Yes yes, you all know the drill now. Get up early because the weather will be better today than tomorrow. So at 6 a.m., my alarm went off. I didn’t pack very quickly so I left an hour later. The Dutch and French couples were just waking up.
The weather was greyish but if it’s dry, it’s good enough for me. On the way to the first hut, I held another photoshoot for the reindeer I saw along the way.
The route to the first of the three huts today was lovely. Beautiful surroundings, so a joy to walk through. At 9:30 I reached the hut which hadn’t emptied yet. I checked the weather forecast which said dry in the morning, rain in the afternoon. However, I needed a snack break. Don’t judge me, because the people leaving the hut to start their day already did: my 9:30 snack was a bag of Cheetos chips. Did it’s job so I continued soon after.
Unexpectedly, I saw rain clouds creeping up from behind. Unfortunately, I wasn’t fast enough, and even worse it was a 3 hour heavy rain shower. On my way to the second hut, in the rain, I met so many people. Everyone stopped for a brief chat and the most asked question was ‘How far to the hut?’. The further I walked the more depressing my answer to this question was. The funniest interaction was with a guy.
I said: Hey how are you
He said: okay. I’m just okay
Fair enough. so I let him be.
When I arrived at the second hut, the rain was only a slight drizzle. Still soaked so I looked forward to a dry meal inside. The hut warden turned out to be very strict and I could only come inside if I paid the day fee. Honestly, it’s not the craziest amount (€4), but I am Dutch. And so I am too much of a cheapskate to pay €4 to sit inside for half an hour. With my decision to stay outside, the rain had completely stopped and I was joined by more cheapskates (non-Dutch).
After lunch, I still had about 15km left to the hut. I already had 23km in the pocket.
The route went passed a large lake, but the views over the lake were less than expected. After an hour or two I wanted another break. Good decision because I felt more energetic.
When crossing the lake with several bridges it was really sunny and the views were gorgeous. I was tempted to camp here, but if I wanted to do Sytertoppen, it was better to camp right at the junction and not 5km before and another 150(?)m elevation. So I continued. My determination was again tested when I saw Joel, but I didn’t divert from the plan.
Whilst climbing up to Syterstuga (the final hut), I saw more rain coming. Looked like only a tiny bit of rain. But I felt like I already had my portion for that day. Before reaching my final hut destination, the rain had already stopped. Still, I felt like I could pay the stuga camping fee and use the sauna.
Arriving at the hut, the hut warden was surprised I asked for the sauna as there wasn’t one. So instead it was a cold river bath. I also checked the weather forecast but it hadn’t improved. So no hike along the Sytertoppen. I saved the last 20km for tomorrow and pitched my tent near a Swedish couple. Little bit of a chat, but after my cold river bath, I was cold so I ate dinner in my tent in my sleeping bag. Eventually, I got warm again and fell instantly asleep.
Zilla-in-the-wild 