Riksgränsen

Arrived in Riksgränsen in one piece…actually got a sleeper car to myself for the last few hours. I was able to play guitar, as it was quite quiet with our low top-speed through the hills and mountains.

Found the Riksgränsen Hotel and a very nice man stored my bag for me and loaned me his personal trail map. I made for the lake just below the main skiing peak. There was very little snow, and just a but more ice. The trail was well marked with white dots painted on the rocks almost all the way up. The man gave me a paper cup and told me to sample the fine alpine water running down from the main peak…so good, and ice cold. What a treat.
Lots of these small mountain streams fed into one more serious rushing, white-water river. I hiked along this for about two hours until I reached the lake at the top. There was very little wind and the last of the clouds were blanketing the lake, and slowly being pushed away. It was initially not very bright out, although it was quite clear.

I hiked out to a small land mass that stretched out into the lake and set myself up for lunch. Soon as I did this I realized that the cloud had disappeared and the wind had dropped to nothing. Really, there was absolutely no wind at all. It was eerie. The only sound came from the rushing water a few hinders yards away where the lake emptied into and formed the main river alongside which I had been hiking. It occurred to me that I hadn’t seen or heard any type of wildlife along the way. Not a bird overhead or a mosquito or fly or bee. Nothing.

The views from the outcropping were outstanding. I took some pictures that I think are the best of scenery I have ever taken. I will post thumbnail links to the full images as soon as possible.

After lunch, I hiked down and managed to make my train to Narvik in Norway. Saw my first fjord. The sight defies description. The best I can say is that it’s like seeing a big, green, water-filled stretch of the Grand Canyon.
Once in Narvik, went straight to the store to buy/devour a Danish…of course. It was SO GOOD. I mean, it should be here, right?

Today, on to Bodø via bus. It’s supposed to be one of the things not to miss when here. The sun is rising. Sparse high clouds are pink and grey over the snow-tipped mountain tops. The lakes are reflective and dead calm.
This is supreme beauty.