Hartmut aus Berlin

Slept longer than planned. Convinced myself I deserved it. After that adrenaline kick the day before I was a bit scared of the way down from this plateau. For no reason. Skoarkki had decided to dress itself in clouds and fog to add to its dramatic appearance quite convincingly. I could get a good peek at Rovdjurstorget but no animals in sight. Bummer! Have to come here one day and spend a day or two just observing.
Down at the bottom of Rappaätnå’s valley, the famous Rappadalen I have a short break just where the path splits for that old, now locked cabin and the actual trail down the valley.
Half an hour down the trail I notice an old guy coming my way. Using a robust wood-stick that he is leaning into heavily with every step. He reminds me a bit of Gandalf. I say “hello!” - he answers “deutsch?”, and so the conversation started. He’s redoing a tour he had done 35 years ago together with his wife. I assume she’s dead by now since later he mentions a girlfriend and I don’t dare to ask. No bad vibes! His name is Hartmut and judging by his dialect he’s from Berlin. He’s 70 years old, carrying a 35 kilo backpack. I figure it’s to get as close to the original tour as possible. Maybe in remembrance of his wife? “She wanted a divorce back then” he informs me pointing at all the thick bushes and underbrush and whatever else grows there. “But on the train back home we were already planing the next trip to Sarek”. He warns me about a very steep passage that it easy to bypass but that the path he was following lead directly into it without warning. He was with a young German couple by then and while climbing through that passage she started to cry and eventually they turned around. Obviously he continued though. 70 years old with a 35kg backpack. Okay!
I pulled out my map so he can show me. He needs his glasses first. Looking at the map he seems impressed “So many details! All I had back then was a rough sketch I took from a book!”. Oh my god! Pretty sure there was no footpath to follow either. So how did they do it? With a 35kg backpack. “I want a divorce!” sounds like the most reasonable thing to me.

We say goodbye, thanks to him I decide to leave that jungle at the first occasion and I was very happy about this decision. Quickly I climb back up into the mountains following a dry and easy to walk path. Of course I pitch my tent early. Found a perfectly protected spot close to the next crossing and after I had another stormy night before this was just what I was longing for.Weiterlesen