I slept well, the wind caressing the night, and my dreams were vivid. I wrap up my stuff, hanging it on all sides of the tent. There’s a herd of reindeer grazing on grasses, forbs, and shrubs on the valley floor.
I reach a way sign. The regular path leads to the right to Singi, where it bends around to Kebnekaise. To the left, the sign points towards a mountain pass, also to Kebnekaise. I pull out my map. An up and down, but around 3 km shorter. Good. I continue, noticing the different path markers. Where I have been following bright red paint on rocks or tree trunks, now it is just rock piles.
I follow the slope up towards the shoulder pass. There is no other human here with me, in front or back. The clouds are hanging low, and the air is filled with soft water pearls.
I have actually been quite underprepared for this hike. I looked up the main information, start and end, distance, and average days needed, but I avoided any details or photos on the sections. Granted, I was not completely unprepared. I still carry the experience of decades of hiking with people who shared their experience with me, so I could pass the experience on.
I did check if there weren’t any actual risky parts, but starting „just prepared enough“ gives you the chance for a wow and surprise around every corner. In an uncomfortable way, when I think back to the creek crossings. But otherwise, I had so many wow’s over the last 3 days. The landscape, the animal encounters, and the places where I pitched my tent. I fell absolutely in love with this place that I had not seen before. Neither live nor on photos.
Not trying to control every uncertainty it allows you to be fully present and soak everything in. Well, you have to be fully present not to overlook a rock or accidentally walk in the wrong direction.
Coming over the pass, I make out a small moving small blue spot in the valley. A hiker on the main path. I slow down and take my time. I will be back with people soon enough when I reach Kebnekaise. I find a nice mossy patch behind a rock and decide that a second coffee and breakfast sound absolutely fantastic. With a handful of blueberries growing all around me.
