For 6 days we mush through the deep forests of Lapland and west over the open spaces of the bare mountains. This is one of my favorites among our tours. This year the group got substantial reduced when some of the guests sadly got a family member sick at the hospital and therefore could not participate on the tour.
So, on Monday morning we had two dog teams ready to go outside our kennel. Tina from Stockholm and I steered our teams west towards the mountains.
In the morning of our third day we had – 40°C when we left the camp at Laxholmen. If you have the right clothes and just take it easy the cold is a less problem out here then down in the civilisation. No cars that don’t starts, no problem with power cuts, anyway what is electricity?
After the third day we reached Årrenjarka Fjällby and we got the luxury to spend the night in a cabin with shower and heated floors. At Årrenjarka Fjällby you always get a warm welcoming. Tina made some shopping in their shop and we got a sightseeing of the new restaurant and reception building. Amazingly beautiful!
From Årrenjarka we followed the ice of the lake Saggat west to Kvikkjokk and where now following the Kings trail north. The conditions of the trail were nice all the way to Saltoluokta and we got a cosy coffee break with the cabin hostess Anna-Lena in the Sitojaure cabin.
To reach Saltoluokta is always nice. Good food, pleasant staff and lovely atmosphere.
A short summery of the tour:
It’s more work for the participants in a small group than in a bigger group. There is no “someone” who can shop the wood and drill the waterhole in the ice. On this tour it was just Tina and Matti. On the other hand it’s much easier to keep the group together which make the dog driving much easier.
I already look forward to the next Crossing Lapland tour the next winter in 2011 or as Tina said when we came to Saltoluokta: “Please, can we turn the teams and go back again?”
/Matti
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