A Dry Sandwich on Wet Bread
Abisko - Mile 155 - Jul 10th, 2018
The last week seems to have flown by. Despite starting with a gruelling day of road hiking on a sweltering day, followed by pouring rain, hail, and near-impenetrable fog, we had a fun and successful week on the trail.
Highlights included swimming in an ice-cold lake, cooking mutton stew and soda bread, discovering the virtues of popcorn and marzipan as trail food, and Kristian wishing his father a happy birthday a month late. The week was punctuated yesterday by a stunningly beautiful hike through Abisko National Park into the town of Abisko, where we were greeted by hostel beds, a nice restaurant, and a fantastically inexpensive candy store.
In the last week we've really found our rhythm on the trail. We've been hiking between 15 and 20 km per day, depending on terrain, settling into camp by 4 PM, and enjoying leisurely evenings fishing, cooking, and reading. We've stayed in some wilderness huts, usually on the Norwegian side, where they're much cheaper than in Sweden.
As I'm writing this, we're on a bus to the city of Narvik, where we'll spend the day, before visiting our friends at NOLS Scandinavia this evening for dinner in Katterjokk. Maija from NOLS has been one of our most helpful resources in planning this trip, and we're all incredibly grateful to her and the whole NOLS Scandinavia team, and can't wait to meet them in person.
The next week or two will take us to Kilpisjarvi, Finland, passing on the way both Halti, the highest point in Finland, and Treriksroysa, the three-nation border of Norway, Sweden, and Finland. Our next update will probably be from Kilpisjarvi.
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Eli, Liam, Sam, and Kristian
Abisko - Mile 155 - Jul 10th, 2018
