Day 8: Baugevatnet – Sitas

We have to master a few meters of altitude in the morning. So we start the ascent shortly before 9, without breakfast. But before that we enjoy the view back.

The first meters run along the lake Baugevatnet and as a morning surprise we see the first reindeer, this time they are older animals. We are so happy watching them. Okay okay, we are real freaks when it comes to reindeer. 🙂

No marks can be seen on the ascent far and wide. We follow the map, which works well, but we are still a bit surprised, because there are no signs that we are on the right path. Our navigation, however, withstands a test with our emergency GPS, we are on the right route.
In the steady uphill and downhill it goes there, direction Langvatnet and again and again we look back at the lake and the Paurofjellet. The weather is fantastic, 20°C and sunshine, only the wind blows stronger today.

We are now in the middle of the lake and swamplands and have to realize at some point that where the path should run, there is only one lake. One for swimming, not for wading. We look at our GPS, but we are where we think we are and almost exactly on the track.
Unpleasant. Very unpleasant.
We start looking for a flatter place and actually find an area where the lake in the middle has a swampy island and around the island the lake is also less deep and we wade first from one side to the island, then we stump through the swamp and find on the other side again a place that is only knee-deep to reach the saving shore. There is no photo, I packed the camera waterproof before the first deep crossing.

After the successful passage we use the time without shoes immediately for an extensive breakfast break at 11 o’clock and a little later there is the next reindeer sighting – this time even with fording reindeer!

The way now leads us according to the map along the power poles up to the mountain. The path is getting stonier now and partly we have a little block field. The path is really not nice, from one power pole to the next. At the top we meet an alternative way, which Markus has already seen at the GPS – and suddenly we have marks on our track again! The way on the map, which leads in an arc between the lakes through and then along the power poles, seems to have been changed, should now rise earlier at the Baugevatnet and then run higher and meets only later on the power pole route. Does this have anything to do with swamp and water? ?

Now it tends to go downhill to Sitasjaure, mostly on very easy terrain, partly with many stones on the way. It’s a long way down to the road on the other side of the lake, which you can already see on the pictures.

When we arrive the road, we continue on this for about 1 km, before we reach the hut at just after 2 o’clock.
Here is already Harald with his son and his friend, who all come from Narvik and came here by bike. They took the big hut and we choose the small one to the right, which is currently being renovated.

Heated from walking, we wash ourselves in the lake and Markus even takes a swim. Just a short round, because the Norwegian mountain lakes are extremely cold…

Then we lie in the sun to warm up, wash our laundry and eat on the bench in front of the hut. The sun leans against the hut and we sit, read and enjoy the beautiful afternoon and chat with our neighbours.

At about 6:30 the sun disappears behind the mountain and it cools down again quickly, the cabin thermometer shows 16°C at 6:30 and only 10°C 45 minutes later. We heat up the stove and spend a cosy evening in the hut.

We set the “Northern-light-alarm-clock” and at 2 o’clock we see beautiful Northern lights, stronger than in the nights before, twisting and turning! 🙂