Day 9 – 28 Jun, Foot of Skaiddemoh to South end of Holvunielas

(29km, total 181.5, 8h10 , 0910 to 1720)

Video: Video Day 9

Well my wish for rain free did not come true. It rained all night and the wind changed direction so now I was in the full force. The tent was noisy but held rock steady. I had received a few comments before I left about whether the ZPack Soloplex would handle the wind. I think if you only used the trekking poles then it would struggle but combined with the self supporting poles I am now confident in this tent in high winds, just as well as high wind seems common.

It was still raining when I woke up and I was tempted to sleep in but I do need to start covering a few more km each day now and unlike previously this rain showed no signs of letting up. To reinforce the need to get up I undid the valve on my mattress and it quickly deflated under me. I prepared breakfast which consists of pouring some water into my small zip lock bag full of Vitaplan powder and milk powder. I used to use Complan but recently changed as Vitaplan has more energy. It is a powder that used to be targeted at old people and pregnant ladies but is now also marketed to sportspeople. I shake the bag up and drink from the bag carefully.

I then packed everything and put on my shoes and raincoat. I grabbed my bag from the back of the tent and started packing everything into my bag. Luckily at this stage the rain did ease slightly. Once the tent was empty I gave it a shake and a wipe down with my small towel to remove most of the moisture then took it down and into my pack.

Now I was on my way. The track headed up a gently hill following a reindeer fence. The wind was directly into my front and icy cold so I would look up to see a trail marker and then put my head down and walk in the general direction until I estimated I was at the marker then do the same again.

As it was wide open country around me the view didn’t change quickly so I was not missing out on this. I had stopped to put my sunglasses on to protect my eyes. I was impressed that I lasted a whole 30 minutes before getting my feet fully submerged. The swamps and streams had either been small or had rocks to hop across. The track veered away from the fence at a small lake and then up a small ridge with a large lake to the left.

Then it was relatively flat for several km, though very swampy in places. The rain eased a little now and was more intermittent but the wind stayed relentless.Once over a small hill I crossed a small river and continued in the swamp to another river.

Had been expecting this part and the next 2 km to be really swampy as it was marked with blue shading on the map for most of the distance.

Just before the second river there was a slightly sheltered spot so I had lunch. I am a big fan of the Knekkebrod. It was really crunchy and full of seeds and grains. I put the Bacon Ost on it, then cheese slices and reindeer salami. It wasn’t big but it was filing and very tasty. I am glad I liked it as that is all I have for another 8 days.
I headed across what was meant to be really swampy and was pleasantly surprised that it was not as bad as I was expecting and it took less time than I had estimated. The sun even made the briefest of appearances.

Once across it was another stream crossing before having some time on dry ground.

After a km there was another river crossing and the trail then started climbing. Near the top of the hill, Giffodosivi, the track sidled to the left and then dropped down to a small stream. As it was getting close to the end of the day I filtered enough water for camp so I now had the flexibility to stop wherever I felt like. While this was logical having extra weight as I started a climb was not appreciated this late in the day.

I was starting the feel the weight of my pack now and was taking a few more breaks, but very quick ones as it was too cold to stop for long. I was wearing my gloves by this stage.

The track climbed up a ridge and to the left of the top of the hill and the vista of a wide valley opened up. I could see where I was heading next. The trail continued along the side of the hill before crossing the wide valley and heading up the ridgeline of a much bigger hill to near the top. It looked a long way and progress seemed slow. That was the theme for today – lack of progress. Because the scenery was similar and wide open it seemed to take ages to get anywhere and coming over a hill the view was very similar as what I had just left behind. Even the hills were not memorable as they were climbed at such a gentle slope that I wasn’t even puffing as I climbed them, not that they were big, the biggest climb today was 80 vertical meters.

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Watch out for the wire holding the strainer posts, easy to trip over or run into.

As I was making my way up the ridge I got a big fright when to my right I heard what sounded like a small dog barking before a bird flew off very close to me. It was another of the ptarmigan. As much as it gave me a fright it was nice to see a different bird than the ever-present brown bird that makes a single note call, over and over to try and entice me away from it’s nest. The noise is starting to get annoying as it is constant and often in stereo.

The annoying bird

Near the top of the hill, Giffodosivi, the track sidled to the left and then dropped down to a small stream. As it was getting close to the end of the day I filtered enough water for camp so I now had the flexibility to stop wherever I felt like. While this was logical having extra weight as I started a climb was not appreciated this late in the day

I did check out once rock cluster for shelter but no luck. Just before the hill started dropping was a small knoll and I set up next to that. I was happy to be done for the day as this was the longest day so far. However I feel good and could have kept going if needed.

There was about 2km of continual climb and then a large lake, Leaktojavri, came into sight. I thought it would be nice to camp looking at the lake but it was very exposed on the ridge.
I had Chicken Tikka masala for dinner and lollies for desert. When I grabbed my phone to write the blog I was surprised to see my phone screen has smashed. The phone lives in my left hip pocket and never hits the ground hard so I am not sure how it smashed. On closer inspection it seems to only be the screen protector damaged and not the phone. The phone still works fine thankfully. After reading for a while I went to sleep at 2030.

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