Autumn is here 🍁🍃🍂

This year, autumn arrived quite early. By the end of August, the leaves had already started to change color. So, it was the perfect time to go for a hike again 🥾

Originally, I had planned the first week of September for the northernmost section of the Kungsleden trail, but just three or four days before, I got sick 🤧. Nothing serious, just a cold, but it was persistent. So, it was a sensible decision to postpone the Kungsleden hike. A week alone on a route with no mobile reception and initially rather poor weather forecast in a weakened state could easily lead to unpleasant situations. Of course, you’re almost never entirely alone on the Kungsleden, and I always carry a GPS emergency device with me, but there’s no need to take unnecessary risks. Instead, I considered taking a shorter trip of two or three days. And since I still had time, I came up with the idea of visiting our friends in Vilhelmina. It had been a few years since the last visit, and even though I had seen some of the dogs during a tour together, I was curious to see everyone again. As luck would have it, Simone had also planned to take a few days to go into the mountains with Yentna – a half-sister of Zazu. Perfect timing, I’d say 😉

So, on Thursday of the first week of September, which had turned out to be quite warm, I drove to Vilhelmina. Zazu was, of course, with me, as he would accompany me on the hike. We spent the day socializing the dogs and, naturally, catching up. On Friday morning, we set off toward Saxnäs. The plan was a three-day hike covering about 49 km.

The first day began with lots of undergrowth 😂. We started from the parking lot and immediately went off-trail. We were supposed to come across an old marked path shortly after, but it seemed really, really old, as there were no markings to be seen anywhere. Nor was there a path. So we battled through knee- to waist-high bushes or marshy areas that quickly soaked our feet. Well, mine, at least, since I had deliberately chosen not to wear Goretex and was hiking in trail runners. Sure, you get wet feet, but while walking, they warm up, and the shoes dry extremely fast. Okay, not when you’re constantly walking through water, but even Goretex shoes can’t handle that and don’t dry out afterward. 

So, we continued on our “path.” Occasionally, we spotted a marker, but they were so scarce that we had to constantly check the GPS to make sure we were still on the right track. Along the way, we came across lots of reindeer antlers and occasionally a reindeer too. But that was nothing compared to what was we will see the next day. Shortly before reaching our first stop, we decided to shorten the route and go straight „over the field“… which, to be honest, felt like what we had been doing all day anyway. We reached a river where we took a break and decided to camp there rather than walk the additional 1-2 km to the originally planned campsite.

We found a beautiful spot between two arms of the river, and just as we set down our backpacks, the sun came out and soon treated us to a stunning sunset. It had been quite warm all day, but luckily the sun had hidden behind some clouds for a while, making the hike much more comfortable. Though the day’s distance was only 14 km, it felt longer due to the lack of a trail and the trudging through bushes and swamps. So, after dinner, we quickly retreated to our tents ⛺️.

The night was quite windy, so I ended up bringing Zazu’s bag into the tent’s vestibule. It was heavy enough not to blow away and was sheltered anyway, but better safe than sorry. Zazu, of course, slept in the tent with me, and the wind didn’t seem to bother him during the night. However, in the morning, he got scared a few times by the flapping tent walls. So, after we had already stepped outside to take some sunrise photos, I decided we might as well get up. Conveniently, the wind had dried the tent completely, so I could take it down and pack it right away. We waited until Simone and Yentna were up, and after breakfast, we headed out for the next stage.

Soon, we reached a slightly better-marked trail. There were still lots of little waterholes and another river to cross, but that was all manageable. Shortly after, we encountered quite a few reindeer, over a hundred in total across several groups. Yentna barely paid any attention to them, and even Zazu stayed fairly calm, though he kept staring at them with great interest. After crossing the mountains, we started to descend slowly. The view into a colorful valley was lovely, though due to the fog and clouds, the colors didn’t come out as vividly in the photos.

And this is when I was reminded why I had sworn not to hike with Zazu anymore 🤣🙈. When a strong dog like Zazu pulls you downhill, you really have to watch your footing to avoid face-planting. So, we took it easy on the descent 😉.

Just before turning onto the Lapplandsleden, Simone spotted some chanterelles and couldn’t resist picking them. Although we had packed mushrooms for dinner, fresh ones are always better 😋. Afterward, the trail was much better marked and led mostly through the forest, which provided nice shade from the now-shining sun ☀️.

Not long before we planned to stop for the night, we came to a river that was missing a bridge for crossing. This sometimes happens with smaller streams or shallow water, but this river was fairly deep and fast-flowing. So, we walked upstream for quite a while but couldn’t find a suitable crossing point, so we went back and then walked downstream. It took a while, but eventually, we found a spot that was shallow enough for us to cross easily. The advantage of already wet trail runners is that you can just leave them on 😂.

We walked a little further to the next river and set up camp after 21 km. As soon as we sat down in front of our tents, we had visitors. Two curious reindeer came by to check us out. After dinner, we quickly retired to the tents again.

This time, the night was completely quiet, with only the sound of the river nearby. The next morning was extremely damp. It was so foggy that everything felt clammy, and the tent was pretty wet. Oh well, since it was the last night of our trip anyway, we just packed it up wet. Not that it would have dried in the next few hours.

The day’s stage began with a climb that would have surely offered a fantastic view of the Borgafjäll valley behind us, had it not been so foggy that we couldn’t see anything at all. But as we climbed higher, the fog started to lift, at least in front of us. And suddenly, another group of reindeer appeared, majestically crossing our path.

After the climb, we began descending again and approached a forested area, which was ablaze with beautiful autumn colors. After crossing the last major river – this time over a bridge 🤣 – we took a short break at a shelter. From there, it was only about 4 km to the parking lot. However, those kilometers included a fairly steep climb that we hadn’t expected from the map. But what the heck, if nothing else, it gave us something to complain about 😉.

At the parking lot, we let the dogs cool off a bit before heading back to the kennel. The three days had passed far too quickly. But it was a great trip with perfect hiking weather and wonderful company.

When I drove home the next day, the other dogs were eagerly awaiting me. But we had to wait two more days for the next training session since it was so warm that even at night, it exceeded our training limit temperatures.

By last weekend, it had cooled down to near freezing… But what kind of autumn is this? It’s warm again, so we’ve had to move training to the night or early morning hours. And even then, it’s still quite warm. Let’s hope it cools down as the forecast promises for next week.