Day 5: Røysvatn – Kåbtåjaure

Uff – exhausting anyway. A look back, four hours ago (including breaks and reindeer watching) we were still on the opposite side of the lake. Now we go down again, according to the plan we cross a small plain with the lake Spadnejávrre and ascend again on the other side. We go without a map – a man doesn’t need a map – and come down too far to the west. When we notice our mistake, we have already lost a bit too much altitude and have to climb slightly to the east. Well…

In the distance we see Lothar again, high on a slope and so we have our doubts whether the direction can fit. He disappears from our field of vision, but then comes back again, descends again, walks across, rises again and disappears again from our field of vision. Hm – from our point of view clearly off-track, but unfortunately he is out of range for shouting.

We now walk through the lake landscape, cross a few smaller waters, but at Marggojåhkå we don’t find a way to get through with dry hiking boots and put on our ford shoes – while on the other side Lothar appears again and tells us when we arrive on the other side that he can’t find the way anymore. In fact, there are no markings or stone men to be seen far and wide (actually not for a long time). We look together on the map, I’m quite sure that basically only one hill separates us from Kåbtåjaure, we check it again for Lothar with our emergency GPS, fits together.
Lothar is not happy at the moment, he has been struggling for days with the orientation and the marking at the Gränsleden and Nordkalottleden. He is well equipped including satellite phone, but unfortunately, he has no GPS and the map alone is not enough for him. The one hour odyssey was probably not very helpful and he decides to turn back at this point, he has no good feeling to go on. Definitely a reasonable decision, I felt sorry for him again and again in the following days, because finding the way was later much less problematic than in the first days and generally there is a massive difference between good marking on the Norwegian part and often weak marking on Swedish side. I hope he makes a second attempt with lighter luggage and GPS.

For us it goes on, we cross the edge of the terrain and in the descent the Kåbtåjaure lies at our feet as expected. On the following panorama, one can almost see tomorrow’s day: on the left side along the lake, around the mountain and far in the background, the reddish, snow-covered mountains, that is the Paurofjellet at whose foot the Pauro huts are located. Between Røysvatn and Pauro there are 27-28km and today between 9 and 19 o’clock we covered more than half of this distance. There are people who do this – with lighter luggage – in one day! We think that we did a good job and for the first time on the tour, we are satisfied with our speed and our physical performance again.

After this beautiful panorama we look for a flat and somewhat wind-protected campground, as also yesterday it gets cold fast, as soon as the sun disappears. We sit with down jackets in the tent, our feet in the sleeping bag, cook in the apse and enjoy the view. Afterwards: Night’s rest and within a short time we sleep deeply and firmly.