Abisko Touriststation#
After the restaurant visit some icy wind was blowing (with the thermometer reading 8.2 °C) and I noticed the every part of me was well protected except for my hands. So I went back into the shop and bought a pair of somewhat expensive woolen glove liners ( this investment paid of massively).
Afterwards I grabbed my heavy(almost 20kg at this point) pack and headed off into the Abisko National Park.
Heading into the National Park#
The first sight that greetes you when entering the Abisko National Park is most likely the aptly named river Abiskojokk. Having had the fortune of visiting pretty much when the river was at its peak I got treated to the view of a roaring river crashing through steep rocks and cliffs along the way to its destination in the lake. After following the river for a few bends the path dipped down to a shallow spot where I was able to grab my filter and fill my water reserves from the river water.
The next thing I stumbled upon was what would be another constant companion during my time in the National Park:
Reindeer shit.
Reindeer droppings are quite easily desceirned by their characteristic appearance:
They are uniformely egg shaped with each bit around the size of a duck egg. They have a very smooth almost shiny outside and on the inside are filled with dry fiber(how do I know that? Simple - a lot of people who came before me have stepped in it).
I hover never saw reindeer in my time in the Abisko National Park.
The camping ground and my hubris#
After some 4-5 Kilometer and right past a hanging bridge I arrived at a small campground with everything from direct access to the water of the Abiskojokk fireplaces and even toilets.
It is important to note that the Abisko National Park is one of the few places in Sweden where you cant put up your rent wherever you want.
Considering this and the fact that it was already slightly past 4 pm I made the same choice and put up my tent like the hut keeper that I traveled with on the night train had recommended for taking the first day easy I looked at the map, decided 9 more kilometers doesn’t look too bad and kept walking onwards. One thing I gained from the campsite was a nice big backup can of cooking gas that someone left behind and that was still decently filled.
A lesson paid in blood#
After leaving the campsite I soon began to regret my choice of not putting up camp when the weight of my pack began to take its toll and the trail got wetter and rougher.
Shortly before getting into view of lake Àbeskojàrvi I encountered what would become my worst enemy for the remainder of my stay in the Abisko National Park:
An utterly absurd amount of mosquitoes. Not only did they swarm about in absurd numbers they were also incredibly aggressive in their attack patterns. A quick taxonomy:
- the brake assassin - a dastardly enemy of any weary hiker the break assassin will dive in whenever you stop moving for more than 10 seconds. Not only will you quickly find yourself the target of many mosquitoes ( the break assassin is quite common), those mosquitoes will also try to go for a bite as quickly as possible and even pierce thin clothing. The only methods to combat the break assassin are lightning fast reflexes or pushing onwards.
- the diveby sniper - while fairly rare the drive-by sniper will attack you even while you are on the move and home in on any bit of exposed flesh. Recommendation for combat: know what you are exposing and keep a look out for the bastards, they take some time to go for the sting and can easily be flattened by an attentive defender.
- the swarmer - while the least threatening, they rarely ever get to sting, these are some of the most annoying blood suckers as they have no issue flying right up into your face. The best defense is a head net
Arriving at Abiskojaure#
Slightly after 11 pm I arrived utterly exhausted at Abiskojaure. The sun had already dipped beneath the surrounding mountains and their snow covered peaks Despite that it was still fully bright outside. The only things I did after putting up my tent was filling up my water sacks from the lake and cooking up some mashed potatoes, that I didn’t even fully eat until the morning. Thankfully arriving that late allowed me to dodge the usual fee for camping at an STF Hut.
I slept pretty badly both due to the light(I had lost my sleep mask aboard the night train) and that sometime early in the morning ( at around one am) a freezing wind picked up that dropped the temperature in my tent to 5 degrees Celsius.
