July 27, 2023, Kungsleden, day 5
We had set the alarm to 4:15 so we would be sure to have plenty of time to catch the 11 am bus from Vakkotavare to Kebnats where the waiting STF ferry would transport us across Suorvajaure (Langas Lake) to Saltoluokta.
It rained on and off during the night but had stopped by the time we got up. Amazingly, the ground had absorbed all the water.
We had to backtrack slightly and then follow the sign pointing to "BRO", which we deduced was Swedish for "bridge". There were half a dozen tents scattered around both sides of the bridge. We passed them all and began the continuing climb to the high tundra plateau. It was peaceful save for the chirping of birds alerting their buddies to our approach. They seem to be social, just like pikas.
We were passed by a young German girl, Julie (PCT class of 2017) who lives in Stockholm. Julie had hiked 10 days on the Kungsleden last year and said her feet had been wet the entire time. In contrast, so far her and our feet have never been wet on this trip. She also said it had been really cold at times. When a storm blows in it comes from the Arctic. We've been very fortunate.
I'd read that Sweden's per capita GDP is only 80% that of the USA so I asked her how the Swedish afford the high prices of food and accommodation along the Kungsleden. She said it was thanks to a mix of housing and inheritance. Housing in Sweden is relatively inexpensive.
We traversed a landscape that was a mix of rocks, streams, and pools before descending through forest to the Fjällstuga at Vakkotavare. The host there, David, phoned Saltoluokta for me. David had lived for three years in Yonkers, New York, and was really friendly. He made us each a cup of coffee and we sat talking to him about Sweden joining NATO, amongst other things.
A fair number of other backpackers, presumably all those who'd slept near the bridge, trickled in and we all caught the 11 am bus. We chatted to a young guy from Chamonix who, with a couple of friends, had set out to climb all the 2,000+m peaks in Sweden. This was a hugely ambitious undertaking and they hadn't succeeded. Furthermore, he'd injured one of his feet during the approach to Sarektjåkkå (2,089m), the second-highest summit in Sweden and had to hike out on his sore foot. My own sore ankle had recovered overnight.
The bus (200 SEK each) made a 20-minute stop outside a campground store so we looked around and bought some snacks and pastries.
At Kebnats the bus dropped us off and we caught the STF ferry (175 SEK each) to Saltoluokta.
We had requested a room (1,540 SEK) and dinner (450 SEK each) at Saltoluokta. It turned out that our room shared a communal bathroom.
The Kungsleden is great in that you don't need a permit and you are pretty much free to camp anywhere you like, but it's really expensive to sleep indoors and food is also quite expensive.
We whiled away the afternoon showering, washing clothes, and reading/writing.
Dinner was at 6 pm. We shared a table with James (born in USA), his wife Jessica (born in Sweden) and their two young sons, James (12) and Jacob (11) who are hiking "The Green Ribbon" a 1,300 km route through Sweden and Norway. The Kungsleden is easy compared to what they've been doing. It was fascinating to talk to them.
James met Jess when she was an au pair. They decided to move to Sweden to raise their children here. Echoing what Julie had told us they said that property in Sweden is inexpensive and wages are relatively equal across jobs. Sweden has much less income inequality than the USA.
Dinner was superb, an all-you-can-eat buffet consisting of salad, roast potatoes, and moose meatloaf followed by a chocolate truffle dessert. The 4Js, Patsy, and I were all hungry so we each ate two plates full of food. They must have been starving and eating dinner here was a real treat for them.
Before coffee and dessert one of the staff sang to us as, we were told, per a century-long tradition here at Saltoluokta. It was very touching and she had a great voice even though we had no clue what she was singing.
The 4Js were debating what to do about recharging their power banks as they were camping. I told them we could recharge them overnight in our room. While we all imagined the power banks would be safe in the lobby overnight, their loss would be somewhat catastrophic. We planned to meet for breakfast.
We toured the small store with James who explained all the items. It turns out that they stock powdered milk, which we were ever so happy to learn. I bought a sachet.
It had just started raining as we were walking back to our room which was in a different building. It was a pleasant change from camping. Hopefully, there's some sun sometime during the day, each day. It's forecast to rain, on and off, for the next two days which won't be so great. We'll just have to deal with it.
Patsy was exhausted. She fell fast asleep at 11 pm. I stayed awake until midnight, trying to catch up with my writing.