Kårsavagge-Abiskojaure
Abiskojaure-Abisko

I didn't leave for Abiskojaure quite as early as I had planned, but it was fine. I started by skiing down the valley the same way I had skied in the dark, and now it was just really nice compared to skiing in the dark. The sun was really bright and there was no wind.

After a while I left the trail and started to make my way up and around Njunesgeahči. The view over Abisko was incredible. In the other direction, towards Abiskojaure, the sun was shining strong and fierce.

I continued around, following a snowmobile track that was pretty much going the way I had planned to take anyway. I passed to the left of a reindeer hut and then started to make my way down the forest. With the skins, going up or down was not a problem, and the forest was not as thick as I had thought it would be. So zig-zagging my way down was not an issue. Soon I had reached Ábeskojávri and started to ski across. This was probably the most boring part of the whole day, and the ~3 km across felt like they took forever.

Coming back to Abiskojaure felt strange. I had been there before in the summer 2018, but I couldn't remember what the huts looked like, or the area. Seeing it in the winter also didn't help, because I thought it looked very different. But the moment I stepped inside the hut where I was going to sleep, I suddenly remembered the room where I had been sleeping. This time though, I got to sleep in another room.

Something I also realised after staying in Kårsevagge, is that, at least when I'm travelling on my own, prefer the smaller huts. They feel a bit more personal and here where there were so many people - all there together with other people, it's hard not to feel lonely in the crowd. At least you can share all the responsibilities so you don't have to do much, but still. It was also difficult to get some sleep. The mattress was super thin, so it felt almost like sleeping on the floor, I woke up some times with pain in my shoulder and had to switch sides. On top of that, I also woke up because those who went to bed later than me didn't turn off the kitchen lamp, and it meant that it shone me straight in the eyes the second I moved from my initial position. Yay. I also woke up twice in the morning - once from someone slamming the door at 6 o'clock and once from someones very loud alarm 🥴 Thought I would be fine without my earplugs but in retrospect I should've used them. At least I got to see a very magical Northern Light that evening! Tried to take some photos off it, but without a proper tripod it's difficult not to get the photos blurry. But at least I tried until my fingers froze and I needed to go back inside. After that, I watched from the window until I was too tired and needed to go to sleep.

The way back went okay, but wasn't too nice despite the nice and sunny weather. I had terrible cramps and back pain, but after taking some pain killers it got better at the end of the day. So I could at least enjoy some part of the last day.

All in all, a successful first trip! Let's hope that I will be able to go again soon.