Table of Contents
Start: Hemavan
End: Kvikkjokk
Section distance: 261,0 km
Hiking days: 12
Total distance: 1.499,6 km
Day 81: Hemavan – Syterskalet
04.08.2022 | 19,5 km
Our first day on the Kungsleden begins with a visit to the supermarket. Here we buy supplies for the next five days and lots of dog food. We want to send some of the dog food ahead to Saltoluokta so that we don’t have to carry so much on the northern section of the Kungsleden, where there are no more supermarkets.
Why is it so complicated to send parcels in Scandinavia?
First, however, we find out that the Swedish postal service does not deliver there and we would have to pick up the parcel about 100 kilometers away at the nearest post office. But it is supposed to work with Bussgods. They transport parcels by bus. All we have to do now is order a parcel stamp online. But that turns out to be very difficult: without a Swedish or Norwegian telephone number, there’s absolutely nothing we can do here.
We guess a number to get further in the ordering process. In the end, however, we have no tracking without a phone number and shipping, including the handling fee charged by the STF, costs around 80 euros. We decide that it’s not worth it and put our dog food in our backpacks for the time being. They immediately feel quite heavy afterwards. Well, it becomes a little less every day.
A curious experience: we were recognized!
Then we have a funny experience in front of the supermarket. We get into a conversation with two hikers: Thomas and Sabine have just completed the last section of the Kungsleden and have been reading our blog beforehand. It’s the first time we’ve met readers in person and it’s a nice feeling to have faces to our readers!
The Kungsleden welcomes us with a heavy downpour. Within a few minutes, we are soaking wet. However, after half an hour, the spook is over again and we continue walking in perfect weather. Only a threatening looking cloud hangs over us behind us.
First taste of the Kungsleden trail community
After the first ascent and once we have left the ski station behind us, we feel right at home. The landscape is breathtakingly beautiful and puts us in high spirits. Although we only set off in the early afternoon, we still have 18 kilometers to go. We finally sit out the heavy downpour, which was constantly following us, in the Syterskalet shelter, next to which we set up our tent in the dramatic evening atmosphere. Here we also meet the first other hikers and, after many quiet weeks in Norway, are now looking forward to the trail community of the Kungsleden.
Day 82: Syterskalet – Tärnasjön
05.08.2022 | 21,1 km
The night is windy, but by now we have regained confidence in our tent. The next morning we set off in excellent mood and with perfect weather. The scenery is still fantastic and we marvel at the seven bridges that take us from island to island across Lake Tärnasjön.
We spend the night in the equally named STF hut and enjoy the first sauna of our trip to the full. We still don’t understand why the Norwegians have so few saunas. Only the hut warden in Tärnasjön is a disaster: she doesn’t understand us at all and is also quite confused. First she assigns us a room that we are not allowed to enter with the dog, and a little later she does not recognize us anymore and checks our reservation a second time.
Day 83: Tärnasjön – Vuomekåtan
06.08.2022 | 23,9 km
Since the STF huts on this section have a distance that is not practical for us, we decide to camp in the treeless areas between Aigert and Serve and then hike straight through to Ammarnäs. Unfortunately, we don’t find the streams marked on the map and end up walking much further than planned.
We set up our tent at a trail junction and while I blow up our mats and prepare our beds, Manuel walks back a whole kilometer with the two water bladders to fetch water for our dinner. Lando seems happy about the extra mile and joins Manuel in his search for water.
Day 84: Vuomekåtan – Ammarnäs
07.08.2022 | 18,1 km
The weather has improved considerably since we crossed the border into Sweden. We walk all the way to Ammarnäs without rain. The first part of this day flies by, but the descent to Ammarnäs feels like chewing gum. We walk downhill for what seems like an eternity, with roots everywhere and dense green all around us.
We have a day off in Ammarnäs. But first we go to the supermarket. The owner gives us each an ice cream when he hears about our tour. As I eat it, I feel a slight tickle in my throat. And all my fears come true the next day when I wake up with a fever.
Day 85 – 88: Ammarnäs
08.08. – 11.08.2022
One day’s break turns into four. We do our laundry and use the time to finally get our social media and blog up to date again. Doing all this on the side during a long-distance hike is not really working out for us and we have the feeling that we are not meeting our own quality standards.
In the mornings and evenings we enjoy a meal at the Wärdshus restaurant. The staff tells us that there has been a wave of colds among the hikers for some time now. We wonder if it’s Covid, but can’t find any tests here. So we decide that it doesn’t really matter anyway what kind of cold we have.
Day 89: Ammarnäs – Rävfallstugan
12.08.2022 | 22,7 km
After four days in Ammarnäs we can’t wait any longer. Although we are not fully recovered yet, we decide to move on. For two more days the we walking feels quite exhausting. The ascent behind Ammarnäs feels correspondingly challenging. Cold sweat runs down our necks and we are happy when we finally pitch our tent next to Rävfallstugan.
Day 90: Rävfallstugan – Vuoruojuohka
13.08.2022 | 21,8 km
We get to know Freek and Julia in the common room of the cabin. Over the next few days we walk together for a bit every now and then. It’s great to meet so many people here on Kungsleden. This is now familiar territory for us. We already know the section between Ammarnäs and Jäckvik and the rest of the Kungsleden trail ahead of us. So we recognize a lot of things and find our sleeping places from back then. We also decided to enjoy the Kungsleden to the fullest and only walk about 20 kilometers a day. As a result, this part of our trip actually feels like a vacation.
We are still somewhat weakened by the remnants of the cold and are glad to reach Vuoruojuohka in the evening. There are already several tents pitched around the river, which we join at a distance. Here we also discover the stone with the heart-shaped marking that we had already photographed on our last hike here.
Day 91: Vuoruojuohka – Bäverholmen
14.08.2022 | 21,7 km
The next day starts with bright sunshine. Our destination today is Bäverholmen. We hope to have dinner at the restaurant there. But first we enjoy the trail that leads us along some lakes through the bird sanctuary. However, we don’t see many birds, we are probably already too late in the season. We also take the opportunity to make a short detour to the Snujllte hut, next to which we camped in 2020 and where there were an incredible number of mosquitoes back then.
We meet many hikers who have spent the night here and are packing their things when we arrive. There are no mosquitoes around today, so we take a short break in front of the hut. From here we walk about twelve kilometers until we find another shelter right next to the Bárasjuhka River. We didn’t remember this one, so we take a look inside and meet Freek and Julia.
The rest of the way to Bäverholmen leads along Bárasjuhka and is very picturesque. We enjoy these last kilometers and reminisce. At the end of the day though, we are slightly disappointed to discover that the restaurant at Bäverholmen is closed.
Day 92: Bäverholmen – Pieljekaise
15.08.2022 | 21,3 km
Unlike the last time we walked Kungsleden, this time we are not taking the boat from Bäverholmen to Adolfström today. Our goal is to cover as much distance as possible on foot. But if that weren’t our goal, I would prefer the boat, because the route across the lake offers beautiful views and the path through the forest is pretty boring. As we approach the outskirts of Adolfström, we switch to the road in a new holiday settlement and get to the village a little faster.
In Adolfström, we make a detour to the Handelsbod and enjoy two delicious Bullar. Here we bump into Jolene, who has been walking at roughly the same pace as us for a few days. Together we decide to borrow the key to the Pieljekaise hut and spend the night there. This shortens today’s stage considerably and still gives us time for half a day’s rest the next day.
The path to the Pieljekaise cabin goes through dense forest. We are looking forward to the hut. But when we arrive, we are rather disappointed: the cabin is very dark and poorly maintained. The beds are worn out and we don’t feel very comfortable.
Day 93: Pieljekaise – Jäckvik
16.08.2022 | 7,9 km
From the Pieljekaise cabin it’s only eight kilometers down to Jäckvik. We hurry and comfortably sit out the predicted thunderstorm in Jäckvik. We have rented a cabin here and take a half-day break because there is a washing machine. Of course we want to use it, as there are no other washing possibilities on the Kungsleden. We also go shopping and treat ourselves to a snack in the small café in the supermarket.
Day 94: Jäckvik – Vuonatjviken
17.08.2022 | 18,8 km
The next day, however, we continue in really heavy rain. The forecast predicts 52 millimeters of precipitation and we are soon soaking wet. It’s a good thing that we rented a cabin again in Vuonatjviken in the evening with Freek and Julia.
Compared to our trip in 2020, there are very few mosquitoes at the moment. This makes even the many stretches of forest worth seeing. After Jäckvik we spot a group of unlucky jays, which we immediately add to our list of animals. We have now collected a considerable number of species on this list. I am sure we have seen many more, but only those that we can clearly identify end up on our list.
Rowing in bad weather
Then we have to row, because there’s a lake you can’t cross in a motorboat. Once again Manuel is so frustrated with rowing that I take over the paddles. The wind and current are pushing us a bit off. And as there is only one boat on our side, we have to pick up another on the other side and bring it back.
We row across the lake three times, which takes an hour in total. This messes up our schedule a bit, as we have to be in Riebnes by 4 pm. From there the next boat will take us to Vuonatjviken. We hurry along, even jogging across a plateau for a while. Finally, at ten to four, we reach the jetty and can even enjoy our sandwiches.
Day 95: Vuonatjviken – Piteälven
18.08.2022 | 30,4 km
A glance at the weather forecast tells us that the next two days will be good weather until it starts to rain again. As there are no cabins on the stretch ahead, we decide to take two long days. We start by walking 32 kilometres to Piteälven. While hiking we enjoy the view from the Bartutte massif. In 2018, we had really foggy weather here and couldn’t see a thing. We actually missed a great view that day. On the way we also pass the Arctic Circle. A small sign on a birch tree points this out. To have walked this far this year is a special feeling for us.
Day 96: Piteälven – Kvikkjokk
19.08.2022 | 33,8 km
The next day, the route takes us 34 kilometres to the jetty before Kvikkjokk. After just over 20 kilometres we pass the Tsielekjokkstugan shelter. We decide to take a short break here, but when we open the door we are in for a surprise: seven people are already sitting in the hut, seeking shelter from the rain that has just started to fall. We can just about squeeze in, but there’s really no room for more people in the tiny space. So we quickly snack on a packet of Tucs before continuing on our way.
A boat trip with Björn – still an exciting experience on the second trip
Shortly after 6pm we arrive at the jetty. We had already made sure that we would be able to make the crossing earlier on. Björn picks us up and we are once again amazed at the precision with which he manoeuvres his boat through tight spaces. We strike up a conversation and learn that he grows many different types of potatoes, including some old German varieties. His knowledge of the flora up here seems inexhaustible. At our last meeting he told us about horsetail and its use as a medicinal plant.
This time we are introduced to the medicinal angelica, which is simply called angelica up here after its Latin name ‘Angelica archangelica’. We also meet Björn’s sister Helena, who tells us about the starvation stones in the German rivers. It’s hard to imagine that the water levels there are the lowest they’ve been for a very long time. Meanwhile, the rivers and lakes here are so high that it is currently strongly discouraged to go into the Sarek, where there are no bridges.
Unpleasant surprise and unfriendly STF staff in Kvikkjokk
We were looking forward to sleeping in a bed again in Kvikkjokk, but we had to find out that the mountain station is completely booked out. There aren’t even any official campsites where you can use the hut’s infrastructure. Disappointed, we pitch our tent on a meadow near the old church. There are already at least 15 other tents here, so we are not the only ones to be turned away today.
We are less upset that there are no beds left. If they’re all taken, it can’t be helped. However, we feel unwelcome and looked down upon by the staff at the mountain station. As if we weren’t tired hikers looking for a place to sleep, but annoying troublemakers. Talking to other hikers, we learned that many people had experienced the same thing. We have never seen such an attitude from the STF accommodation along the Kungsleden trail. That’s a shame!
Map
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