Northern Sweden

Padjelanta 2006, a traveldream that started exactly one year ago......

Yummy delicious strawberry cake :-)

Last year, on our way back from our Abisko hiking trip, we started dreaming a little about where to travel next year. One thing was for certain: it had to be hiking again in the Fjällen area (= Swedish mountain area). And one dream that came up was hiking in Padjelanta National Park, a long cherished dream of Åke. It didn't seem so realistic because you need 3 days of hiking to get to the entrance of the park, but then again, what is 3 days on an adventure like this. So our minds were made up in no time: Padjelanta it is going to be!!!

The first rough plans were made on the train, and it was a looooong train trip, so enough time to do some serious planning. Over the year the plans evolved little by little, making us more and more enthousiastic about the upcoming trip. One condition was made by me though: it had to be after the strawberry season! Last year I missed eating all those delicious red strawberries freshly picked from my own garden. Instead the birds had a real party eating them all. And THAT I promised myself, shouldn't happen again this year. The 19th of July we decided as the perfect date for our upcoming trip.

Last minute nerves....

Hiking in the snow, Abisko 2005

The summer has been amazingly warm and long in the part of Sweden where I live, a good promise for our trip to the Fjällen! Or? Is it? Lapland is far away from here, the weather might be a totally different story up north.

I watch the news...... I start to worry slightly, and then worry even a bit more. "Cold weather again today in the Fjällen", the weather man says, "with rain and stormy winds". But of course you can never trust those weather guys, so I check the forecast online as well to make sure..... good thing is that you can look 10 days ahead! I feel optimistic knowing I will be able to see how the first days of our trip are going to be like. We are leaving already in a few days! But the computer doesn't give me the good news I was hoping for: All it shows me are dark grey clouds with raindrops falling from the sky. Doubts start to enter into my mind again. Would this new Fjällen adventure be such a good idea? Would I cope in the cold and the rain? 15 days in a row!?? More weather forecasts, I start to follow them daily, but no improvement in sight.....

It's July 18th 2006, the day before we leave. The backpack is packed and Åke and I watch the weather forecast for the latest updates..... Oh NO!! Heavy snow in the Fjällen area the reporter says, and freezing temperatures at night! Hahaha, I guess you can imagine me panicking by now! I make a last minute change of gear: A thick sweater is added in my backpack and a summer t-shirt is quickly tossed out. Okay, the backpack is packed! I am ready to go! Although I am feeling more nervous about our travel plans then ever before......

The travel begins

Taking the train

July 19th 2006, our vacation has started! But it will take us a while before we finally get to Padjelanta. This National Park is located in the very north of Sweden, about 1400 kilometres from home, and the way to get there is not the most easy and quick way. First of all a short trip by car, about 45 minutes. After that, the bus! Another 2 hours of travelling. After a short wait in Uppsala we finally get on our main form of transportation: the night train to the very north of Sweden! 17 hours on the train are ahead of us. And that is not the end of our travels! A final bus trip is needed to get towards the west, into the mountain area, which means another 4 hours of driving. All in all this trip takes more time to do then it would when travelling to Asia! Sweden is a very long country, and every time I travel up north (or to the south for that matter), I realize that very well.

The way to survive the trip is to travel well prepared. A good book to read and some snacks and munchies to keep you going during the long travel north makes life a bit more pleasant on board the train. And of course take a break and go to the train restaurant for dinner and maybe a drink. That's what we did anyway :-)

In a happy mood and a full stomach we decided to get some sleep. The train moved on, slowly but steadily, shacking from left to right and back again hour after hour until we finally arrived in Murjek.

Murjek

Murjek

July 20th, 2006

8:30 Arriving in Murjek and I feel so sleepy. Sigh, I never sleep well on the train. With my sleepy head I stumble out of the train into a tiny place, located somewhere in nowhere, called Murjek. It is good that Åke is more fit and awake then I am, making sure that we get all our belongings off the train. Hahaha, as it was up to me I probably would forget everything, including myself ;-)

So here we are at the station, and I start to look around me with my sleepy eyes. I realize that Murjek is even less of a place then I imagined that it would be. But this is not our final destination; there is still one leg to go of our travels of the day! Our next mode of transportation is the bus. We have an hour before the bus to Kvikkjokk arrives, plenty of time to walk into the little village in search of some fresh coffee and tea.

Murjek is a sleepy little town with about 200 inhabitants. In its heydays about 600 people lived here, but not much has remained of its former glory. Nowadays there are many empty homes in Murjek, giving it a bit of a sad look. Up the street we find a nice place, very friendly service, where we get a BIG cup of tea and coffee. With a biscuit of course! The nice lady that serves us insists on including some biscuits with our tea and coffee, something I obviously didn't protest against.

While enjoying my tea I finally start to wake up a bit. We make some sandwiches for on the bus and slowly make our way back to the station again. A smile appears on my face, and I start to feel happy by the thought that just in a few more hours we will arrive at the start of our hiking trip: Padjelanta here we come!

The bus from Murjek to Kvikkjokk

Landscape whooshing by while driving to Kvikkjokk

The bus arrives nice on time and we are ready to go on our last bit of travel for the day. The bus is rather comfortable and I feel like I am dozing off in a light sleep when the bus suddenly comes to an abrupt halt. What's that??? Aaaah, reindeer! A big group of reindeer is blocking the road in front of us and they are only slowly making room for the bus to pas. Hahaha, yes, I am in Lapland! And this is the first proof of it! Lots of reindeer, just as I had expected :-)

We move on and stop in several villages on the way, and of course several times for more reindeer that think the road is theirs. We arrive in Jokkmokk where we stop for an hour. A perfect place to do some last minute shopping before arriving in 'the wilderness' where no supermarket exists. It is a gorgeous sunny day and we make a stroll around the village and find a nice lazy spot in the green grass to relax a bit before the bus gets on its way again. Thinking of it.... did I say "sun"??? Didn't the weather man say rain for today???! I count my blessings and feel lucky that at least the first day of our trip seems to be accompanied by some good weather. I look up to a blue sky and feel the warm sun on my face, yes, this is perfect :-)

11:30 the bus leaves Jokkmokk. Next stop will be our final destination: Kvikkjokk! And from there on it is going to be 160 kilometres on foot until we arrive in Ritsem at the other end of Padjelanta National Park. The bus takes its time though, as the bus is not only a bus, but also the local mail man. In these remote areas it makes sense to combine the two, but it is funny in a way, creeping through the landscape slowly, stopping at every road crossing we meet.

13:20, after an enjoyable bus ride and with only a few minutes late we arrive in front of the church of Kvikkjokk. It's time to put our hiking shoes on: the Padjelanta adventure is about to start......

Feeling clumsy

Arriving at the boat

I stumble out of the bus and put on my backpack. I feel a bit clumsy; the backpack feels so heavy and I am not used to the heavy weight on my back yet. About 22 kilo's probably, or maybe a bit more as I kept pushing more and more 'thingies' in the backpack at the very last minute, afraid of leaving anything slightly 'useful' at home. More food, more candy, extra sweater, oh yes, and socks! I will need those too!

While slowly walking down the road I try to get used to the weight on my back, keeping my balance and of course get used to the feel of the hiking shoes. I curse myself for my last minute impulsive backpack filling. Every gram on the back counts and I am feeling the result of my over-enthusiasm already. But done is done, no use to regret it now. Hahaha, and maybe this is just a good excuse to quickly eat some of the candy I am carrying, in order to reduce the weight on my back.... mmm.... thinking of it.... that is not such a bad idea at all! ;-)

The ferry

On the boat

The sun is shining brightly and I can hardly believe our luck with the weather. Just down the road from the bus stop are some little boats and one of those is our 'ferry' that will bring us to the start of the hiking trail. We are the only ones there, but soon after arrives the boatman. What a perfect start to our hiking trip we have: fantastic sunshine, the view over the mountains in the distance, and a small boat tour on the river. Happy smiles and happy looks, this is going so much better then I could ever have dreamed of! The ferry cost is 100 SEK per person (around 14 USD / 11 Euro), but it is worth every Swedish Krona! The good thing is that it also shortens our hiking trip with 3 kilometres, something we don't mind at all.

Boat times from Kvikkjokk to the Padjelantaleden (2006):
09:30 (1/7 - 15/9)
13:30 (1/7 - 15/9)
17:30 (10/7 - 20/8)

Boat times from Padjelantaleden to Kvikkjokk (2006):
10:00 (1/7 - 15/9)
14:00 (1/7 - 15/9)
18:00 (10/7 - 20/8)

There is a sign at the waterside with the telephone number of the boatsmen. The times are a bit flexible, it is only a small boat and a short tour, and the boatsman waits until everyone from the bus has arrived. So you don't need to worry right away if the bus has a slight delay.

The boat costs 100 SEK per person, one way.

View from the boat