A Summer in the Mountains - Part Four
Jerre and I are lucky to have each other. While some people appreciate the solitude of thru hiking, it can be a lonely activity for others. The first three sections of our hike were pretty empty. We passed people every so often, but most the time it was just us. Everything changed when we hit Kungsleden (The Kings Trail). The 440 km (270 mile) trail is quite popular, particularly between Hemmaven and Ammarnäs and Kvikkjokk and Abisko.
The day we left Hemmaven was the first day of our social adventure. We met many people that first day, some were beginning their tours while others were in arm's reach of the end. Upon coming to the first STF (Swedish Tourist Association) cabin, just 11 km from Hemmaven, we learned that they made a change to their day visit price. Now, if you are an STF member you can use the kitchen facilities for lunch at no extra cost. For us, this meant going inside, taking off our boots, using their stove and pots, and playing some cards during our lunch break. Something worth mentioning about STF cabins is their juice policy. As part of their job, the host is required to offer each passing traveler a glass of juice. When we arrive at the cabins we are greeted with a smile, handed a glass, and asked about our day. It's on the porches of the cabins that you get to know some of your fellow hikers. There was the cabin host who is a university professor but just loves the mountains and wants to spend as much time in them as possible. There was the couple from Stockholm who had never been hiking before and needed to buy everything for this trip from their underwear to their packs.
Something we have struggled with on this journey has been our schedule. We made the mistake of trying to copy what another group had done. This did not work for us. Besides the fact that we like to go at a different pace than our predecessors, there's a feeling of failure if you don't make it to your planned goal for the day. It may have taken us a month to figure it out, but we threw the plan out the proverbial window and continued at our own pace. From then on we felt better. Whether we had long days or short days, we decided, our bodies decided, when it was time to set up camp and chill out.
One of my favorite things about being in the mountains is the weather. With such an expansive view you can watch multiple weather systems at once. One day as we were descending a mountain under bright blue skies, Jerre and I heard a big crack of thunder to our right. A big storm cloud hung to the east and we watched as the rain began to fall from it. Watching rain clouds from afar is one of the most beautiful things I've seen on this trip. But even if you do get rained on, it's like being in a time lapse. In the mountains it can all come and go so quickly.
Just 80 km into the stretch we hit the town of Ammarnäs. This was exciting for us because we would be meeting our friends and coworkers Ludwig and Viktor, you may know them as 'The Clarmo Brothers.' It was so nice to be around friends for the evening and hear about all the exciting additions waiting for us in Särkimukka.
After Ammarnäs we entered the most 'wild' part of Kungsleden. The trails were suddenly empty again, and we were back in solitude. Something Jerre and I were looking forward to on this hike was making new friends, and it was in the 'wild' that we met Richard and Steff, a young German couple out hiking for the summer. For the next few days we tag teamed on the trail. They passed us, we passed them, we shared a campground, and now we share a rest day together.
When I tell my New York City family about my adventures in the mountains and the wilderness they always express great concern for wildlife. Worried that I might come across a bear or a moose, they ask what I might do in that situation. While that is a true concern in America, here in Sweden the bears keep to themselves. However, there is one animal in particular that has scared us many times on this trip, and that is the grouse. About the size of a chicken the grouse builds its nest in the low bushes of the mountains. Many times we have unknowingly approached its territory only to have it fly out right in front of us emitting the sound of a creaking door. Recently we crossed paths with one mother grouse that was very protective of her newborn chicks. While traversing a mountainside we were startled the same way with the eerie creaking sound from the bird. But this mother did not fly away. She ran angrily in front us, crisscrossing along the trail. In a fit of giggles we ran from the nest hoping she wouldn't follow us. We made it, thankfully, without any battle scratches.
Thru hiking is the best crash diet ever! You lose a ton of weight while still eating as much as you possibly can, but sometimes you get some weird cravings. This, combined with the limitations of the small trailside stores, make for some... interesting meals. Our most notable was in Jäkkvik, when we wanted to make our freeze-dried taco stew even tastier. What did we do? We made real tacos! Wraps loaded with the warm stew made a delicious change to our regular diet. But they were missing something... cheese. We didn't want to buy a whole block so we went for the next best thing... cheese doodles! What would our parents say?! Either way, after about 1000 km of hiking I have lost about 5 kg (11 lb) and Jerre has lost a whopping 13 kg (28 lb).
Treriksröset is so close now we can almost see it. For some reason Kvikkjokk always seemed so far away, farther than Abisko, a place that we are both familiar with, and farther than Treriksröset which still holds a feeling of finality. With about 20 days of hiking left we look forward to family and fried chicken.
