Thursday 25/8

It was a still and starry night, and when the sun started warming the tent in the morning I opened up all I could and rested for a good while longer. There were now two loons out on the tarn, and it was a very fair morning on the whole. I had breakfast outside on the rock, during which there was a wee bit of moving air on and off, and then started packing up while a helicopter paid a visit to Sievgokvuodos. A car passed by going north out on the road, and when the clock had passed 09:30 I was ready to leave.

I started out following the cairns for a short bit and then broke off across low shrubs and bumpy ground after the last of the tarns, heading straight for said road; the old trail continued all the way down to Ritsem on the map, but the overgrown condition of it out here in the open made me hesitant about betting on it through the forest, which would be most of the remaining distance. The last bit was wet and mossy, and once on the road again I set a moderate but steady tempo, noting the pleasant wind that was countering the blazing sun. I met a pickup truck on the crest before the downhill slope started, and here the road was in very poor condition which was reflected in the driver's speed and maneuvers.

Summits

Potholes

Soon Áhkájávrre came into view, and the vistas grew in vastness and splendor. When I got further down I confirmed that a humming sound I had heard on and off ever since the evening before was coming from a large transformer station on the other side of Rijtsemjåhkå as expected, and after I had passed the side road leading off to it and another mast the main road acquired a tarmac layer, but it too was in a much deteriorated state. I had been feeling a bit tired in my legs throughout the descent, so I was glad to reach the locked barrier closing off the road to public traffic, rounding it via a ditch.

Winding down

Standing proud

To Áhkájávrre

At the barrier

Right after that was a parking off to the side, and two people were walking out to the road from it; I believe they were part of the bike group I had met up at Ávddajávri earlier, and we talked a little again. During the final descent I passed a tent hut and a total of three other people beside the road, and after passing the entrypoint to Gränsleden again I took a shortcut through the caravan camping, where most if not all of the guests, present or otherwise, had wooden support structures oftentimes larger than the caravans themselves. There were a few people out enjoying the sun there, but when I reached Ritsem well before 11 I found its yard empty of both tents and visitors.

Majestic

Elderly pair

Campsite of a different kind

Back at the start

I sat down at one of the tables around the tent area and started making practical arrangements now that I had reliable cell phone reception again. I took it easy in the comfortable half-shadow of a tree while a couple of hikers started their trek, and then had lunch. More people were now moving about, and in the southwestern sky high clouds were approaching. I rearranged my pack and then spoke some with Greger, the manager of the Ritsem facility and also an old warden colleague (who had visited me in Kaitumjaure back when). I looked around the place a bit and then boarded the bus, which had the same driver as on the way up a week before.

As the bus drove eastwards the clouds covered the sun more and more. We took on a number of people at Vakkotavare, and at Kebnats a good crowd was waiting beside the newly arrived boat. The skipper of said boat turned out to be Johan Påve, STF's cottage boss and former manager of Saltoluokta itself who was filling in for a few days, so I talked some with him and the crew. It was very still and warm as we waited for the westbound bus to arrive, and once we were underway I remained outside in the open prow.

Áhkká and...

...Sarektjåhkkå through the bus window

Waterfalls still flowing

About to depart...

...with the boat...

...across Láŋas...

...with its steep southern side

Up at the station, which was wrapped in scaffolding due to a roof change and thereby had acquired a peculiar blue tint, I checked in as a camper and then walked down to the tent area in the forest; there were a number of clearings, most of which were quite hard and/or uneven, and I chose one of the remaining unoccupied ones that looked better in both regards. The ground had a lot of stones in it but I didn't need perfect anchoring due to the sheltered location, but it was very warm work and there was quite a bit of both mosquitos and ants. Then it was finally time to go to the sauna, where there were only a few other people at the moment, and in the end I showed up right on time in the main building for the dinner session at 17:30.

Blue-crowned

Well-known view

Last camp

Calm and nice

It was quite warm inside at first, especially after the sauna, but it cooled off after a while with the aid of open windows. I was placed at a table with a Swedish couple, a Swiss girl and a German man, and we talked a bit while we waited for the staff to sort out a booking mishap. Then the meal was presented and we could finally dig in, and as usual it was a fine repast indeed, so a distinct feeling of fullness gradually descended. The menu was as follows:

• Main course: oven-baked char with potato stomp, white wine sauce, lemon-baked leeks and cress
• Dessert: crispy raspberry and rhubarb cake with raw cream
• Also included: salad, pickled vegetables and fresh sourdough bread

The clouds had been breaking up throughout the dinner, with a few glimpses of the sun. I took it easy inside for a while, and outside the temperature was quite comfortable now that it was not as hot anymore. Down on the campgrounds more tents had sprung up, and I was not the only one who opted to walk down to the west-facing shore, where the evening light over Láŋas and the wild precipice of Lulep Gierkav was stunning – also as usual. After some quiet time in the tent I returned down to the water, and now the sunset was at its height (or, rather, bottom), and I felt very pleased about my choice to come here. I lay down to sleep after 21:45, where my feeling of contentedness was somewhat tempered by the hardness of the ground.