The Kungsleden - Day 6 - Kaitumjaure to Teusajaure

Distance: 9.5km (5.9 miles)

Climbing Elevation: 443m (1,453ft)

Maximum Elevation: 788m (2,585 ft)

These lazy starts to the day are becoming a habit. I am not sure if it is the sub-zero early mornings with frost on the ground, or the aches and pains in my tired body that is making getting out of my sleeping bag more and more difficult. I woke up early again but didn't budge from my sleeping bag until 9am. Then the usual wash, change into day clothes, eat porridge and pack everything into my backpack.

This morning's trek started with a traverse over the stream and down towards the fast flowing Kaitumjakka river. I could hear and feel the rumble of the river a long while before reaching the crossing. The air was fresh with the smell of glacial water. After so much rain during the last few days, the river was raging.

On seeing the river, I instantly regretted not baring the tiredness the previous evening and going that extra bit further to camp by the river. Not only were the views spectacular, the energy in the air was invigorating and I would have loved to have had a bath in the river to soothe my muscles and feet. I reflected on falling short of my planned camping place and committed to dig into my stubborn nature and push myself a bit harder. Today's walk was going to be well within my means as I only needed to achieve 6 miles/10km. This in itself gave me a spring in my step.

I stood on the Gaidumjohka chain bridge for a while, savouring this magnificent sight, taking the opportunity to grab a few photos. I then scurried to the other side. It was at this point that I realised the faster you walk over a chain bridge, the higher the bridge bounces. I am glad nobody was watching, as I landed very ungracefully on my bottom.

Circumnavigated my first wooden gate. It took me a little while to work out that I had to drop the middle logs and climb through, rebuilding the fence from the other side. It was very different from the gates and stiles that I am familiar within in the English Cotswold countryside.

From here on in there was a very long gradual upward hike. Rocks and boulders blanketed the landscape, a ghost of the vanished glaciers. My eyes focused on each step, appreciating every moment, valuing the space, loving the freedom, shutting out any thought of aching or tiredness.

The sense of how high up I was really began to sink at this point, as I could see snow capped hills around me. The sun was shining but the wind was blowing a bitterly cold gale. As I reached the summit of the pass, I was greeted with the enticing view of a range of snow capped mountains in the distance.

The feeling of peace and tranquillity was indescribable. All that I could hear was the wind and my footsteps (and the squeaky straps on my heavy laden backpack). I was becoming more that each ascent was getting more manageable, as my fitness improved. The burden of my backpack was affecting me less day by day, and now not significantly bothering me until later into the afternoon. I am sure the main reason for this was due to the weight of the backpack being less with half of the rations consumed. However, I was really able to notice that my legs and my back were becoming stronger. Frustratingly, by around 4pm, I still seemed to be hitting an emotional wall, with my back hurting and my shoulders dropping. I could sense that not having included lunches within my rations, the stretch between porridge at breakfast and dinner in the evening, is a bit too long and my energy was taking a nose dive near the end of the day.

The traverse down to the camping spot at Teusajaure was a steep one, dropping parallel to the cascading stream. It didn't take too long, and there were plenty of signs on the way down highlighting that camping was free up in the hills and stating that there was a nominal charge down at the lakeside. I wanted to take a dip in the lake to sooth my muscles, and didn't want to be too far away from the boat. During the day's hike I had already decided that I would stay this side of the lake in the evening, relax, watch the sun set, get a good sleep and catch a ride early the next morning. My first row would just have to wait for another day.

Information for the boat ride at Teusajaure:

The boat is run on behaold of STF by the cabin hosts on site. You can book a ride directly with the cabin host, who can generally be found in the little shop. Alternatively, the County Administrative Board's rowing boars are available, if you want to row yourself. Please bare in mind that there must always be a minimum of one rowing boat on each side of the lake. So if you are planning to row, and there is only one rowing boat on your side of the lake, you will need to row across the lake three times. One to reach the other side and hook up a second boat, then tow the second boat back to your originating side, then a final row back to the other side. At Teusajaure, the crossing is relatively simple, but the extra rowing can be tiresome and time consuming on an already tired body.

If you want to catch a ride to cross the lake from the other direction, you must hoist the flag to let the cabin host know. The times below are then increased by 15 minutes. Payment is generally preferred in cash but card payments are sometimes accepted, especially if booking at the shop.

Boat Crossing Times (as at 2022) - add 15 mins if coming from the other side

17 June - 4 Sept: 07:00, 09:00, 17:00, 18:00

5 - 18 Sept: 08:00, 17:00, 18:00

Prices at Teusajaure, one way:

Adult (26 or older) SEK 100 member (SEK 150 non-member)

Youth (16-25) SEK 100 member (SEK 150 non-member)

Child (6-15) SEK 0 member (SEK 50 non-member)

Child (0-5) SEK 0 member / non-member

I arrived at the huts at Teusajaure at 15:45 and headed directly for the shop to book a tent pitch. Ahhhh, the sight of the snacks was like a great big hug. The lady behind the counter could see the delight in my eyes, and joined me as I wandered around the shelves. She pointed out a few recommendations, whilst also telling me about the local weather forecast and asking about my adventure so far, and where I was heading to. I had walked past a handful of people over the past few days, but this was the first proper conversation that I had with anyone with the exception of myself. I picked up a couple of bars of chocolate, a packet of salted peanuts, and a couple of cans of coke and some instant soups. Yup junk food, but definitely comfort food, and my goodness they made me smile. We chatted for a while longer, I reserved a camp spot and a morning boat ride, then paid for my snacks and headed down to the shore to pitch up.

Once pitched up, I put my shorts on and went for a swim. It was heavenly albeit bloody cold, but soothing on my muscles and I felt properly clean and relaxed afterwards. I washed my hiking clothes at the same time and returned to my tent to hang up my clothes to dry. I then returned to the shore with my tent clothes on under my coat, and watched the sun set. The end of the day was a delight, and my banquet still waited in my tent. Tonight's dinner was dehydrated goulash, which sounded okay, but tasted like all the other dehydrated meals I had eaten on the previous nights.

I left the comfort of my tent for one more time to clean my teeth and top up my bottle with fresh water, and then climbed into my sleeping bag with not one ounce of energy remaining, and promptly fell asleep.