 Skidbackbaracken may have improved in many respects since my last stay in 2007 but one key aspect made for a disturbed night. The mosquito netting on the window was torn in several places and I awake at around midnight bitten. I move to the adjoining room next door and settle down. I'm lucky that tonight this other room is spotless. When I stayed last in 2007 the room was a mess and I had no problem then picking the left hand side room to spend the night in. (I've posted on this before when I stated "I was presented with a choice of two rooms but deliberations weren't long. One of they small rooms was in a state, particularly off-putting were several empty sardine cans still glistening with oil. A half-hearted attempt had been made to burn a few in the stove choked with ash. I chose next door where the hut book contained the bitter complaints of a Swede who pointed the finger at 'tva finskar herrar' (two Finnish men) who were apparently responsible for the mess next door. In an hour I had the stove roaring (a wood shed opposite was full of birch logs) and was drinking gallons of tea whilst reading an abandoned magasine, 'Svensk Jakt' ("Swedish Hunting") telling of a ultra-manly world of guns and bear hunts. There was a small radio and next morning I listened to the morning news programme. This was an incongrous moment as there was a broadcast from Heathrow Airport just outside London with plenty of English voices complaining about a third runway.) I'm up at seven and have the stove going again. The weather is fine again though the end of the day sees the odd shower. Plenty of tea and then coffee and I shoulder the still heavy pack and off I go with some reluctance, unsure of when I'll pass this way again. The trail heads immediately over the force of Skidback, well marked I head north through birch forest before ascending up onto the fellside of Nassa. It's quiet, nothing here but miles of empty wilderness. No other walkers around and indeed I would be surprised to meet any. Man's presence though is clear. The good trail infrastructure I am enjoying for one and of course the presence of the Sami. The most obvious sign of that is the traditional earth kata at Odenkatan. Still used evidently, it sits adjacent to a reindeer fence that the map shows snakes for around 30 kms through the surrounding hillsides. No doubt dividing two Sameby. As I pass I remember the last time I was this way, the weather was wet and cold then and at odds with the pleasant sunshine and light winds.  Some distance on and I see the breadth of Skanjagarttjes before me. This wide river hosts the trail on it's left bank for some distance before a wide bridge over it and I head towards the huts at Dalarvado. More county authority huts the design is the same as the huts I passed in Vasterbotten (such as Atostugan). What's different is the majority of the rooms are locked. The only available space is a large loft upstairs equipped with stove and some crockery. Consequently, it feels a little unwelcome here. I'd half and idea about staying but I move on, back into the endless birch forest. By 4pm it's enough I decide. I find a flat pitch next to some good water and settle in for an early night. I use the Inferno with the plentiful wood lying around and am soon lost in a reverie in my birch grove. It's intensely peaceful here, not a soul save my own. Comments are closed.
|
Archives
July 2017
|