September 17, 2015

Sarek, europe`s last wilderness.

Hi All
I'm rather behind with the blogging but I'm oddly enough prioritizing adventures :) Although its a 'break' in the travelling for a while so I'm hoping to catch up.
This one actually goes back more then a month to our trip to Sarek, which is also refered to as 'the last wilderness of Europe' and is one of the oldest National Parks in Europe (1910). It is adjacent to two national parks, the 'Stora Sjöfallet' and the 'Padjelanta'. The park includes a total of 8 peaks over 2 000 m. Due to the long trek, the mountains in the district are seldom climbed. It's a very popular area for hikers and mountaineers although beginners are advised to accompany a guide since there are no marked trails or accommodations and only two bridges aside from those in the vicinity of its borders. The area is among those that receives the heaviest rainfall in Sweden, making hiking dependent on weather conditions. It is also intersected by turbulent streams that are hazardous to cross without proper training. Many of them originating from one of approximately 100 glaciers that are in the area.
Our original plan was to do the 'Sarek Express', 100km across the park through its valleys in 4 to 5 days.
Unfortunately we were forced to change the plan as the snow lingering from the spring was still melting causing  high water flows everywhere. So instead we walked from Saltoloukta mountain station -> Rapa Valley, still a hike of almost 80km that took us 3 days. This route follows the border of the Sarek NP and is a part of Kungsleden that eventually leads to Kvikkjokk. The goal was to see the Rapaselet from Skierfe, and wow what a view! Rather intimidating as its a 700m steep cliff.
Another high light was the 4km early morning row across Sitojaure with one of the boats maintained by STF. I was lucky, the lake was calm :) and I was warmed up and ready for the hike.

                                                                                                         






Rapadalen

Rapadalen








5 comments:

  1. Ja huga för dessa snårbuskar!! :)
    Ja vad ska man säga, svenskafjällen är otroligt fint!

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  2. Fantastiskt vackert!! och så otroligt häftig utsikt över deltat! Man hoppas ju få uppleva detta själv nån gång i livet... :)

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  3. Riktigt sköna bilder uppe ifrån fjällvärlden.

    Ha en bra helg,
    Erik

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  4. Storslaget, kargt, vilt. Vi ska vara stolta över våra resurser i Sverige. Men nog ser det jobbigt ut med all sten att passera.Fantastisk utsikt.
    / Deerhunter

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