Day 39 – 28 Jul, Bridge over Mielladno River to N foot of Jalle

(33 km, total 1037.5 km, 10h15m, 0730 to 1845, 1 hr 40 min at Stadajahka taking, 10 min normal break and 1h30 taken off daily total).

The sun was streaming into my tent so getting up was easy. I enjoyed the flatbread for breakfast as something different from the porridge I have been having.

It was clear blue skies and already hot. It was a climb to start with but pretty easy. I passed several tents including one with a woman doing yoga. I stopped to talk at one tent where they were helping a scientist collecting specimens of tiny snails (2mm long) from swampy areas.
It was beautiful going around the side of the hill looking to the right at the lake, though a little Deja vous from yesterday.

Once around to the other side of the hill the track dropped steeply to Arsluokta where there was a 42 bed camp. This time there were several cabins that looked to have a kitchen and bedroom each, though I did not go inside. There was no one around and I kept going.

Now was a 11 km section to Staloluokta Hut. Once again it was a climb up a hill then follow the contour around the hill, looking at the lakes to my right. This time there was a short flat bit in between before doing the same thing with a smaller hill and gently dropping lower and going through some small bits of trees.

There were several cabins down by the lake and a few above the track. The track came into the open at the Sami community of Staloluokta where there were several huts, and a helicopter landing pad. There was a sign on the trail for Parfas Kiosk so I took the trail up the short hill too a little shop. It closed at 1200 and I got there at 1130 so happy with the timing. They had a good supply of camping food from Real Turmat to pasta and pesto. There was a little bottle of Olive oil which I got as it is super high in calories and can be added to meals for more energy. I also got two packets of chips, as fanta and some dried reindeer meat. The chips and Fanta I had then while talking to the lady running the Kiosk. They tasted really good.

Back on the trail I passed the STF hut, crossed the bridge and now I was away from the lakes and undulating down a valley. It was mainly flat with a few ups and downs and starting to look more alpine again, though the track stayed first class and the boardwalks were ever present. The signs said there were bears, wolves and Lynx in this area.

This was a 12km section and even though I was taking it easy it only took 3 hours.

My foot has been hurting all day, hence my easy pace. I had a sore outer shin on my left leg but that went away quickly but the right foot has been constantly letting me know it was there, and occasionally hurting. The hamstring I strained was fine today.
When I was around 3km from the hut a young lady came towards me running. She had a small bumbag on and I assumed she was the host at the next hut. She seemed pretty fit and was doing a good pace.

I went beside a small lake with and island on it and on the far side of the lake was Staddajahka Hut.

Incinerator for rubbish

This was much smaller than the previous two huts with a host cabin and another 2 cabins. There was a man, Markus, at the picnic table by the host cabin so I joined him and we started chatting. I got out a snack and he said there was fresh bread for sale so I went for that and ate the whole thing then. He offered coffee and I said yes. It was great talking to him and I really enjoyed the coffee. Julia came back from her run and joined us, after making ginger shoots which she gave me one and it was really good. She also brought biscuits when she sat down and shared them. We were interrupted once when Markus went to make another coffee and two hikers arrived needing to be checked in then we sat and talked for ages. I asked about the Sami and how they are seen and treated by the rest of Sweden and it was interesting. What surprised me most is that the Sami do not own the land they graze their reindeer on, it belongs to the Swedish Government. This means when the Government wants to do something like more forestry or mines they consult the Sami but can do whatever they want and the Sami cannot do anything about it. It is sad how they were treated historically and I only hope things get better for them. For the last few days I have been hiking though the World Heritage area of Laptopia. It got world heritage status due to the historical significance. The Sami have been here since prehistoric times and some still follow the tradition of following their herds of reindeer. There have been good information signs along the trail talking about the different areas we have gone through, the Sami traditions and special flora and fauna.

Trail Angels – Markus and Julia

I really enjoyed the conversation but needed to get going. The long break was great and my foot was better after it. It was 500 meters on the trail then at the intersection I turned left and followed a beautiful cascading river with multiple waterfalls that I climbed up beside.

Then it was a steady climb and no more boardwalks. From that intersection I am off the main trail and am now on a normal hiking trail, still ok ground track but not as nice and nothing to assist with stream crossings or swamp crossings. I was enjoying it and my legs enjoyed it much more than the boardwalk.

Still some snow

After an hour I saw people ahead and quickly caught them. They were doing a loop and going a similar direction as me tomorrow. They were a Swedish couple and were going to go until 2000 hrs then camp. I went ahead but they caught me when I was getting water for camp, then I got ahead again but stopped to watch a reindeer running across a big swamp. It stopped to look at me and continued then stopped to look at them and continued. They must have taken a break as I found a nice camp spot and had just finishing setting up my tent and was taking off my shoes when they went past.

It has been windy all day with the last hour particularly strong but I have found a nice sheltered camp site and have used rocks to reinforce my tent, and because only in a couple of places could I get a peg into the rocky ground. I have a lovely view of a bright green swamp and hill after hill in the distance.

Dried reindeer meat to supplement my low rations

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