Hiking the Kungsleden Trail

by Caroline Galvan

Starting in June 2021 we hiked the Kungsleden Trail in Swedish Lapland – a 440 km hike across northern Sweden that runs from Abisko in the very north of Sweden all the way down to Hemavan, most of it within the Arctic Circle. This is also the home of the Sàmi, an indigenous group of traditionally semi-nomadic reindeer herders.

At Stockholm Airport we got into a Swedish night train that took us to the northern city of Abisko 17 hours later. A rainy and cold morning was waiting for us. Antonio, my husband, started filming as we walked through the famous Kungsleden Gate that marks the beginning of the trail at Abisko national park. We crossed one of the many ‘summer bridges’ that are set up every year ahead of the hiking season (which greatly minimise the river crossings) and arrived at Abiskojaurestuga, the first of the many huts we would encounter on the way. Each hut is run by a hut warden who allocates sleeping slots and ensures that people share the common tasks such as collecting water, chopping wood, etc. For those into wild camping, Sweden’s Allemansrätten (everyone’s right) has you covered. Amazing pitching spots are waiting for you along the way!

The cold

Day 2 threw heavy rain and strong winds at us, which we endured as we walked well past midnight to Alesjaurestuga, taking full advantage of the long days of the approaching Swedish midsummer. The following day welcomed us with very cold temperatures and a snowed-up trail. Eyeing the sky that was opening up, we decided to seize the opportunity to climb the Tjäktja pass (1150m, highest point of the trail) in decent, ‘filming friendly’ weather and, for the next eight hours, we post-holed our way across the snowfields. Temperatures were absolutely freezing as we finally arrived at Sälkastuga past midnight. The following day welcomed us with a gorgeous ‘sunrise’ (so to speak as the sun never sets) and we made our longest day yet across an amazing landscape with unobstructed views along an incredibly vast valley, and broad rivers that glittered in the high midsummer sun – the way you’d imagine Alaska at its best but without grizzly bears.

The Kungsleden requires several boat crossings across the many lakes. You can pay for a boat crossing service or row yourself. Should you choose the latter, you have to make sure that at least one boat is left on the shore you’re coming from. There are three boats in total and if you’re lucky you’ll find two waiting for you; if you only find one, you’ll have to row across, take another boat on the other shore and tow it back to the side you’re coming from: three crossings in total.

At Singistuga, we left behind the popular Abisko-Nikkaluokta loop and arrived at Teusajaurestuga, where our very first boat crossing awaited us. However, there was no boat at all. As we anxiously contemplated what to do, we suddenly spotted a boat approaching us. Enthusiastically, we welcomed a Polish hiker who had set off two weeks earlier at the southern end of the trail and had used a partially broken boat to cross. One of the oars kept popping out at every stroke; rowing was a pain. But, hey, we had a boat to cross Teusajaure lake! It was 19:00 when we finally set off again across the Stora Sjöfallet national park, a high plateau that is both stunningly beautiful and somewhat intimidating, with stormy clouds looming very close above our heads. Thankfully we reached Vakkotavarestuga around midnight. In the morning, after chatting with the lovely hut warden, we had to take two buses and a paid boat ride in order to continue the second stage of the Kungsleden from Saltoluokta mountain station where we rested until the following day. Two days later, at Sitojaure, we decided to take the one-day ‘detour’ to the famous Skierfe mountain, with stunning views across the amazing river delta of the Rappadalen valley.

On June 26th we arrived at Kvikkjokk, a popular end point for section hikers, where we collected our resupply for the next leg to Jäkkvik. For the next days we crossed another high pass, a large plateau (including a fairy-like pond landscape sprinkled with pink moss), a moon-like landscape, and walked by the base of a very impressive mountain. Despite the onsetting heat and strong sun, a mild wind still made it surprisingly cold on top of the plateau. We arrive at Jäkkvik, the end of the third stage, on a hot summer day with not a single cloud in sight.

The heatwave

Jäkkvik is a very pretty little town with amazing accommodation hosted in a former church, and a friendly manager, Matt, whom I suspect also serves as the local priest. To our utter disbelief, the weather had also turned exceptionally hot. As we made our way to the next stage in Ammarnäs the temperatures would eventually reach above 33 degrees; that’s the hottest day in Lapland since 1914 (the news even made it into the Guardian!). To make matters worse, remember that the sun never sets so we made our way through the open landscape with the sun mercilessly shining down on us during the day, and we baked in our tent during the ‘nights’. And we were plagued by mosquitos in this warmer weather; copious supplies of insect repellent are essential!

We spent two days resting in Ammarnäs, a mountain village in the Vindelfjällen mountains, Europe’s largest nature reserves. Sadly, l ran out of time and l had to go back home. Antonio will eventually complete the last leg in order to finish his YouTube movie and the trail in Hemavan.

The Kungsleden is an absolute gorgeous trail, one that provides a good physical challenge whilst the good way-marking and hut system offers the opportunity to relax mentally and enjoy the trail worry-free. Find a full video account at https://bit.ly/3yZXfF0 or search for ‘Always Forward’ and Kungsleden.

Post-holing
Photos Antonio Galvan

Towards Saelka

Skierfe

Pitching the tent at 01.00

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