Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, do I hear somebody sing.
I wake up, expecting to get breakfast at my sleeping bag. Silence, nobody
is there, and no breakfast is presented. The night is leaving and the day
is just about to arrive. I look out over the desolete landscape. It is
overcast, but the hills can look down on me. Down there is the lake Njierekjavrre
blinking at me. Was it they that sang the song? I think so, and wave thank
you to them all. The breakfast do I have to make myself, but not yet. It
is too early in the morning, and I crawl back into the tent and the warm
sleeping bag. My hiking fellow is asleep. Next time I wake up is it daylight.
It is a privilege on the birthday to have a sleeping morning. Finally do
the needs force us to get up. Up in the sky are cold blue clouds, the temperature
is comfortbale eight degrees, and no wind. At eleven are we ready to leave,
and walk in the direction of Njierekjavrre down in the valley. I am not
sure if one should call this a valley, it is somewhere between valley and
a plateau. The hills Luvddo and Njierek are the borders in the south
and north. In the east is Gisuris the main view. Between Spietjau and Gisuris
is the well known profile of Ahkka. Since it is late August is there not
much snow on the peaks. We follow an almost invisible track on the slope
from Luvddo down to the lake. The brook from Luvddo is surprisingly wide,
but shallow. It is rather wet, with a few minor marshes. A kilometer wets of
the lake is a more
continous marsh, which we walk north of. At the border to the marsh are
plenty of lemmings. Once again are we close to step on them. One
get angry, standing there shouting loudly at us. Shows the teeths, scaring
us enormously, before it disappear underground. Cute small creatures. Where
the cairned "pseudo" Padjelanta trail cross our invisible track do
we have lunch.
"Pseudo" trail since the "true" trail is along the lakes further west.
In the west can we see the mountains on the other side of the lakes, but
the lakes are still not visible. Clouds start to gather together at the
mountains, driven there by the wind that has shown up. Raindrops start
to fall, this is a shower local in space and time we say. The raindrops
become very frequent, so we put on the rainsuits, and continue in companion
with our local shower. It turns out that it will rain for the rest of the
day. We reach the slope down to the proper Padjelanta trail. Down there
are the river Vuojatädno and the lake Sallohavrre which is barely
visible in the haze and fog. In good weather should it have been a wonderful
view, further down is it also including Tsågahavrre. Many small brooks
has come alive in the rain, the ground is wet, and covered by dwarf birches.
We follow one of the main brooks down the slope, with the hope to find
a tenting site. Hopeless, too much vegetation, dwarf birches and osier,
and not flat enough. Suddenly we stand on the trail, staring at four reindeers
that stare back at us. We continue down to the lake Tsågahavrre,
but no luck here either. We continue on the trail to the next bridge and
brook, where we spread out on each side of the brook and search for a place.
On my side is wet and uncomfortable, I see my friend on a hill surrounded
of birches, waving: Here! Acceptable, and the view of Tsågahvrre
is nice. Now it is time for my birthday dinner, beef stew, i.e. cooked
meat in a sauce with peppercorns and bay leaves. Served with potato puree.
I have in addition brought two small plastic bottles with Remy Martin.
We sip the cognac, and listen to the rain that falls on the tent. It feels
good to be inside the tent. I put my wet shirt in the sleeping bag, with
the hope that it will be dry tomorrow. My friend laughs loudly, he is reading
about the adventures of don Quijotes.
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