AUGUST 13 – KEBNEKAISE TO SINGI 15 KM
When we woke up the next morning, I noticed soreness in my shoulders from carrying my heavy pack. I imagined how it might feel in a few days and shuddered at the thought. But on a positive note, the sky was clear and was the brightest blue against the mountains that surrounded us. I didn’t notice how nestled in the mountains we were last night. They were on all sides of us and their peaks covered in snow.
Paul on his way to get water for breakfast.
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
We quickly assigned ourselves jobs and fell into a routine. Paul crawled out of the tent first and took our collapsible water jug down to the stream to fill it up for breakfast. While he was out, I packed up the sleeping bags and mattresses. I organized my gear for the day and squished my dirty clothes down to the bottom of my pack. Then I crawled out and basked in the sunshine while sitting on my homemade sit pad on a field of springy plants.
Sarah enjoying her coffee while sitting in the sunshine.
Even though it was sunny, I opted for my down jacket because there was a chill in the air. Paul boiled water on our little stove and cooked two of our freeze dried breakfasts. I believe we had a fruit and nut muesli and it was surprisingly delicious.
Paul filters water from a stream while Sarah carefully crosses it. Thank goodness for trekking poles!
Since it was so sunny, we packed away our rain gear and I pulled out my wide-brimmed hat and sunscreen. I didn’t want to get burned on the second day! Paul was happy to wear shorts again and we both were thankful we brought UPF long sleeve shirts from FXR. Very comfortable and breathable. When I got cold, I just threw my rain jacket over top. But thankfully not many layers were needed on this beautiful day.
The trail had some bushes and trees but they were getting less and less as we climbed further into the subalpine. We ate protein bars and gummy snacks as we walked in the sunshine. There were a few steep sections and lots of mud which we could easily detour around by looking for the tracks from previous hikers. My feet stayed nice and dry all day.
The most beautiful day. Thanks for the photo Magnus!
We came to a gorgeous spot for a photo right in front of Kebnekaise and we ran into Magnus! He offered to take our photo and gave us a handful of gummies. Sugar tasted so good! He walked with us for a while and Paul had fun asking him all sorts of questions about life in Sweden. He eventually stopped to take off his boots. His rule was to rest after each hour of hiking. We said farewell but we hoped that wasn’t the last time we’d meet on the trail.
Magnus shares some candy and stories with Paul.
At the base of the mountains.
We continued on and the trail was becoming even more rocky. The most rocks I’ve ever seen! I spent so much time carefully placing my feet on all the sharp edges and hoping I didn’t roll an ankle. After a few hours, I longed for the feeling of standing on a flat surface.
Crossing over a river on a metal suspended bridge.
We crossed over a bridge and decided to stop for lunch. Nature called and Paul wandered off high up into an area where he was certain nobody could see him squatting behind the rocks. While he was up there he made an Inukshuk and posed to take a selfie with it.
Making lunch while Paul builds an Inukshuk.
Our first reindeer sighting on the trail!
When he returned we were gifted with our first reindeer sighting! The wild creature seemed quite startled and came running down from the mountain in a zig zag pattern. We thought perhaps that type of behavior meant it was being chased but we didn’t see anything in the area. I managed to record it and wished I had more time to switch to my zoom lens. You never know when wildlife will make an appearance!
Don’t follow the red markers. That’s for the winter trail!
After another freeze dried lunch of curry chicken or beef stew, I forget, we continued down and over the rocky path. We noticed that the mountain peaks weren’t as sharp and pointy like the Rocky mountains in Canada. Magnus had shared a neat fact that the oldest mountains have smooth and rounded peaks, their edges worn down by time. We realized we were walking among ancient mountains.
A rock slide covers the trail with boulders. So much rock!
A tricky stretch of trail but incredibly scenic.
At some point along the way we crossed paths with David from Germany. He was trekking solo and we learned it was his fifth Classic! Paul instantly had so many questions and the two of them hit it off. We learned David used to live in Sweden and could also speak the language. He shared many stories with us as we walked together until the Singi checkpoint.
The view while taking a break and talking with David.
David wanted to carry on a little further and setup camp after the checkpoint but Paul and I had reached our limits for the day and were happy to stop. We waved farewell and hoped we’d meet again soon.
The checkpoint is around the corner.
We found a nice soft spot close to a few other tents and setup camp while we watched the sky turn pink over the mountains. The cold started to hit us and I was so happy to have packed my down jacket. Paul walked down to the stream where he noticed people were bathing and had to go a bit higher up to gather water. The portable toilets were a bit of a walk away and making the trip over felt like torture. I just wanted to go to bed.
The clouds started rolling in. So long blue skies.
Part of me wished we had time to sit and watch the sunset longer but part of me longed for my sleeping bag more. We setup camp much faster this time and we quickly freshened up and changed into our sleeping clothes. I had hoped to write in my journal but the time was better spent resting.
A magical sunset to end the day.
Day 2 we covered 15 km, saw a wild reindeer, met Magnus on the trail, met David from Germany and had the best weather. It was a slower day but it was worth taking the time to stop and photograph, make friends and really enjoy the beautiful scenery. We decided we were going to kick it up a notch tomorrow so we could cover more trail.
Do you think this was the best weather we’d get for the rest of the Classic? Will we see another reindeer? Will we meet Magnus or David again? Find out in the next blog all about Day 3.
