Sälka to Alesjaure, Kungsleden - September 2019

Heading towards Tjäktja Pass this morning.

Once over the pass the scenery was pretty good too....

I was now well into the more popular northern section of the Kungsleden and while the crowds had definitely increased the scenery was more or less making up for the increased numbers of punters out and about I think. While this section is generally busier than those sections further south I was still finding quiet places to camp, I suppose the ability to camp wild is the pay off for lugging the extra weight for 450 kilometres, well it is for me anyway! Last night was another of those camps that I more or less had to myself, I say ‘more or less’ as there were actually a couple of other tents within a kilometres of me but they weren’t visible from my spot. I was visited during the night again though, yes I had another sighting of the Northern Lights, although with the temperature well south of 0˚ at around midnight when they appeared I didn’t linger outside for too long!

My first peek outside of my tent this morning had me reconsidering getting out of my sleeping bag.

F*#k it was cold this morning!

Looking back down the Tjäkjavagge Valley towards Sälta from camp first thing this morning.

Actually last night, with the clear skies, was easily the coldest night I’d had so far on my Kungsleden stroll. Now while I’d been cosy and warm in my sleeping bag overnight, packing up my ice encrusted tent early this morning was not the most enjoyable thing for my fingers to endure. To make things even a little more uncomfortable first up today I was walking in the shade for quite a while, the Tjäktjavagge Valley was closing in on me a bit as I climbed towards Tjäktja Pass.

I was looking forward to that sun reaching me...although I had a while at wait!

This was the third day I'd been walking the Tjäktjavagge Valley.

Have I mentioned that it was cold this morning...?

Apart from the cold, the walking was very good again this morning, the Kungsleden climbing fairly gently again. I guess the main issue this morning was the iced up lengths of boardwalk, the boardwalks on the Kungsleden are slippery enough without walking them when they are covered in ice I reckon. At the same time as the sun was slowly creeping closer to my frosty valley I was also slowly creeping closer to Tjäktja Pass, until eventually, and with some relief for my frigid digits, I emerged into the bright morning sun, ahhh;)

That sun is getting closer.

The boardwalks were a little slipperier than normal this morning.

Tjäktja Pass (and the sun) was inching closer.

I drank quite a lot of this stuff on my Kungsleden Walk...it always gave me a bit of an energy kick.

For the most part the climb up to Tjäkja Pass is pretty gentle although just before reaching the pass there is short steep pinch as the Kungsleden climbs a rocky shelf, however with the top within sight the steep secretion was hardly onerous. There is another emergency hut at the top of Tjäkja Pass but once again I didn’t go as a group of walkers had set up camp in there last night and were still packing up. Not that it mattered really as the main attraction up here this morning were the long range views along the Tjäktjavagge Valley behind me along with the views along my continuing route along the Čeavččanjire River. Sitting on the grass outside the hut it suddenly started to feel as though my Kungsleden adventure was starting to wind down a bit, with Tjäktja Pass the highest point on the Kungsleden it was going to be all down hill from here on…so to speak.

Another couple of minutes and I'd make it into the sun. That rocky shelf in the sun is the steep section when climbing Tjäktja Pass from the south.

After one last look over my shoulder back down the Tjäktjavagge Valley....

...I climbed this steep section (in the sun;)...

...and arrived at my Kungsleden high point at Tjäktja Pass.

The emergency shelter on Tjäktja Pass.

Suitably fortified after my second breakfast in the sun up on Tjähtja Pass I once again shouldered my pack and continued trudging my way north. Like the climb up Tjäkja Pass the descent was generally pretty easy, with only really one short steep section right near the top. Once down the steep bit the Kungsleden descends a wide and incredibly rocky valley as it makes it’s way down towards the Tjäktja Stuga. The rocky and rough walking is made easier as for long sections there has been boardwalks built over the scree. After passing by Tjäktja Stuga which was on a small spur trail over on the opposite side of the Čeavččanjire River, the Kungsleden continued it’s gentle descent, now nowhere near as rocky as the descent had been initially.

The descent towards Tjäktja was fairly rocky.

There were some long sections of boardwalk to ease progress over the rocks though.

The scenery on the north side of the pass was still pretty sweet.

The Tjäktja Stuga was on a spur trail on the other side of the Čeavččanjire River.

The Kungsleden was generally pretty easy going again today for the most part.

Eventually the Kungsleden fell in beside the substantial Aliseatnu River which I’d end up more or less following all the way down to the Alesjaure Stuga. While maybe not quite as grand as yesterday, the scenery today was still pretty stunning. Apart from the great scenery the walking was also pretty easy again now, with plenty of grassy spots to sit and relax in the warm sunshine it was turned out to be a fairly relaxed walk. Apart from the ubiquitous snowy mountains there were also a lot of nice creeks and rivers along this section and with plenty of time up my sleeve I enjoyed them all.

The Kungsleden dropped down the a wide valley beside the Aliseatnu River for most of the distance to Alesjaure after leaving Tjäktja.

I wasn't hard to find some nice grassy spots to sit in the sun on this morning.

The fresh snow from a couple of days ago had largely gone by now....but the black brooding rock still looked pretty  good to me.

Good tent drying weather this morning.

The Alesjaure Stuga actually came into view a long time before I arrived at it this afternoon, it seemed to be taunting my down at the bottom of the valley sitting on it’s rocky promontory. By the time I did eventually shuffle into Alesjaure it was mid afternoon and the weather conditions had deteriorated a little, the blue shy and sunshine was gone and had been replaced by an overcast sky along with a bit of wind. Thankfully, apart from shops, beds and bastus the stugas are also a good spot to check out the weather forecast and after chatting to the warden this afternoon I came away a little more confident in my plans to camp somewhere down beside Alisjávri Lake.

Whilst resting on the grass having lunch the overhead conditions started to cloud over a bit.

Alesjaure Stuga has just come into view on the rocky promontory at the head off Alisjávri Lake.

Kungsleden

Another beautiful creek that I don't know the name of.

Alisjávri Lake is one of those turquoise jobs that looks like it's filled by glacial meltwater, the green water adding a little colour to my photos in the now overcast conditions. I was now slowly making my way around the western shore line of the huge lake and once again the walking was pretty easy. There is another small Sami settlement on the other side of Alisjávri Lake and in the main season there is an option to leave the Kungsleden and head to the settlement at Alisjávri, where you can then get transported along Alisjávri Lake by boat.

The Kungsleden has some meditation spots scattered along the northern section.

I've finally arrived at the Alesjaure Stuga.

Dropping down towards shore line of Alisjávri Lake after leaving Alesjaure.

I was starting to look for somewhere to camp now, although there wasn't a lot of great sites initially.

Alisjávri Lake

I was now starting to look for a spot to pitch the tent for the night and while there were a few spots none of them had really appealed to me all that much so far. With the village on the other side of the lake slowly receding from view I spied a grassy shelf just off the track, meandering over to check it out I’d found a great spot to camp. Thankfully the wind hadn’t picked up too much as the only issue with my scenic camp above Alisjávri Lake was that it was fairly exposed, with only a some low scrub to give me a bit of protection. With the tent up I enjoyed tonight’s freeze dried laying on the grass on the lee side of the tent, gazing out at the turquoise water framed by numerous snow capped mountains….life was pretty good on the Kungsleden again.

Looking across Alisjávri Lke towards the Sami settlement in Alisjávri.

Conditions were now looking pretty ordinary but thankfully I didn't really get any rain.

The Dirt.
I walked around 25.3 kilometres today and climbed around 553 metres on what I'd call an easy-medium grade days walking. Over the 19 days of my Kungsleden Walk so far I’ve walked around 420.2 kilometres and climbed 10519 metres so far. Today was another stunning day as far as the scenery goes. There were ample spots to camp today and the stuga’s at both Tjäktja and Alesjaure can provide a bed for the night. There are some more sheltered spots to camp around Alisjávri Lake than the spot I used but my view was definitely better. Once again I used Cicerone’s Trekking the Kungsleden guide book along with the topo’s on my GPS.

Relevant Posts.
Day 1 on the Kungsleden, 2019.
Previous Day on the Kungsleden, 2019.

The view from camp was a sweet one.

Dinner was taken on the grass beside the tent.

mmm, freeze dried!