(© 2000 Kurt Bangert and Carola Bläsing )

We awoke and had a long breakfast in one of the cabins of Alesjaure, where no other hikers had stayed overnight except for Martin and us. It was raining outside, but that did not matter. With great endurance I sat in the kitchen on the bench after breakfast for hours and studied the Java paperback, which I had carried all the time during the tour. There had to be some physical exercise also, and so I tried to wash the muddy color from our trousers together with Carola, and pursued the mice of Alesjaure with my camera.

  Mouse in Alesjaure

Two Swedish hikers arrived around noon, who seemed to be drenched from the rain. They had come from Abisko along Kungsleden and had stayed in a tent overnight. Now they cooked a lunch and brought their clothes to the drying room. We chatted with them about their plans and the tour options. To the south, on Tjäktjapass, it was very wet. Hikers in the other cabin had reported about knee-deep water over snow, which they had to cross for about 5 km. On the trail to Unna Allakas one would expect still more snow, as it was higher than Tjäktja. They did not want to go back on the same route, so they planned to hike to the north on the opposite side of the Alesjaure lake. They surely were experienced, and if they would meet problems, they could go back to Alesjaure at any time. In the afternoon they packed their backpacks and left the cabin to spend the night somewhere in the tent.

Before dinner we made a walk in the surroundings of the cabin. Another peaceful evening, and we slept excellent in the almost empty cabin. We awoke the next morning and found that the weather had improved. The longest section of northern Kungsleden awaited us, but it took us until 10 a.m. to get ready for the hike.

Fording Tjålmejåkkå

We knew that we had to ford Tjålmejåkkå, a stream, where a bridge had broken down a few days ago. Several parts were still lying in the water. The water looked very cold, and so it was. It was not difficult, but the distance was so long that our feet were numb before we reached the middle.We hiked along Alesjaure until we reached the northern end of the lake.

Outlet of Alesjaure

We passed the outlet of Alesjaure, where the first of three fords is marked in the Fjällkartan. One can get to the other side of the lake and river, though, regarding the fact that a ford is always deeper than what it looks like, it was obvious that fording would be impossible in this time of high waters. The two hikers that we had met in the Alesjaure kitchen sat on the other side and were cooking a lunch. We went on and made a break near the shelter at Miesakjaure, which is, however, about 500 m away from the summer trail. In the meantime, approximately 7 km were between us and the Alesjaure cabins, but still they seemed to be just a short walk away.

After the break we proceeded and reached the descent to Abiskojaure, where the trail is eroded and very stony. We noticed a Japanese hiker standing in some distance from the trail. He held a picture in his hands and compared it with the landscape. His daypack was lying near the trail. Did he perhaps need help ? During our trips to Japan, people were very kind and offered help whenever we stood somewhere with the city map. But in this moment he packed away the picture, took his daypack and went on to Alesjaure. It was 4 p.m., Alesjaure was 20 km away, and he was obviously not equipped for camping. But in the meanwhile, we could not see him any more. We went on with the gradual descent to Abiskojaure.

Kartijåkkå

From above we had a view on Kartijåkkå, which the trail crossed on a bridge. Martin and two other hikers waited for us. The scene was impressive. The river rushed by just half a meter below the bridge, and waves swept over it from time to time. One foot wrong and you would be lost in the river. Thanks to the steel ropes and bordwalk one still had a feeling of safety. But if the river would rise a bit more, this bridge would be swept away.

Soon we were in Abiskojaure. It is usually a busy place, but five hikers in a ten-bed room was still comfortable. The cabin warden was a German man living in Norway. I asked him if he knew the Japanese hiker, and he told us that this man was a fan of Kungsleden. Years ago, there had been a Swedish television movie that was made on Kungsleden, and it had been shown in Japan. Since then, this man had hiked Kungsleden very often, and when we had met him, he was comparing pictures from the film with reality. So we did not have to worry about him.

The path to Abisko was easy and short the next day, we had been on this part of the trail three times in summer and twice in winter. There wasn't much to discover here, except that Abiskojåkkå was higher than normal.

Kungsleden at high waters

When we came closer to Abisko, the trail was under water, and we had to bypass through the forest. Abisko Canyon was filled to a maximum, and so we sat for awhile and watched it, before we went to the Turiststation. We got a room and had dinner in the restaurant, always a luxury after a tour.

I had bought Norbottens Kuriren in the shop and looked through it. Further in the south, in Kvikkjokk, there had been the highest water since forty years. One could not hike on Padjelantaleden, and hikers had been brought out with a helicopter. Then I found a news that shocked us. A hiker, surely one of the two whom we had met in Alesjaure, had tried to cross the river at the ford near Miesakjaure. He was pulled under water immediately and wasn't seen any more. His comrade could not help him, but managed to alert hikers on Kungsleden, and helicopters had arrived in the evening. However, the divers could not do very much. The man was found dead not far from that place at the next day.

While I can describe the facts, I cannot describe what we felt. We thought it over and over, but could not find an answer to the question why this man had tried to ford the river instead of chosing one of the many other options.

The next day a sign at the information board of the Turiststation reminded all hikers that even apparently easy tours can bear their risks.

Sign in Abisko Turiststation, June 2000