley floor, where I cut across the slope on reindeer paths for a gentler incline. I kept my distance to Lájrrojåhkå, which involved flatter but wetter ground, and more flowers.

Nearing the crest

Leaving the massif behind

A way down

Down

Good walking here

At the gorge I briefly made contact with the upward "path", but then returned to a more easterly route, which as expected turned out to be a good way to circumvent all the up-and-down – and there were many more flowers. After a long period of sunlight a larger bank of cloud was rolling in from the southwest and swallowed the big lamp as I walked over flowery grassland heading straight for the cottage. The ground then turned to heath upon and between more low hills, and then I splashed across the tributary stream where it flowed through a wide, shallow ravine.

Close...

...to the gorge

Multicolored

Here too

Pretty vale

Out of the vale

Sound source

Before the tributary

After the tributary

I was now approaching Labbájåhkå, which I reached well upstream from the bridge, so I walked downstream along the brink where many a nice cloudberry grew. The last bit to the bridge consisted of a clear reindeer path, and then I was back on the trail. The western end of the lake glittered in the sun, but other than that there was mostly shadow. I was starting to feel a bit tired as I walked across the plain, reaching the cottage just before 15:30.

At Labbájåhkå

All clear

Another flier

Last bit to go

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