Sälka - Tjäkta pass - Tjäkta - Alesjaure
- Distance: 26km
- Duration: (with breaks): 9h 30min
- Elevation gain/loss: 345m/380m
Today I’m crossing the highest point on Kungsleden – Tjäkta pass (1150m). While elevation is not necessarily a challenge on this trip, this was by far the coldest pass I crossed in the whole year. Mind you, I crossed passes close to 3km high, and only at Tjäkta pass my fingers were very much frozen and refusing to function. But I’m getting ahead of myself, let’s go back to Sälka, where the day began.
Sälka Fjällstuga was my last mountain hut. I stayed in a room with a fellow hiker from Poland. Besides us, there was nobody else in the hut, a luxury that can only happen at the end of the season. The huts are closing tomorrow, which just added to the feeling that winter is coming.
The morning was overcast again, but promising some sun in the afternoon. I bid my farewell to the wardens of Sälka and head on towards Tjäkta pass. With mountains surrounding the view ahead of me, I wondered which one will be crossed today. Fierce winds forced me to keep pace, even tall rocks (shelter options) were difficult to find.
Once I spotted a few hikers climbing up in a near distance, I figured this must be the pass. However, my attention quickly drifted away to a hill below the pass where a whole gang of reindeer was chilling. Oh wow, I haven’t seen that many reindeer in one place! There was even an albino deer, cool.
I guess this is the best time for a break, I’m hungry anyway! I settled on a side of a nearby hill, hoping for a little wind shelter (nope, that did not happen), and soaked in the views. So cool to see so many reindeer just casually chilling in front of me.
That’s also where I met two other hikers from France, Ilias and Robin. They were also hiking to Abisko and also camping. Maybe I just found some hiking buddies just as I had in the beginning, Aksel and Jonas from Sweden.
Although I’d love to admire the reindeer longer, the cold forced me to move and continue the hike. For those who are used to high mountains like the Alps, Tatras, or Pyrenees, the Tjäkta pass is easy. It is a steep, but short climb, which will warm you up rather than exhaust you. Once over the steepest section (close to the meditation station), it is absolutely a must to look back at the Tjäktavagge Valley. Even though low clouds were still hanging above the valley, it still looked amazing. I came all the way from there, how cool is that.
When continuing to the highest part of the pass, this view is obscured, so I suggest really taking your time. This was definitely one of my favorite views of the trip.
Once at the top it was craaaaazy cold. A ferocious wind was howling and hitting me painfully, making my fingers curl in a sleeve. Everything around me was covered in ice. Yeah, ice! The emergency shelter at the top was the most needed shelter so far. Even the stairs to it were frozen, what a hostile place.
After preparing myself mentally to leave the shelter and plunge into the wind again, I hurried out and started my descend towards Tjäkta. 5-10 mins into descending, the wind calmed down and the sun welcomed me on the other side. Wow, never before have I felt the pass dividing two worlds as strong as here. Seriously, the other side was all beautiful mountains, blue skies, and sunshine, while I left behind the grey and windy madness.
If that was not enough, I soon met another gang of reindeer passing me mere 100m away. I kept quiet and hoped my camera will not scare them off. What an amazing encounter.
The rest of the hike to Tjäkta was super fun. Great weather, the reindeer, the landscape around me – I was so grateful for where I am. If my backpack was lighter, I would have gone skipping along the whole trail (I did a bit though!). Now I could also see a lot more white peaks and apparently I was only a couple of hours of hiking away from Norway.
At Tjäkta I decided to have lunch inside as the great weather was still only great for an active movement. There I met Ilias and Robin again, who were super nice and shared their fancy lunch with me. While I had only some crackers with Nutella, they had soup, bread, sausages, tea, and even a little dessert. At this point, I was rationing my food as the huts barely had anything to sell and so this lunch was a great luxury for me. Thanks, guys!
Warm lunch and wind-free Tjäkta Fjällstuga made it rather difficult for me to leave, but I had only two days left for hiking and still 50km until Abisko. I had to move further.
The section between Tjäkta and Alesjaure was quite easy with a lot of wooden paths helping on the way. Once again I met a few reindeer (feel spoiled today), who were crossing my path. I learned to wait and let them all cross before moving ahead. Usually, they were all spooky enough to run away once they spotted me, a dangerous human being.
Unfortunately, I also noticed that this section is very popular. There were kleenex tissues everywhere. Every time I wanted to take a break and find a rock shelter, I would find plenty of the white “surprises” around the rock. Man, that was just annoying. As if every rock is a public toilet. Of course, people need to pee, but hey, leave no trace and pick up your tissues. Nobody likes such a view, so let’s not “contribute” to it. Peace.
Anyway, while finding a shelter for a break was a bit difficult, I had to keep my pace as it was getting dark. I wanted to reach Alesjaure still in light to find a camping spot before it gets dark and cold. At around 17:30 I finally saw Alesjaure in the distance and sprinted towards it. It’s a beautiful location with a calm river barely flowing into a lake nearby.
I settled my tent in a great camping spot on the opposite side of the river of Alesjaure Fjällstuga, soon joined by Ilias and Robin. We agreed to have dinner together, while the guys will try to make a fire. I managed to score some cookies from the Alesjaure store and they succeeded with the fire. The evening was bloody cold, but it was nice to huddle around the fire and chat with the guys.
Not gonna lie, I was dreading the night in a tent since it was a clear night, which usually means cold. A clear night also means a high possibility of northern lights, so let’s see, maybe it will be better than it feels now.
Day 8 tips
- From a fellow hiker, I heard that it's well worth staying at the Tjäkta Fjällstuga due to the awesome location and possibilities to spot wild animals (feeding stations are nearby). I didn't have time to stay there, but I can definitely vouch for the location - the views were superb!
- Alesjaure store only accepts bank cards between 8:00 and 18:00. Outside those hours they are saving energy and have all the electricity off, which means that you can only pay with cash.