Tours › 2008 › Vålåvalen: Day Tours › 1/8

Friday 1/8

Stage map 1/8

Kroktjärnarna revisited

Horizontal distance:7 km
Vertical distance:-60 m, +60 m
Time:4 h 30 min
Lunch break: 15 min
Dinner:
Night accommodation:
Stage classification:Easy

Turning around Roupe I met a bit of wind, and there was also some weak sun at (short) times. I passed several dried-out pools, and the somewhat larger stream after a few kilometers held much less water now than before, so the drought had certainly taken its toll. Soon after passing this stream I came close to overtaking the fathers-with-sons, but before I was to do so I broke off the trail and headed directly for the lake (and the bay) that had served me so well before.

The first bit to a thin line of trees was easy enough with only a little wetness, and after following this line for a little bit onwards I jostled my way right through it, coming down onto a mire traversed by the red crosses of the winter trail. I had heard on the radio in the morning that there was going to be a solar eclipse right about then, so I squinted at the thankfully cloud-shrouded sun to see if it had started yet. Turning my eyes towards the ground again I came to an abrupt stop, for I suddenly realized that I had walked into a field of cloudberries. I had actually brought an empty bag with this in mind, so I took off the rucksack and set about picking the golden berries.

Doing so brought me over quite a large area, and while I was at it the eclipse approached its maximum; from time to time the cloud distibution was such that I could both safely look at and photograph the occurrence. Eventually I moved on, but I had only walked a hundred meters or so before I came to a much better cloudberry spot, so off I went again. Having satisfied my gleaning needs I passed by a nearby pool by the side of which there was an even better patch, but now I contented myself with eating a bit whilst walking. I traversed some low hills, passed the side mere and arrived at The Bay at noon.

Meres 1
Meres beside the trail
Smällhögarna 1
Getting sunnier
Smällhögarna 2
1192
Ottfjället 1
Ottfjället in the back
Eclipse 1
Solar eclipse in progress
Cloudsberries 1
The Gold of Lapland
Meres 2
Passing the side mere...
Mere 1
...with perfectly still water

I made a few casts just to see if conditions were similar to last time, and promptly caught a 20-cm brown trout I let go again. Having thus proved the point, as it were, I had a quick lunch while the weather improved. With the spinner back in the water I felt a number of nibbles and bites, and at one point I had one on for a bit before it freed itself. I then walked a bit towards the outflow of the nearby stream and stood casting there for a while. I was just about to leave when the rod suddenly bent, and this time I could bring the catch up on shore. The fish itself was close to the length limit of 25 cm, but it was worth taking.

After this I went back to the first place, and almost at once I got another one, but also this was too small and so went straight back. I continued northwards along the shore where I had observed some piscine-induced ripples in the surface, and now it was quite warm and sunny. A bit further up I got another catch of insufficient size, and then I went out on the headland that kind of separates the lake into two parts. This headland was actually much more solid than it had looked from a distance, but the water surrounding it was not particularly well-suited for spinning, with shallow depth, lots of rocks and seaweed, so I soon went back the way I had come.

At the ripple-place I saw another one, and casting in that direction yielded yet another small not-to-be-kept catch. I returned to the first location, and after some more casts I changed to a heavier spinner for greater reach, and while I could certainly cast longer, it gave much more trouble with the reeds, so in short fashion I exchanged it for a lighter one. I ran around chasing ripples for a while before changing to another fly set, but all that came of it was more nibbling. I made a final attempt with the original spinner, but to no avail, and then it was very much the time to leave if I was to make it home before 15:00 as I had promised in writing.

Kroktjärnarna 1
Destination reached
Vålåvalen 1
Vålåvalen across the water
Kroktjärnarna 2
Brown Trout Bay

It was 14:15 when I left, walking through somewhat dense forest in a southwestern direction, noting a great campsite on a flat patch of heath close to the stream. I passed fairly close by the smaller meres and then turned up towards the trail, which I reached immediately after the larger stream mentioned above. Now the sun was mostly clouded but it was still warm, and I held a comfortable walking pace. Up among the "foothills" of Roupe I increased this pace, which unfortunately coincided with a complete loss of wind and a perceived increase in ambient temperature, and it was with but a few minutes to spare that I arrived at the cottages after what was to be the last day tour of my stay.

Kroktjärnarna 3
Just departing
Ottfjället 2
Heath in bloom
Vålå cottages 1
Conclusion

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