Saturday 17/8

I could sleep well into the morning, staying in bed while the others were up bustling about. As expected from forecasts it was raining outside, with low clouds on the Norwegian side, but on the Swedish one visibility was still good. The German group – a "botanical excursion" from a university – was to stay for another night, perhaps going out in the wetness to look for some plant or other, so no solitude. After a while I went down to Emma, unfortunately slipping on the wet soil on the steep path down the hill and hurting my knee. Owie. She was just baking bread, and after Björn and his dog had also found their way in we had a fresh snack while the rain was falling with undiminished strength and visibility towards Norway shifted.

Rainy morning

Higher clouds on the Swedish side

Cuddly

After lunch Emma came up and she and I spoke at length with Inka, the group leader, mostly on the subject of Sámi. Now the clouds were lower on the Swedish side, whereas Storsteinsfjell was peeking out instead. A single Swedish woman arrived fairly early from Abiskojaure, having seen no reason not to keep on walking in this weather, while a few of the Germans were on their way out. I spoke a bit with the other Swede and then lay down to rest before talking some more with Emma and Björn outside in the rain. It was, however, getting lighter, and the frequency of the drops was slowly decreasing. The Germans were preparing dinner, and once I had had mine I was offered a bit of extra from their batch.

For want of the real thing

Facilities

The rain had all but stopped, but in its stead was a cool wind. Emma came in and was also fed by the Germans, a subset of which she and I entered into a discussion about usable and not-so-usable Swedish words with. After a shopping session – the shop had, by the way, been substantially extended inventory-wise, much of which I saw as unnecessary, especially considering the size of the room – I talked for some time with Emma on subjects of wardenship, and then it was time for my evening snack. The Germans were soon moving off to bed, and I ended up being among the last to do so at 23 – this time having no trouble with the door.

Sun!

That hill

Storsteinsfjell glacier

Blue evening