Routes
Daily stages on map
For the solo hike in autumn 2022 I had reserved a bit more time than in previous years, 7 days. I had decided to head to Abisko again, because I visited Kilpisjärvi last year, from Nikkaluokta we had already walked many routes, and the Akkajaure valley had felt a bit off-putting even in summer, so I didn’t want to go there. In Kvikkjokk I would have been dependent on a boat ride or it would have been a long way to the fells. In Abisko there is a good parking area and the trail takes you into the fells quite quickly. Visiting Kåtotjåkka and roaming around the Mårma area were in the plans.
Driving to Kolari, refuelling, overnight stay.
Abisko Turist – Siellavaggi
On Saturday 3 September 2022 wake-up at 04:00, getting dressed, driving at 04:20. Pajala, Junosuando, Vittangi, Svappavaara, Kiruna, Abisko Turist parking area. Roadworks after Junosuando, slowed down a bit, arrival at 07:50, 300 km. The weather was cloudy, but it wasn’t raining. There was hardly any wind, the temperature was 5 degrees above zero. I put on my hiking boots and shouldered my backpack and started walking a little after 08:00. My gear was a merino base layer, Shield trousers and a sports shirt, wind jacket, beanie and gloves. The backpack weighed about 23 kg. I moved onto the Kungsleden summer trail by the Abiskojoki river. I had to take off the wind jacket right away as I was getting too warm. After checking out the river canyon I continued to Marmorbrottet.
I stood there for a moment, then walked across the Nissonjohka bridge and past the camping spot, there were 7 tents pitched at the site. I climbed up to the ridge-top trail, which took me to the start of the trail leading to Tältlägret. I turned onto the trail and walked to Tältlägret. There was one hiker there packing up his camp, we chatted for a while in English. Then the trail ended and a tougher ascent towards Ballinvaggi began, which felt quite exhausting. It also started to drizzle at the same time. My fitness seemed to have worsened since the last trip and I was getting hot. Still, I made it to Ballinvaggi, where the sun was shining. I continued straight to the end of the valley and climbed near the lake below the glacier. At this point my steps started to feel very heavy and I realised that up here in the north the acceleration due to gravity is greater than in the south. So it was time to look for a spot for the tent. Despite the almost all-encompassing boulder field I found a place. I fetched water from the lake into my bottles, ate a chocolate bar and then pitched the tent. It was only 13:30, the sun was shining brightly. Taking the backpack off my back caused an unpredictable reaction and I suddenly sprang up the eastern slope of Ballinbogichokka to about 1500 metres until I ran out of strength.
Up there, if not earlier, reality sank in and I understood that I wouldn’t be able to climb these slopes with the backpack. Eating snow to quench my thirst, I pondered my trip plan; it now felt very utopian. I then returned from the steep slope back down to earth, ate a chocolate bar, took down the tent and first headed lower into Ballinvaggi and then to Siellavaggi, to the familiar campsite near the reindeer herder’s hut. I pitched the tent again at 16:50, the water source at this camp is quite far away, luckily the water bottles were already full.
I ate dried meat, drank sports drink and then prepared a Reiter Hunter’s Stew meal. My tent this time was a Hilleberg Akto one-person tent rented from Retkirent, which is easy and quick to pitch. I did a familiarisation tour of the tent interior and found the length and width sufficient, but the height insufficient for me to sit upright. The sun slowly set, as it tends to do, and it became quite chilly. I weighed my trip plan; I could still try to get to Kåtotjåkka, and it would be easy to proceed in that direction along Siellavaggi. I started resting at 18:50, I slept little, the night was cold, the sky clear and calm. Thanks to two sleeping bags and a sleeping pad and wool base layer I didn’t feel cold.
Siellavaggi – Biegganjira
On Sunday 4 September 2022 wake-up at 05:00, outside -2 degrees, the tent surface and ground were frosted. I ate the rest of the Reiter Hunter’s Stew, followed by coffee and biscuits. The weather was clear and the sun was shining on the fell tops, it would have been a fine day for, for example, an ascent of Adnjetjårro. However, I decided to move on. I packed my things, wiped the frost off the tent and packed it too. My clothing now was a sports shirt, wind jacket and fleece trousers. I started walking at 07:53 along the side of Siellavaggi, soon the terrain became quite rocky. By the first lake in the valley there was a tent pitched and next to it stood a man in a down jacket eating crispbread topped with processed cheese. We talked for a while in Swedish, he seemed to know these areas well and from his speech I gathered he was from northern Sweden. We went through both of our route plans and at the latest at this point, when I said it out loud, Kåtotjåkka became confirmed as my goal. I passed the Siellavaggi lakes now on the eastern side; on the 2010 trip we went past them on the western side.
I judged the eastern side to be easier walking. After leaving Siellavaggi I continued at about 1050 m altitude along the side of Alisvaggi to the east to avoid the brush lower in the valley. Up here there were now good views towards Kåtotjåkka.
I took a break at Lulip Hongganjira and ate a chocolate bar, even took the backpack off. The going was easy and soon I saw down in the valley the bridge crossing Aliseatnu. I descended slightly diagonally lower and crossed a somewhat larger stream flowing on the slope and followed its bank down to the ruins of a turf hut; there was one rock step on the way, but by holding on to birches and junipers it was possible to descend it safely. Below the hut I found the marked trail leading to the bridge. The reindeer herder’s hut that used to be there seemed to have collapsed. I lost the trail and fought my way through the brush to the bridge. Now I felt tired. I weighed route options again; from here it would be 10 kilometres of this brush to Nissonvaggi, which didn’t appeal. I was hot too, the jacket was perhaps too much. From the bridge I climbed up the slope a bit, the trail was now good. I wondered whether I had the energy to continue or whether it would be better to head to Nissonvaggi after all; there would still be 5 days to get back to the car in Abisko. I sat down on a rock and ate a chocolate bar. I thought that here at least there was a clear marked trail to follow, so maybe I would manage to continue on it. I walked very slowly to the Vierrojohka valley and then upwards close to the bridge crossing Vierrojohka. I then climbed out of the stream valley to a flat treeless area and followed the trail west. Siellacohkka and Hongga were nicely visible from here. Reindeer were wandering around. I then continued to the Biegganjira valley near the reindeer herder’s hut; from here it would be possible to attempt an ascent of Kåtotjåkka. I found a spot for the tent by the stream at 14:58. I pitched the tent, spread the sleeping bags on the rocks to dry, and likewise put socks and boots out to dry.
I ate dried meat, drank coffee and ate biscuits. Then I ate a Reiter Pasta Carbonara meal and some salted peanuts, and drank sports drink. Again I pondered the trip plan; if I managed to visit Kåtotjåkka, the goal would be achieved and I could just walk out along the trail to Alesjaurestugorna and then along Kungsleden to Abisko; the distance would be longer, but the trail easy to walk. The weather became cloudy, I gathered my things into the tent and it rained a little. I started resting at 19:30. At night I woke up feeling hot, moved outside the tent to lie down and watched the stars, northern lights and satellites; I even saw one shooting star. After a while I went back into the tent and continued sleeping.
Biegganjira – Kåtotjåkka – Vierrojohka
On Monday 5 September 2022 the alarm was set for 05:40, but I woke up already at 05:20. I ate Reiter Pasta Carbonara, had coffee and biscuits. Outside it was clear and fairly chilly, +1 degree, with wind from the west. I packed day-hike gear into the backpack, including plenty of warm clothing. I put on merino long johns and a sports shirt, shell trousers and a shell jacket, and of course a beanie and gloves as usual on this trip. At 07:20 I headed up the slope to the south. The ascent was steep and it felt like I could hardly manage it; I thought I would just go as high as I could and then turn back. I also thought that others had managed to go up here, so maybe I could too. I reached a plateau at 1300 metres, on the flat the going was easier and I already caught a glimpse of the Kåtotjåkka summit. The terrain turned into a boulder field, I climbed fairly steeply onto the ridge leading to the fore-summit, and the ridge itself was the same boulder field. Climbing in the boulders started to feel easier and I reached the fore-summit. There was snow and a strong wind. There were views and I could also see the ridge leading to the highest summit.
The ridge was snowy, but rocks were visible along its entire length. I continued climbing, the snow was fairly supportive and made walking easier. Because of the strong westerly wind I tried to walk on the eastern side of the ridge in the lee, which worked quite well. Snow was blowing in the wind.
Then I reached the summit, where the wind was also quite strong. There were still views and I looked around and took photos. The ridge leading to the western summit was snowy and I judged that in this wind it would not be wise to continue along it. I put the camera on the tripod for self-portraits, managed to take a couple of shots, but then the wind knocked over the tripod; after it fell twice I decided I had spent enough time on the summit and started heading back down. Lower down I reached a snow patch that continued a long way towards Bieggariehppi. At first I walked down the snow a bit, then I remembered gravity again and sat down on the slope. The force was strong here and carried me in the direction I wanted down the slope, a bit too fast even, and I had to brake at first with trekking poles and my feet. Well, that fun ended eventually too and when the slope eased I had to walk again. I looked down into Bieggariehppi, then turned left back to my ascent route.
I was back at the tent at 13:00. I organised my things and ate dried meat. The sun was shining, but clouds were visible coming from the west, and the wind had strengthened down here as well, the tent was flapping in the wind. I rested for a while and then realised that the wind had only strengthened; I wondered whether I should turn the tent into the wind. I went outside and the wind was already quite brisk, and I thought that a sheltered tent spot would be good. There just didn’t seem to be one nearby. I went to the reindeer herder’s hut to see if I could pitch the tent next to it in the lee, but I couldn’t. Then the place name came to mind, Bieggaluoppal—this might be a place where it can get very windy at times, if that’s where the name comes from. The sun had withdrawn behind a veil of cloud, and I was reminded of the 2007 trip and the similarly developing windy, rainy weather. The weather was clearly deteriorating. I decided to carry out a rapid evacuation, stuffed everything from the tent into the backpack as it was (a 105-litre pack is good for this), finally took down the tent and shoved it into the pack as well. At 15:00 I set off along the trail eastwards with a tailwind to look for a more sheltered place for the tent. Soon I remembered the high north–south oriented bank by Vierrojohka; behind it there should be shelter from the wind. I ate a chocolate bar while walking. My clothing when I left was merino long johns and shell trousers, sports shirt, wind jacket and shell jacket, so I was quite warm while walking. With the tailwind the going was brisk and now it felt like I had plenty of energy to walk. I reached the campsite by Vierrojohka at 16:36, pitched the tent, and the water bottles were already full; I hadn’t thought to empty them either in the rush to leave.
I drank some sports drink, then coffee and ate biscuits. I figured that a front was coming in and tomorrow would be wet. Again I pondered the direction of travel; I didn’t want to go to Nissonvaggi because it would mean 10 km of brush, so the remaining options were either to walk along the northern side of Alisvaggi to Kungsleden or to turn back up to Siellavaggi. I ate Reiter Pepper Beef Stew. I lay down to rest at 19:09 and didn’t set an alarm for the morning. At night it rained a bit and at times gusts of wind made the tent flap. During the night I drank a couple of mugs of sports drink.
Vierrojohka – Ballinvaggi
On Tuesday 6 September 2022 I woke up at 05:29, it was no longer raining. I went to fetch water from Vierrojohka; I had to go across the bridge to the other side of the river to reach a spot where I could get water. The cool and brisk westerly wind continued. I thought it might be better to walk down in the valley in the brush, sheltered from the wind, rather than climb up to 1050 metres into the fells, especially since the clouds were low now and there would be no views anyway.
I ate Reiter Pepper Beef Stew again, drank coffee and ate biscuits. The outside temperature was +4 degrees. I started walking at 08:47, wearing my shell clothing, following the trail down to Aliseatnu and across the bridge, then climbing higher until I reached the trail leading west.
The trail was fairly easy to walk, the brush didn’t hinder too much and provided good shelter from the wind, though in places the trail was wet and muddy. I figured the trail was quite okay to walk now that there were no mosquitoes. I concluded that when heading east from Siellavaggi it is better to walk high up, and when heading west it is better to walk down here on the trail. I reached Lulip Hongganjira, drank some water and looked up the slope; from here it seemed possible to climb towards Siellavaggi, at least I remembered reading about someone doing that in a hiking report online. I first climbed up along Lulip Hongganjira, then moved diagonally upward towards Alip Hongganjira. The terrain was quite challenging: in the steep slope there were large boulder fields, willow thickets and heather, and the progress turned into a bit of scrambling; I had to use my hands and at times even crawl. It would have been fine to climb otherwise, but a hiker happened to appear on the trail below and of course watched my progress. I thought that my “clever” route choice might have looked rather stupid from below. I reached a small ledge, ahead was a vertical rock wall, and a narrow upward-sloping ledge seemed to lead on top of it; I climbed up that way, at least that part was clever. I continued towards Siellavaggi, and of course the wind shifted so that I had headwind from there too, and it also started to rain.
I took a break when I reached the first lake, ate a chocolate bar, and the sun even shone a little through the clouds. Then I continued along Siellavaggi to the reindeer herder’s hut; I thought I could have a coffee break there, wait for the weather to develop, and if needed even spend the night in the hut. I arrived at the hut at 14:00, put my backpack down and fetched water into my bottles. I went inside, took off my jacket and sat down. But for some reason the atmosphere in the hut didn’t feel right; I got up and went outside again, deciding to head to Ballinvaggi to camp on the grassy meadows there. Outside the rain had stopped and the wind was calming down. On the first meadow in Ballinvaggi by a small pond the atmosphere still didn’t feel right, so I continued more than half a kilometre, and then found a place for the tent at 15:30. I set up camp and changed my wet clothes into dry ones. I ate dried meat, then coffee and biscuits. It drizzled a bit again, the clouds were low, and the outside temperature was +4 degrees. The day went by in transition under poor weather, but walking now felt easier, apparently because it wasn’t so hot. From this camp it would be possible to do a day trip if the weather improved—perhaps climb Tjåmuhas or go to the eastern side of the valley. From here it would be a 3–4 hour walk to the car; if the bad weather continued, I might as well leave already, even though in principle I still had 3 days left. I ate Reiter Hunter’s Stew. The wind died completely during the evening, with occasional light showers.
Day trip around Ballinriehppi
On Wednesday 7 September 2022 wake-up at 05:40. There was no wind, the clouds were low and the temperature was +1 degree. A lot of condensation had accumulated in the tent and the foot end of the outer sleeping bag was quite wet as well. I ate Reiter Hunter’s Stew. I thought that in this weather nothing would dry, so I had to wait and see if the weather improved. Then the clouds on the eastern side of the valley broke a little and the 1628 m and 1646 m peaks were occasionally visible. So I dressed in my shell clothing, packed the items needed for a day trip into the shell jacket pockets, and at around 07:50 set off towards the eastern side of the valley. I headed towards the 1646 m peak. The clouds broke at times and the glaciers of Ballinriehppi became visible. The final ascent to the summit was a bit steeper, the snow made walking easier.
On the summit the sun was shining, one side of the summit was very steep, and there was no visibility down to Gaskariehppi due to the clouds. I continued along the ridge southwards, eating a chocolate bar while walking. At times I could see down into Gaskasriehppi, and the view towards Ballinriehppi was better. The sun shone more, the clouds above thinned. Ahead I saw the slope rising to the 1776 m summit; it looked steep but not too steep, with snow patches all the way up, no rock cliffs and the slope didn’t narrow too much. I concluded that with a bit of mouth-breathing I’d be up there soon enough. And soon I was on the flat and broad summit, rising above the clouds into sunshine. Through the clouds some of the highest peaks appeared, such as Nissoncorru and farther away Kåtotjåkka; Storsteinsfjellet was not visible. I then continued ridge walking around Ballinriehppi.
There were vertical rock walls down to the glaciers. Lower down I entered the cloud again. Eventually I reached the summit of Ballinbogicohkka; there was less snow than the last time I had been there, otherwise the scenery was the same. I didn’t want to descend the steep eastern slope; instead I headed for the western slope familiar from the 2019 trip, knowing that at least that way I could get down without issues. Soon I was below the cloud and could see Siellavaggi. Lower down I followed a short stretch of valley back to Ballinvaggi and the tent, arriving at 13:53. I thought that the trip couldn’t get any better than this! I had managed a beautiful ridge hike around Ballinriehppi, and now I could already leave. In this mood I ate all three remaining bags of dried meat in one go, then drank coffee and ate biscuits. I rested, the sun warmed the tent a bit, and during the day both the tent and sleeping bag had dried. At around 18:30 a helicopter descended into Ballinvaggi. It dropped off two campers. This kind of disturbance to the wilderness peace made me think all sorts of things for a moment, but then I figured there’s room for others too. I then ate Reiter Pepper Beef Stew.
I thought that tomorrow I would already leave, although there was still the option that if the weather was good, I could finally visit Tjåmuhas; I had not yet been on the 1745 m summit. In the evening the weather cooled, at 19:45 the temperature was at zero.
Ballinvaggi – Tjåmuhas – Abisko Turist
On Thursday 8 September 2022 wake-up at 05:40, condensation in the tent, the surface of the sleeping bag wet, outside the weather was completely clear. I ate Reiter Pepper Beef Stew. Unable to resist, I skipped coffee and at around 07:00 set off on a day trip towards Tjåmuhas, wearing my shell clothing, with only the camera, mug and phone in my jacket pocket. I climbed diagonally up the slope of Tjåmuhas right from the tent; I saw the tent of those who had arrived by helicopter yesterday and feared I might wake them as I clattered through the boulders. Higher up I saw that there was yet another tent at the northern end of Ballinvaggi and people were already up. Soon the slope I was climbing became quite steep and the boulder field loose; at times there was bare rock and the possibility of a rockslide crossed my mind. Again my route choice started to feel a bit stupid, especially when I had to descend below a rock section. But I reached the edge of a hollow formed by a small glacier north of Tjåmuhas. I climbed from there southwards; for a moment the slope was quite steep but with a bit of zigzagging I found an easy ascent route, using my hands a little. Then the slope eased and I continued along the broad ridge towards the summit of Tjåmuhas. I was a bit thirsty and sucked on icicles I found on the slope. I reached the summit at 09:00. The weather today was unbelievably good, so the views were excellent and I took photos.
Then I headed down; I didn’t want to descend the somewhat steep route I had come up, so I first went to the col between the Tjåmuhas summits and from there along the side of the 1689 m summit to the gentle ridge leading north, which was familiar from the 2019 trip. I followed the ridge down far enough and then descended into Ballinvaggi, heading for the tent. On the way I noticed a bog patch with cloudberries; I picked them all, some into my mouth, some into the mug. The mug had had no other use on this day trip anyway, as there were no streams up high. I reached the tent at 11:00. I took the water bottles from the tent and moved to the nearby stream to lie down and drank at least half a litre of water. Then I ate a chocolate bar and the cloudberries, drank coffee and ate biscuits. Again the tent and sleeping bag had dried in the sun. The sky was cloudless, there was no wind, and the sun warmed the tent. I rested for a while, then thought that now it was time to leave; this hike certainly wouldn’t get any better. I packed my things and from 13:30 onwards walked via Tältlägret to the car, where I arrived at 17:08. The favourable weather meant that a helicopter was buzzing in the air constantly. The total length of the hike was 107 kilometres and the total ascent 5,260 metres.
Ballinvaggi – Tjåmuhas – Abisko Turist
I drove first to Kolari, and the next day home.
Notes from the trip: merino wool is warm clothing and good in camp, but sometimes too warm when walking. If I had one good sleeping bag, the gear weight would decrease significantly. One 230 g gas canister was enough for the whole trip. The Akto is a quality tent, too low for me, but still good to camp in. It seems that Aliseatnu can sometimes be crossed by wading at Siellavaggi, but I assumed the water level was high and didn’t want to even try. Roaming in the Mårma area remains a dream for now.