Day 38 – 27 Jul, Hill 1.5km from Vajsaluokastugan Hut to bridge over Mielladno River

(40.5 km, total 1001.5 km, 10h 50m, 0730 to 1820).

I woke up to my alarm and after a relaxed start I was away at 0730. The sun was up but not too hot. I was straight into a big climb with a few rest stops to look back at the lake.

The climb did not take as long as I thought and I was quickly onto the plateau. The track was rock so I was not able to go very fast. While it was rocky it seemed tame compared to what I had been in and this was the theme of the day, pretty but not spectacular.

My right foot was hurting as I was walking. In the bones a few cm above my 4th toe. It was quite sharp but eventually dulled but was a constant presence during the day I tried to minimise the jumping today by taking extra steps rather than just one jump. At one point I stumbled and felt a slight strain in my right hamstring quite high. I put my foot out to try and stop the fall but it did not work and I managed to turn onto the side so my pack took the brunt of the fall. I was ok but I could feel my hamstring on and off for the rest of the day, especially on the downhills. I also had a slight pain on and off on my left lower outside shin. I think my body has gone into protest at the reduced rations. My energy was ok to start but quickly faded. My snack ration for the day is one snickers bar and a small bag of peanuts and cranberries. The snickers was gone by 1000. The porridge I am having for breakfast is filling but does not seem to have the energy of my normal breakfast of meal replacement powder.

The food issue was on my mind during the day but I was not panicking yet as I still had my hopes on the Swedish huts selling food.
On the plateau the track stayed above the series of lakes and after a small climb there was an Emergency Hut like the one yesterday.

The track continued in the rocky terrain with occasional boardwalks. At one stage two young men were coming towards me and I pulled of the trail to let them pass and said the normal “Hei Hei” and they completely ignored me. A slight flick of the eye to look at me but nothing more. I laughed internally and said they must be Finns though all the Finns I have met are polite.
Now the track became less rocky and I picked up speed. It started descending and the morning traffic from the next hut started to come towards me, two old ladies, a young couple with little packs and trail running shoes and a traditional couple with heavy packs.
There was a slight time in the forest then over another swamp and up a hill to reach the hut, though here was a cabin to go past first.

At the hut there was a Norwegian Man at the picnic table and we chatted as I prepared an early lunch, a small one unfortunately.

There was another pack there with two sets of reindeer antlers, complete with skulls and a lady appeared. I asked her how long she had carried the antlers and she said one week. They were big and looked awkward but I guess make a unique souvenir.
I continued on and the trail became smooth, wide and really fast There were long stretches of boardwalk over the many swamps and I was quickly becoming tired of them. They are nice to start to keep clear of the swamps but with there being so many and many of them really long it starts to hurt my legs. You cannot walk normally on them and they are a hard surface. Boardwalks were the theme of the day as the scenery did not change a lot.

I was starting to see hikers off the track having lunch. Most of them were well off the track but one couple was close so we had a chat. They were from Denmark and enjoying all the hills. They were going from hut to hut and had very small packs.
From the bridges, three close together, the track started to climb up a hill and around the end.

As one lake disappeared behind another was to my side. Once up to a good height the track followed the contour of the hill, mainly on boardwalks.

Finally it started descending steeply down to the hut.

At the hut I had a look inside. There was a corridor of closed doors and a closed door at the end. The doors on the sides led to 4 person bunkrooms and at the end was the kitchen. It seemed well equipped but the whole place seemed quite sterile and missed the feel of the DNT huts. It also didn’t have a lounge area, just kitchen tables.
The host was not there so I went to her cottage and asked about the smoked fish and flatbread. She showed me a fish and it was quite small so I passed but I got two of the large round flatbreads and she opened the store and I was able to get a couple of soups, instant potato, hot chocolate, a big block of chocolate and a coke. It cost a lot but now I had enough rations to last to the end of the section, though still at a reduced amount. I sat in the shade and ate half the chocolate and the coke, throwing the can at the rubbish recycling area all the Swedish huts have.
Now I was off beside the river to the bridge, over the river which was really strong, and back beside the river until the track turned and started straight up the hill. About 10 minutes into the climb the sugar rush came and I powered up the hill with no effort at all. I could not believe how easy it was and how much energy I had. I passed what looked like a camp setup for the Sami with permanent toilets and large boxes which I assume contain tents. Above this area it became a flat plateau and the track followed along the side avoiding the swamps then a final climb and I was at the high point.

Just after this I reached the 1000km mark and did a jumping photo, forgetting the effect this would have on my sore foot.

There was only 7km to the next hut but after seeing the hut, and knowing the next one was a 53 bed hut I decided to camp. It was windy but I could see some trees down by the river near the bridge so headed there. Once over the bridge, passing someone camped, I followed the river down to a lovely sheltered spot overlooking the rapids of the river. There were heaps of mosquitos but they didn’t bother me too badly as I set up the tent.

Unwanted guests

I started nibbling on the bread and it was really good. I want to save it for breakfast but it is nearly half gone already. I am really hungry. I split my mashed potato meal into two and added some of the instant potato to pad it out which tasted fine. It seemed the same size as a normal meal but was not enough. I am definitely going to take more food on the next section.

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