Thursday 25/7

Govretjåhke – Rássjajávrrie
Horizontal distance: | 14.5 km |
Vertical distance: | +140 m, -260 m, +300 m, -80 m |
Time: | 5 h 15 min |
Lunch break: | 1 h 15 min |
Dinner: | Pasta bolognese |
Night accommodation: | Tent |
Stage classification: | Easy/Medium |
Map point: | Syter |
I slept in bouts, as it were, crawling out of the sleeping bag when the sun started warming the tent in the early morning. I could still rest for a good while before it got too hot, however, and went up at 07:15. The sky was entirely clear save for some small clouds around the nearest peaks, and a light wind together with much fewer mosquitos made it a very pleasant morning – with a very wide view to boot. As I had breakfast outside the wind grew in power, and the peak-clouds grew as well. Above I could see the two people with the dog from the day before, making their way upwards and then heading back north. By the time I had packed up and was ready to leave around 10 the clouds had shrunk back once more, and the pleasant wind remained.
I cut across the bumpy terrain towards the winter trail and followed its markers over not-too-wet mires, eventually reestablishing contact with the summer path – which was, however, not very clear, and neither were the marking cairns. When I reached Dåeriesjohke I found it to be quite swift, coming from a melting glacier as it did, so I walked upstream to where it spread out in a good many arms and could get across them all with some tricks, strides and leaps. After that the path was clear and followed the winter markers, so walking was easy. I met a couple aiming for Murtsertoppen and then crossed Ö Syterbäcken with the help of rocks and a mid-stream islet.
I was now approaching Kungsleden, where I could see other people about, and immediately to the west the grand U-shaped valley of Syterskalet opened up in its entirety. Puffy clouds had started forming in the sky, and it was a bit of a relief when the sun passed behind them as I ascended Sjul-Olsaxeln on the well-trodden path. I met a family of five people with a dog, and up on the flattened top another family of four (sans canine). It was windier there, and even more far-reaching views spread out before me. Nice! Going down was easy but felt somewhat long, but I still arrived at the Syter cottages right at noon.
The warden was just going over to Svärfarbäcken to wash some clothes, so I simply walked up to the main cottage and sat down outside, taking off the boots. There were a few other people around, and more arrived as I sat there, one of whom was a runner from Hemavan (or so I gathered). Lunch was not as tranquil as it might have been due to a good number of horseflies that needed to be fended off, and it was very warm when the sun was out (which was most of the time). I had a look inside, finding the interior to be of older make, and signed the guestbook with my intended route. I checked out my campsite from my last visit and then a helicopter arrived, dumping off a whole host of children (and a couple of adults).
When I left I took the northward trail for a bit, walking leisurely in the pressing warmth, and turned up the eastern slope after clearing the sparse forest. Here the ground was covered in low shrubs, and I took to following wetter grassland where I could before starting to wind my way upwards for real, where it was mostly nice heath. As I reached a flattened crest the wind increased, which felt very nice, and I made my way around the upper parts of Skijrátjåhkka – at first I had been of a mind to visit its summit, but as it was I felt content with the views I had already attained and decided to take the easy route instead. I continued up onto the northwestern outrunner, from where I had a good view of Rássjajávrrie and its neighbors.
The way down was partially stony but not in any way difficult, and crossing the outflow of Rássjajuhkatje was also an easy affair. From there I went parallel to the water, going over somewhat stony, rather uneven and somewhat wet ground until I reached Rássjajávrrie itself. The terrain around its southern end was not entirely inviting for camping either, so I continued counter-clockwise to the next little headland, where I found a good spot with a nice view around 15:15, so I decided to stop.
There was a considerable southerly wind blowing, which only felt good, and as a consequence there were hardly any insects around. After pitching the tent I had a cold but nice wash in the lake and then relaxed on a nearby rock, enjoying the beautiful afternoon. My location was unquestionably remote, but also felt amiable and serene, with the steep cliffs of Muortuotjåhkka and Juobmuobákttie rising above the lake close by and Norra Storfjället rising above everything else in the distance. I proceeded to have dinner on that same rock, and then walked around a bit before returning to my perch to read.
When the sun passed into a high veil, bringing temperatures down, I could finally move inside the tent. Outside the wind had lessened, which gave the insects the opportunity to come back, so I took my evening snack inside. It was otherwise a splendidly beautiful evening by the lake, with a persistent seagull as company, and I took it in as much as I could before calling it a night at 21:45, lying entirely outside the sleeping bag due to the lingering heat.