Nikkaloukta to Abisko Trek June 2019 Day 2. I woke around 06:00 the wind had died down in the night and greeted the day with an overcast sky.
First thing I thought was i’d have a look at my camera that fell over in the wind the night before.
Luckily only the door had been damaged meaning it wouldn’t open or close properly but it still functioned.
As I opened the door to my tent I noticed the first reindeer herd to be seen on this trip, which was amazing.
When participating in the Fjallraven Classic in 2017. I only saw one young reindeer and that was whilst on the bus to Nikkaloutka.
I put this mainly down to the amount of people on the trail.
The other two where still asleep so I made a brew and as the wind had decided to drop I flew my drone.
The DJI Spark is a perfect companion for hikers, as its lightweight, small and you don’t really know you’re carrying it.
Conditions weren’t perfect and the herd where too far away.
This gave me a chance to recalibrate the compass and IMU which you should always do before flying in a new area.
By the time the other two had woken I found out the snoring I heard the night before was actually Reindeer passing through the camp!
Jared had got up and filmed them but didn’t wake me.
Breakfast was ‘easy eggs’ The little pouches I trialled during my gear load out video.
These are really tasty but the only issue is they take more fuel as you are cooking them NOT rehydrating them.
I thought to myself that I might need another gas canister on in the trip, as I had only taken a 100g can.
So after packing away and filling water bottles we started to head of towards Singi.
It was apparent that Bryony was in pain and looked a little down hearted.
Change of plan!
She hadn’t taken anything on like this before and I was concerned that conditions would only get worse and more arduous.
We dropped our bags and had a discussion for about 40 minutes which was upsetting for her.
She was so eager to make this journey but the final decision was that she would make her way back to the start and meet us in Abisko.
Our location was just outside of Kebnekaise so she had the possibility to rest up and walk back or take a Helicopter back to Nikkaluokta.
This was the best decision for her as terrain only got worse and as we would have left phone signal it would be more difficult to get her out.
She really wanted to do this trek but there is a time when you need to way everything up and make the safest decision.
So three became two and myself and Jared started the 18km walk to Singi. We where following a river for most of the trail.
The trail was very easy not much snow and loads of Reindeer passing close by. It was here that we saw a golden eagle fly above us.
Singi In the distance.
We took regular breaks and finally in the distance we could see Singi mountain station.
Just as we got close we spoke to a lady with two small girls having a picnic.
She said that she was the host from Singi station.
She said that her husband was at the station if we needed anything.
As we got closer we saw a man and a small boy walking towards us. It turned out to be the Husband.
After speaking to them it turns out that they come out here every year for 2/3 weeks to manage the station.
What a great way for children to grow up out here for a small amount of time.
We stopped at Singi for some food, the time was around 17:30.
The weather had changed and it had started to rain.
Changing out clothing for wet gear and decided to make it to Sälka.
The plan was to stop in the cabin that evening so that we could start early to hit the snow whilst it was still hard on the Tjaktja Pass.
Arriving at Sälka
Arriving at Sälka around 22:00 the hosts still greeted us, offered us a drink and gave us a cabin.
The cabin cost 600SEK per person but was a well deserved break after the 28km we had put in that day.
We fed ourselves and I needed to sort out a blister that had formed on my bent little toe.
Even though I was wearing Armaskin antiblister socks these where not going to stop this blister forming.
It happens nearly all the time on long distance hikes. It is due to the nail of the bent toe rubbing on the other toe.
We went to sleep around midnight.
There’s no such thing as black out curtains in these huts, so make sure you have an eye mask with you.
Day 2 completed on our trek from Nikkaloukta to Abisko June 2019
Nikkaloukta to Abisko June 2019
