Sitojaure - Saltoluokta
- Distance: 20km
- Duration: (with breaks): 6h 15min
- Elevation gain/loss: 185m/425m
It was a windy night in a tent, to which I was grateful for the sturdiness in such bad weather. Since it’s damn cold, I have extra motivation to put out the tent as fast as possible and run to the hut for a warm breakfast.
For some mysterious reason, I calculated that I have one extra package of oatmeal (later it turned out I didn’t), so I made a double portion. What a feast. It was also the last breakfast with my Swedish buddies, Jonas and Aksel. Guys were heading to the wilderness for a day, while I’m moving to Saltoluokta, where a warm room is waiting for me. During the day that room was like a light directing me through the tunnel, the tunnel of shitty weather.
After a warm breakfast, I was hopeful for an energetic hike. The day looked rather grim with overcast skies and rain clouds in the distance, but hey, it’s dry here! As I walked through a bare plateau, my main enemy was the wind. That bloody wind. It forced me to put all the layers I had to keep myself warm.
I knew that midway through the hike there should be a shelter, so I put all my focus on reaching the shelter as fast as I could. Even though the low clouds obscured some of the mountains, I could still see a new valley opening up with lightly snowy peaks. We’re getting higher! By now I also started to appreciate any big rock next to the trail as they provided a getaway from the ferocious wind.
After 2 hours of sprinting through the trail, at last, I saw the shelter in the distance. It was sitting next to a beautiful valley with a river snaking below, which caught the attention of all the hikers. Even the skies cleared out a bit to add some blue color to the views. Although my fingers were super cold, I still stopped to take pictures, again and again, so pretty!
Once I arrived at the shelter, I found out that the only difference between it and outside was the lack of wind. No fire meant that it was pretty chilly inside. I get it, the wood was saved for the emergency times, but I still hoped to get warm in there. At least there was no wind. I quickly ate whatever snacks I had left for lunch and continued my trip. Remember, Simona, there is a warm room waiting for you – that was my mantra of the day.
While the spirits were low due to the cold, the trail treated me with another new experience. I saw my first reindeers! They were roaming the area close to the shelter, occasionally glancing at the hikers. Later they were passing my trail, so I had to wait for them to cross. I’ve read that you should not cut away any members of the herd and just wait a bit for them all to move. Reindeers are rather cautious animals, they keep their distance and so they will definitely move if they saw a person approaching.
The rest of the day I was hiking with amazing views of snowy peaks on my left. I believe those belong to Sarem national park, which is a truly wild place, with no trails or huts there. In the shelter, I met a Swedish couple that was hiking through that area for a week. Their only navigation was natural landmarks such as rivers or hills. It must be interesting to find your way where there are no trails. To me personally, it sounds daunting, but I can imagine that others would find it cool to make your own trail, to walk where (maybe) nobody walked before.
The last hour was my favorite and not because it was the last 🙂 I just have a soft spot for the views with a lake and snowy mountains, which was exactly what I saw in front of me. Saltoluokta sits in a spectacular location for sure. As I descended to a birch forest, a soft drizzle greeted and forced me to speed up to the end of the trail.
In Saltoluokta, a warm room and a shower were waiting for me. My last shower was six days ago, so this one was extra nice. This evening was also reflective as I almost reached the halfway mark. While the trail is rather easy physically, I felt pretty drained mentally. The constant battle with cold proves to be harder than I thought. Even though I know that the weather could be way worse, it still requires a lot of energy to keep on going. I hope that a night in a warm bed will recharge me. The trail is so beautiful, I want to enjoy it.
Day 4 tips
- If you plan to camp, be aware that there are quite some stretches without a water source nearby.
- This section is mostly an exposed plateau, where strong winds might seriously challenge the strength of your tent if camping. Only near Sitojaure and Saltoluokta, there are some spots protected by the trees.