The Kungsleden - Day 2 - Abiskojaure to Alesjaure

Distance: 18.9km (11.74 miles)

Climbing Elevation: 859m (2,818 ft)

Maximum Elevation: 828m (2,716 ft)

There is nothing more refreshing than to fall asleep and sunset and waking at sunrise, far away from artificial light and the hustle and bustle of society. After heavy rain and strong winds throughout the night, the sun came out and proceeded to warm the tent, a sign that it was time to get up. With legs still feeling a little worse for wear, I climbed out of the sleeping bag, picked up my dirty clothes from the day before and wandered down to the river to give them a scrub. My eyes still half closed with the legacy of a solid night sleep. This was another taster of what will become my daily routine for the next few weeks in the wilderness.

With the clothes washed and now hanging rather haphazardly on the tree branches by my tent, drying in the morning breeze, it was time to light the stove and make my breakfast. Ordinarily I am not a big fan of porridge oats, but they are light, easy to carry in a backpack, simple to prepare and full of slow burning calories. Ideal as trekking fodder. When you are cold and tied, it is surprising how comforting the porridge is.

Thanks to the brisk breeze, my freshly washed clothes were soon dry enough to pack away. I disassembled the tent and packed my backpack. Day 2 of my adventure was about to start.

When mapping the route, I had carefully planned for most of the steep inclines to be at the start of the day, when I would have more energy. Even though there was logic to that principle, I was regretting it already, still being a bit sleepy from the overnight deep sleep. As I approached the the river, the steep ascent on the other side revealed itself, and my heart jumped a couple of beats with the fear and excitement of advancing deeper into my adventure. I lingered to take a few photos of the river and the bridge before plucking up the courage to cross over and commence the climb.

I made it through the first few feet of uphill climb and was quite proud of myself (once I had regained my composure and caught my breath). The next few hours would require a steady yet rocky incline, with a rewarding view back towards Abisko.

The hike wasn't too demanding, but my lack of fitness for carrying a heavy backpack on a long uphill trail was evident. Ordinarily I hike at very comfortable pace of 2 to 3 miles (3 to 5 km) per hour, sometimes pushing 4 miles an hour. Based on this, my plan to walk10 miles (16km) a day should be a simple stroll of around 4 to 5 hours. In reality the first mile took me well over an hour. I was pausing at every opportunity, often using taking photographs as an excuse for my desperation to catch my breath and steady my heart rate. Every so often I would peer up at what I thought was a summit, only to discover that it was just another bump in the trail and the incline would continue. It was at this point that I made a mental note to myself for future treks... "Make sure you do sufficient weight baring multi terrain training". A couple of short walks around a local lake, and one point to point with the full back pack just wasn't enough training. This was a very quick and 'steep' learning curve.

I had set off quite early, but it didn't take very long for any other morning hikers to pass me, leaving me with an empty trail, and a pace akin to an asthmatic tortoise. I decided to check the map and set myself little milestones for the day. The first milestone was the first lake. When researching the trip, I had read that the lake would appear teal in colour as it was full of glacial melt water. Something to look forward to, and a sign that the fist proper incline of the adventure was finally over.

The joy I felt when I saw the lake was immense. Partly with the familiarity of recognising the from the internet photographs but also, recognition that I had reached the first small milestone of the day. From here the path levelled out. Rather than being a reasonably flat footpath that you would generally encounter when hiking in the UK, it was instead undulating and rocky. The path was very clear, with red strips painted on occasional rocks to mark the route. The scenery along the route was amazing. Mountains adorned the horizon, and the almost luminous teal coloured lake inspired each step.

As the hike continued and the day progressed, I could feel my body tire. I was conscious that my pace was still incredibly slow. The realisation that this really was not going to be the 'walk in the park' stroll that, deep down inside, I had hoped. It was going to be a challenge that I, at present, wasn't fit enough for. Yet, I am damned stubborn and there was no way I was going to consider giving up. I just had to accept that this journey was going to be more than just hiking a path, it was also going to be a physical and mental journey.

I checked my watch, it was approaching 5pm. I wasn't even at the halfway point, and I had been walking (well, probably more pausing than walking) since 10am. I was feeling exhausted and had to make a decision. I could stop soon and pitch the tent. An option that would leave me significantly behind schedule on day 2. The other option was to walk a bit further and catch the boat that would take me to the finish point for day 2. It was a dilemma, as I didn't want to cheat on the hike. This was a genuine challenge to push me to my limits and learn more about myself, and also a challenge for charity and people had put their hands in their pockets and donated money. I couldn't sell them short. I thought long and hard and decided that it was better to finish on schedule at the end of the day and be fresh for a full day the next day, than to stop short and be stressed with already falling behind schedule.

I proceeded to make my way to the boat pontoon at the halfway point and read the sign. The sign provided a schedule of boat times and an instruction to raise the flag on the nearby pole, at least 30 minutes before a scheduled time, if a pick-up was required. I had arrived with 37 minutes to spare before the final boat pick up of the day, but only 7 minutes before the deadline for raising the flag. The relief on my face was indescribable. I was at the end of my walk for the day, and I would soon be pitching my tent and resting my feet. I could finally relieve my shoulders of the weight of the backpack.

I set up my stove, boiled some water and poured a sachet of hot chocolate powder into my metal beaker. In such situations there is nothing better than a hot drink. I wrapped my hands around the hot cup and embraced its warmth and comfort. I I could feel the smile grow on my face and the anxiety soothe.

To my surprise, a few minutes into drinking my hot chocolate, several other hikers turned up at the pontoon. It made me feel much better that I wasn't the only person catching the final boat trip. We each shared our stories of the past two days, we all laughed as we compared our aches and pains, and we all cheered as we saw the boat appear on the horizon.

Even though I was disappointed that I didn't hike the full distance planned for the day, the boat trip was a great experience. The boatman, a member of a Sami (Finno-Ugric-speaking people inhabiting the region of Sápmi/Lapland region), had been running the boat crossings of the lake for over 20 years. He gave us an overview of the lake and region as we journeyed to our destination and gave us pointers for the next stage of the trek along with the latest weather forecast. He also reassured us that there were no bears on this part of the Kungsleden. They only inhabit the forest areas further on in the route.

After about 20 minutes, we disembarked from the boat at the Alesjaure hut. As we walked up the steps towards the hut, a group of hikers past us on their way down the steps wearing nothing but bath towels, heading for a cold dip after spending time in the sauna. I was eager to pitch my tent and rest, so headed straight down the other side of the hut, over the suspension bridge and found a camping spot on the opposite bank. I found a perfect flat spot near the lake alongside a post. This would give me somewhere to hang my clothes after I washed them.

I pitched my tent, washed my clothes and filled my water bottle with the glacier water. Within a few minutes I was in my tent, my stove was on, and the water was heating for my evening meal. Tonight's adventure meal was a pasta Bolognese. Whilst waiting for the meal to hydrate, I checked the map to reflect on where I had come from and to check the route for the next day.

One thing that I was already starting to discover was how delicious and comforting even the simplest of meals tastes when you are hungry, exhausted and cold. It was now getting dark so, as soon as I finished my meal and drank a cup of tea, I did my teeth, slid into my sleeping bag and immediately fell asleep, reliving the events of the day in my dreams.