Kungsleden, days 1 & 2

July 23, 2023, Kungsleden, day 1

We went for breakfast at 7:20. There weren't very many people there although more filtered in later. It was mostly tourists eating breakfast as the backpackers were on the younger end of the age spectrum and presumably wouldn't want to spend the money to spend the night at the "mountain station" (Fjällstation). There were very few people at breakfast who looked as though they were backpackers. We'd probably be tagged as regular tourists ourselves :-) Breakfast was pretty good, although it wasn't a patch on the Scandic Continental.

We set off at 9 am, first going through the wicker passageway, on one wall noting the names of all the Fjällstugor and stations we'd pass, and on the other wall the names of the mountains we'd pass.

Turning left, we went through a tunnel beneath the railway tracks that was decorated with murals of reindeer and the haunting music of the Sámi playing over loudspeakers.

Down the trail, we caught up with four people from Maryland, Bob, Dave, Steve, and Liz, who were doing a week-long loop to Nikkaluokta intending to climb Kebnekaise. They were staying in pre-booked stugor along the way. Dave thought he'd met us before but we couldn't figure out where even though we had done many of the same things, including cycling the Allegheny Mountains and around the Potomac.

Steve was hiking with a chrome dome umbrella. The three guys had all hiked the AT. Liz, who was born in Ethiopia, had just recently retired and had sold her house to fund her traveling bug. Bob, the 83-year-old, was the one who organized this trip for them. Bob tried to do their same trip last year but fell and injured himself while rushing for a ferry and had to be helicoptered out.

They passed us when we stopped for lunch but we caught up with them at the turnoff for Abiskojauri STF Fjällstuga. They were staying in all the stugor (mountain huts) along the way, whereas we were wild camping. It costs 600 SEK ($60) per person per night to stay in the stugor without any meals, plus another 100 SEK if you arrive without a reservation. If you camp near the stugor it costs 200 SEK ($20) per person but wild camping is free. It seems crazy to spend $60 per person to sleep in a dorm. For comparison, €60 (or less) typically buys a bed, dinner, and breakfast in Alpine huts, often in a private room.

If, like us, you prefer to wild camp then Sweden is not expensive, but if you plan to sleep indoors in the mountains, the costs quickly add up. Accommodation in Stockholm, on the other hand, was surprisingly reasonable, especially so when breakfast was included.

After leaving our new American friends, we continued, traversing the steep side of a valley. Along the way, we met and stopped to chat with a girl from Lithuania who had started at Hemavan, hiking the Kungsleden northbound.

We made camp not far off the trail next to a lakelet at 5 pm. After setting up the tent and eating dinner I hit the sack almost immediately as I was dead tired.

July 24, 2023, Kungsleden, day 2

It drizzled off and on during the night and was still drizzling when we awoke at 5:30. There was also condensation on the inside of the tent wall despite all the side flaps being open. Fortunately, by the time we'd packed up the rain had stopped and we dried the tent as best we could with our microfleece towels.

We passed two couples from Germany then leap-frogged with them all the rest of the day. We spent much of the day walking alongside a large lake, Alisjávri. A Sámi-run ferry offered an opportunity for people to shortcut this section by about 3 miles for 500 SEK ($50) per person or they could transport backpacks ahead for 200 SEK ($20). That's crazy expensive.

At the southern end of the lake is situated the largest Fjällstuga (stuga is singular, stugor is plural) on the Kungsladen, Alesjaure. We thought about sitting at one of the benches and making coffee to drink with lunch but one of the German women told us there's a 40 SEK per person day use fee. Paying $8 to make our own coffee is absurd so we crossed the bridge below the stuga and found a great little spot next to the lake where we laid out the tent and sleeping bag to dry.

The afternoon was spent crossing an intermittently marshy landscape but wooden planks made walking across all the marshy sections really easy.

One of the German couples we'd met later told us they'd "cheated" by taking the ferry. Wow! We wouldn't dream of paying $100 to deprive ourselves of the joy of walking 3 miles on good trail, in good weather, with great scenery.

We set up camp on a bluff hidden from the trail on a soft, thin tundra ground cover. It was luxurious camping with water available from a nearby stream.

We're north of the Arctic Circle so it currently stays light all day, but when you're tired sleeping isn't a problem.

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