My families summer adventure in the mountains.

8 days hiking in the Northern Norway and Sweden,

Day 1-3

The mountains in the border between Northern Norway and Sweden have many opportunities for hiking. The area is from around 600 m hight, with lush valleys to alpine mountains higher than 1000 meter above the sea with glaciers. There are lots of lakes and rivers with possibilities for fishing. Many of the lakes are 2 - 4 day's march away from roads or railroad and not often visited by people. If you are lucky it is possible to observe Wolverine, Arctic fox, reindeer and moose. It is also a diverse birdlife in the area. We observed several couple of Rough-legged hawk, and different kind of birds as ducks and grouse. On several tracks there are cabins for rent. You make your own food and get a bed. When sleep over in cabins and not in tent you can carry less. Our backpacks for 8 days was between 10 and 15 kilo.

Day 1, Båtsvannet to Gautelis cabin, 7,5 km.

The track this day is 900 to 1000 m. above sea level and have not much vegetation, some gras and moss. We where lucky with the weather, it was 24 degrees celsius and a light breeze. A perfect start on the hike.

Ida, Maja and Thea are ready for adventure.

The peak in the background is 1500 m high.

There are several streams and rivers to cross in the mountain.

The Gautelis cabin where we stayed the first night.

Day 2, Gautelis to Hukejaure, 16,5 km.

Great weather today also. After a "delicious" oat porridge we where ready to go.

A reindeer whit great antlers showed up and run away.

Bigger rivers have tiny bridges. They are made by the Norwegian turist association.

The view over the surrounding lakes and mountains ar great on the plateau.

Crossing the border to Sweden. In this area lightning and thunder came upon us with heavy rain.

The lake Hukejaure with the cabins in the distanse.

The cabin in Hukejaure is from 1965 and quite cosy. The cabins have what you need for making food, blankets and a stove if it is get cold. It is also great with spa and foot massage after a days walk.

Day 3, Hukejaure to Sälka , 22 km.

We started around 8 in the morning in cloudy weather with light rain. Around 10 o'clock the sky brightens up and we had nice weather the rest of the day. The track follow a nice valley to crossing valley called Sälka to the cabins and the goal for the day. If you follow sidetrack there are few people in the mountain. The marking is not good so it is important to keep track on the map and GPS. We used around 12 hour on this leg and did not meet meet a human being the whole day.

Tired or admiring the view....;-)?

After hours of walking is a refreshing footbath great. When possible is it important to air foot and the boots to prevent sore feet.

Some food and breaks regularly is important to keep going during the day.

Here we have reached the Sälka valley with view towards the south...

and towards north. In the far end of the valley you can see the Tjäktja pass, 1120 m. Down this valley is the popular track Kings road. This is part of a 5 days hike.

The Sälka cabin.

When someone had made the food, someone must do the dishes.

For the hike I had prepared and dried vegetables, ground beef, meat, rice and pasta for 6 days. For 5 people the weight was 2,7 kg. We were all satisfied and got enough energy to manage during the hike.

The next leg goes to a beautiful alpine valley called Nallo, then the route goes to a Cabin in the Vistas valley.
In spite of many pictures i hope you liked the tour and will follow the hike further, (couldn't decide wich to take away).

Best regards
Harald