Monday 9/9

I slept well for the most part, arising when the sun started warming the tent. It was a splendid morning and I just stood outside for a long while, with the very wide vista spread out beneath me. Nothing moved save a long strip of cloud from the east down in the valley, and I had a very pleasant breakfast outside. As I packed up the cloud strip evaporated, leaving a perfectly clear sky, and after replacing the rocks exactly I made up my mind to go around Vádvečohkka rather than traverse its steep southern slope or descend to the delta straight away and left at 09:45.

I walked on nice grass and moss which later gave way to more stones, aiming for the saddle between Vádvečohkka and Čunučohkka. During the walk through Čunuvággi I noticed two things: 1) the would-be glacier ahead, Čunujökeln, appeared to have gone the way of the dodo almost in its entirety, and 2) there was a reindeer-watching hut high up beside the eastern tributary stream which was not marked on the map. Turning up towards the saddle I first thought the stony slope looked a bit steep, but it turned out to be quite gentle once I was on it. The rocks were small and easily trodden, and up in the saddle moss took over...

Going into the valley

Some snow left on Vádvečohkka

Higher up

Saddle

Looking across Čunuvággi

Beaivvejietnja on the other side

...and the view that appeared on the other side was, in its own way, staggering. The broken cliff face of Beaivvečohkka was very imposing, and the valley before it was green and inviting. The way down went over more grass'n'moss, but as I drew near to the ravine of the nearby stream I suddenly found myself at a precipice that needed rounding before I could continue. This landed me on a nice meadow at the valley floor, which was divided by Vádvejohka's wider ravine. I walked on its eastern brink for a bit, and then tried the crossing where the stream widened, which after some surveying went without hassle.

Peaks reemerging

Imposing Beaivvečohkka

Vádvejohka in the valley

Descending...

...beside a stream

Valley mouth

Wall

On the meadow

Vádvečohkka giving a different impression here

Green

Downstream Vádvejohka

Upstream Vádvejohka

The terrain on this side was partly wet and partly bushy, but there were also good tenting spots here and there. I passed a couple of bountiful blueberry patches, which saw their content drastically reduced, and then I came to the edge of another ravine, larger and deeper. I gingerly made my way down and then crossed the stream at the bottom at a small islet. I climbed the steep western slope a little and with some slight trouble made my way over to a pretty waterfall opposite the confluence with Vádvejohka, where the two impressive ravines met. I then scrambled up beside the splashing water to a place where it ran over flat rocks and was easily crossed, and then sat down on the other side at 12:15.

Sun and bushes

Cliff

Nearing the end

Lapporten back in view

New ravine

Crossing

At the waterfall

Ravine connection

Above the waterfall

Confluence

What a place that was! The little brook beside me, the ravines below me, lush vegetation around me, the sun above me – and only me, no one else. The feeling of wilderness and of a hidden place was strong, and I savored it in full. When I started walking again I gained some more altitude lest I fall back into the ravine, crossing several smaller ravines and low shrubs that intersected my route as I passed out of the valley. The vegetation on the other side was rather autumny, but on my side it was mostly summer still.

Can't get enough of these ravines

The delta coming into view again

The valley behind me

Passing the delta

Having reached the corner of Ribaknjunni I saw no immediately apparent path down, so I just cut across the partly bushy slope, which resulted in both a scared flock of ptarmigans and a couple of almost-falls. A wet and bushy region followed, after which I passed into nice grassy forest, which gave way to a couple of largish mires that carried well. I was now feeling very warm as I reached a ruined hut, and the forest took a turn for the worse space-wise, which didn't help said feeling. I then stumbled upon a modern-looking cabin and a path, which after some climbing over and around felled branches took me to a boat at the shore of Vuolip Njuorajávri. From there I followed the shore, which was easy save for a naughty alder or two, passed a well-utilized campsite, and then followed a conglomeration of paths to the Njuoraluspi bridge.

Starting the descent

Vádvejohka running there

Even more colors

Someone paused here

Forest spreading out (and up)

Walking across...

...the mires

Residence not in use

Residence in use

Reaching the shore

Good campsite

Crossing Njuoraeatnu...

...on a bridge

There was a fly-fisherman out in the current, which was the first person I had seen for two days, but he kept to his thing. The trail on the southern side was well-marked, albeit not very well-trodden nor wide, and after a short wooded portion it rounded a bay of the lake where I paused for a bit. As the trail then climbed out of the forest the wind grew in strength, and I noted a host of lower clouds off to the east. Closer by there were signs of old mining activities – Lulip Guokkil is an old mine area – and as I got higher up among the hills the grand view that had appeared retreated again.

I therefore pressed on, even though I wanted to stop sooner rather than later, and when the view reappeared higher up I started looking for a suitable campsite. I left the trail and walked over to a couple of tarns, but the ground was either uneven or covered in shrubs, so nothing really jumped out. I did find a somewhat acceptable spot, and a better one on top of a hill, but I was a bit concerned about the wind. There was a similarly OK one nearby, and after comparing the two back and forth I decided to take the last one.

Bay

Stubborn thing

Leaving Vádvečohkka behind

Sharp peaks in Norway

Plenty of...

...mining traces...

...on Lulip Guokkil

On the trail, looking north

Tarns

More tarns

Even more tarns

A look back

Northwest again

Due west

The time was now 15:45, and after putting on the wind jacket I started pitching the tent, which turned out quite well after some adjustments. The closest tarn was a bit further off than I would have liked, and the intervening terrain higher in shrub-content, but fetching water turned out to be easier than expected – and I found that the slope was riddled with blueberries as well. The westward view from the tent's opening was terrific, and it was with this before me that I prepared dinner, with the distant whistle of the constant ore trains the only sign that I was not as separated from civilization as I felt. The eastern clouds were now making their way past Vádvečohkka, and a few could also be seen further off to the west. Since I had good mobile coverage I investigated my options for the morrow, and concluded that I would actually have to walk all the way to Vassijaure in order to find an actual embarking place for any form of transportation, but that distance wasn't too long after all.

After resting for a while – it felt like it had been a long day – I went to pick blueberries, eating some and saving the rest for the breakfast porridge. The evening light was mesmerizing, subdued by the increasing clouds as it was, and it was still warm. I had my evening snack and spent some quality time down by the water, and after building a sizeable pillow to offset the slant under the tent's floor – a concession I was willing to make in order to gain The View – I once again turned in at 21:15.