Day 4

I slept very bad all night. It took a long time for me to fall asleep, and when I finally did, I slept shallow and woke up a lot. It was raining all night. When it was time to get up, it had stopped raining, but the wind blew quite hard. We had camped just east of the top Suokitjåhkkå, and had now planned to round it on the north side, below the top Niehter. We had a calm morning, chilled and took our time to get ready. Eventually we  broke camp and started walking. Two tents were set up on the other side Nammásjjåhkå, and we had seen four people near them the night before, but now we saw no one there.

The day began with boulders, but fortunately they were neither wet nor at a 45° angle so they were easier to walk on than the ones we had the day before.

When we rounded the top Suokitjåhkkå we reached a plain west of it. The ground was easy to walk on, even though there were a lot of rocks spread out. We stopped to have lunch here, with a great view of the snow covered tops of Gådoktjåhkkå and Bielloriehppe.

We had planned to go north between Niehter and Rådnik down to the lake Niehterjávrre. On the map it looked like it would be nice to camp there, with a lot of flat ground.

As we kept hiking the boulders got worse, and eventually we ended up in a seemingly endless ocean of rocks. We didn’t move fast at all. When we finally passed the highest point between Niehter and Rådnik and saw the lakes below, we realized that it would not be possible to pitch any tent there there. As far as the eye could see, there was only rocks. We saw on the map that the last of the three lakes below had an outlet that led down to a plain. This was the same plain as we seen from the camp site at Skierffe. We took aim at the far end of the last lake and kept walked. It was a desolate landscape, and we walked quietly some 30 meters apart. Each of us buried in our own thoughts.

I was beginning to feel bad in my stomach, and started to feel dizzy too. I hoped it would be something I ate, but I was worried that I might have gotten some bad water. I’ve never used a filter in the mountains, and I don’t know anyone who does. But traces (and poop) from reindeers were everywhere, and I was worried I might have drunk poop water.

At the far end of the last lake water flowed down a slope, and below there were extensive fields with possible tent sites. We continued north and found a suitable place, west of the mountain Tjålle. There was a lot of snow left in the mountain above us, so much of the ground was saturated and carved down by melting water. But we found a good place to put up our tents.

My stomach was acting out for a while, but finally calmed down. I laid down and read for a while and then went to sleep. I had a hard time getting used to the light, and that it never gets really dark. It was difficult to fall asleep, and I slept shallow this night too and woke up a lot.

It never gets really dark. At 22.00 it is still bright as day. When I wake up at 4, it’s already just as bright. Somewhere between 01.00-02.00 it’s somewhat dusky, but never really dark. You don’t need a headlamp if you wake up and have to pee.

I have to admit that I was not really prepared for how the constant absence of darkness would affect my sleep. But the constant light gives an almost surreal feeling that messes with the sleep rhythm.

Day 5

This day we stayed in the same place as before. I had washed my underwear and socks in a zip lock bag the night before and hung them up in the tent. The idea was that they should dry during the day. The weather was bad for almost all day, with heavy rain that came and went on a regular basis. I laid in the tent and read almost all day, and so did Fredrik in his tent.

When I went to bed, I had trouble falling asleep. I tossed and turned, had a headache and a sore throat. Suddenly my sleeping mat made a sound, like it got punctured.

I got off it and saw that it was much softer than before, and assumed that it was a puncture. I blew it up to check the leak, but discovered that it was the lamination in one of the baffles that had burst, and now a large channel of two was formed. Fortunately it wasn’t in the middle, so I was still able to use the sleeping mat, although it was more uncomfortable than before. I was a bit disappointed since I hadn’t even had the sleeping mat for 3 years. I’ve always been careful about it and haven’t filled it up too much.

I’ve slept bad since we came to Sarek. I think the light makes it difficult for me to sleep, and sleep deprivation leads to migraines that make it even harder to sleep.

At least I slept somewhat ok this the night, even though I fell in and out of sleep all the time. It blew hard during the night, and there was a lot of wind coming in under the fly. It had been really cold during the whole day and night, and almost felt like it was approaching freezing.