After being joined by Ashleigh Overlander and Cornelia Paulsson for the first week of the 2018 tour, I did the entire tour of 2019 by myself – besides sharing a few days with people I met on the trail.
Time to bring some nice people off the grid again and share the mountains and the solitude of the wild.
July 24th, 2020 we meet in Kiruna and take the bus at 2:30 PM, this means You can choose to arrive a day or two early and explore Kiruna, arrive by train from Stockholm, or fly in the same morning.
I for my part depart from Stockholm ARN with SAS at 8:25 AM and arrive in Kiruna airport at 9:55, picking up some gas in central Kiruna and enjoy a nice lunch before the bus departs.
You’re of course most welcome to join in on that lunch 😉
After about an hour the bus stops at Kaisepakte, which is basically just a stop on the road, and we start on the trail towards Bessesvagge. Due to the late arrival in the mountains, we are only doing 6-8km (4-5 miles) that first day, best case scenario we reach Bessesjaure, else we camp at a stream along the trail.
Day two we continue the trail and pass south of Lapporten, probably one of the most photographed valleys in the world, cross Nissonjokha, and then turn north away from the trail.
The middle part of Bessevagge is known (and hated) for its muddy and rocky trail, hard-to-handle vegetation, and the ease with which the trail is lost, and so we avoid that part and move into unmarked territory and wilderness together.
From now on the days are loosely planned as it’s impossible to guess how fast the group can move with comfort, we might have to stop early some days to accommodate some participant’s need for rest. In this case I can take others on an exploratory tour of the surrounding area.
After hiking through Nissonvaggi we move around Ballincohkka and continue back southwards through Ballinvaggi all the way back onto the trail heading west towards Kunsleden.
As stated above, the group is determining the daily tours and it’s just not possible to plan for exactly where to make camps. Of course, I have a general idea and there are several suitable places along the planned stretch.
Depending on how far we can go each day, we might be able to cross Kunsleden and hike over the ridge towards KÃ¥rsavagge, in which case we part at that cabin and there’s an easy to find and easy to hike trail leading to Abisko and civilization. Or, we might have to cut the tour short and part in Abiskojaure in case of any serious delays during the days leading up here.
Please always remember that it’s better to go slow and stop early, skipping a day or two at the back end of the tour, then having to deal with someone hurting themselves or stretching their capacity to a point from which they can not continue at all.
It’s everybody’s responsibility to be honest with themselves and me how they feel and to let me know at an early state when exhaustion creeps up on them!
Upon registration, all participants will receive a copy of my ebook on how to prepare for a tour, please make sure to follow the guidelines and recommendations, double-check Your gear to make sure it’s complete and working properly.
Always remember that You need to carry everything on Your back, and what You do not have in Your pack, You will not be able to get during the tour – there are no shops in the wild!