Sweden

Avery and I had breakfast together at the cafeteria, and by breakfast, I meant ramen and apples. The sun was barely out but it was a quiet and peaceful morning. We had a long day planned today.

Had to give Yaseen a couple of shoutouts to get him to join us in time as we were just about ready to head out and start the day. Our first stop was back to the old trail towards the Canyon. Yaseen had already struck up a conversation with some people on the trail while Avery and I started going through the snowy path. The trail going towards Bird's Hill was not as used compared to the ones going to the lake since the snow here was piling up above our ankles. Still, it was a beautiful path that we got to enjoy. We were hoping to spot some moose that were hanging around the river delta. When we got there, we got to have a bird's eye view of the lake and the mountains looming over the horizon. Just the faint colors of sunrise hiding behind the clouds and the barren forest below us. My eyes started to dart left and right, trying to find the moose. There were some dark patches that I was honing in on, only when they moved did I realize that those were the moose we were looking for. I excitedly pointed Avery to them and called Yaseen to hurry and catch a glimpse of the majestic animals. We appreciated the views and the moose as they went around the forest, wondering what they were even doing there or where they were finding the food to eat at all.

Avery wanted to go down which I thought was a bit of a crazy idea but she was unstoppable and began to make her descent. By this time, Yaseen had picked up Avery's camera cap again. This was the second time she'd lost it and he told me to keep it a secret. Ah well, going down did seem like fun too especially if we could get the chance to get closer to the moose so I ended up joining her until she called it off, realizing that it was probably not the best idea. As we were going back down, Avery noticed she had lost the cap and wanted to go back to try and find it. Yaseen was smirking, and I gave him a pleading look and asked him not to take it too far. He conceded and let the cat out of the bag after a bit of teasing.

I wanted to check another spot on Google Maps that mentioned views of Lapporten. We once again took an unused trail that brought us up close to the river and some icicle formations. The trail however disappeared into much deeper snow, up to knee-level this time around. I tried to push onwards and found myself wading through really deep snow so we were contemplating whether to continue. Yaseen thought it was a bad idea, but Avery, ever the trailblazer, wanted to push through. Well, I can't leave my roomie to go off on her own now, so I started to move forward with Yaseen grumbling behind us. It honestly wasn't that bad though I guess he didn't exactly have boots like us so I could sympathize with him but with just a bit of mocking for good measure.

I had no idea if we were going the right direction or not, all I had was the GPS on Maps.Me but the entire area was covered in snow, we tried to get as far as we could to the top and when we got to the supposed viewpoint, I couldn't see Lapporten but we still got some amazing views of the Arctic mountain ranges. On the way back, Avery found a stick that she just pulled out of the ground like Excalibur or something, it was really impressive. Now she's got a trusty hiking stick. We went back to one of the lookout spots and enjoyed some of those Oreos I had gotten from yesterday as a reward for ourselves.

I wanted to push on to check out the Sami camp since we saw a sign for it when we started the trail but Yaseen wanted to go back to the lodge to grab some coffee. When we got back to the Turistation, Yaseen went off somewhere while Avery and I inquired about the Skystation and were told that it was indeed closed during the day. I took her downstairs to the Bistro so she could see the menu. It was closed at this time but the doors were left open so we were able to just sit inside and appreciate the space and silence. In the end, she was still quite adamant about her ramen, and hey, after tasting some of her collection this morning, I could understand why. We talked about the trails we could do and planned the route while waiting for Yaseen. He later called me and we regrouped and prepared to go back out again.

Avery wanted to do the King's Trail, which was a 2-hour trail on paper, but with all the snow, it was probably going to take around 3 hours. We still had the Sami camp as well so we went there first, through another beautiful path blanketed in fresh snow. In fact, it was snowing pretty hard at this time too. It was as cloudy as yesterday, and Avery shared her worries if we were going to see the Lights tonight. I reassured her we were, the forecasts were good and I was quite hopeful myself. I knew the Universe wasn't going to let me go home empty-handed.

We got to the camp and found that we were the only ones there again, how lucky! It used to be used by the indigenous Sami people but had long since been abandoned. I had really wanted to see one as well but I guess they weren't going to be hanging around here. Nowadays, it functions as an open-air museum, allowing visitors to gain insights on their way of life and some of the structures they used back in the day. Yaseen remarked that coming here was useless but I thought it was quite interesting to be able to see something like this right at our backyard. Avery and I went around the various spots that included storage houses, tents, and cabins while Yaseen smoked his vape at the corner.

With the Sami Camp out of the way, it was now time to begin the King's Trail. I saw that there was a path we could already take going there but it was very overrun with snow so we decided to go to the original trailhead. Again, it doesn't seem like anyone was doing the trail at this time, understandably so as it was already nearing sunset, which is basically around 2:30 today. The trail was much grander with amazing vistas of the river. We were at a much higher elevation this time around, with the snow reaching above our ankles. I was really enjoying the views and felt amazing, yet from the back Yaseen was showing us some love "I fucking hate you guys." which I found absolutely hilarious. He called us the "Crazy Asians" for dragging him along to do this apparently abhorrent trail. It was great fun though cuz he's stuck with us either way. We pushed on forward, with Avery leading the way, using the stick to poke holes in the ground to check for the depth, and crossing the bridge. Looking at the time and looking at the sky, it was definitely not looking good. Yaseen started to ask if we were halfway there, "Bro, we aren't even 1/4th there yet." I replied, trying to hold back laughing. Despite this, Avery went anywhere the wind took her, she went down towards the river every time there was an opening, not worrying about a thing in the world. I particularly liked the snowy rocks on the river that were reminiscent of floating ice.

As time went on and the trail stretched onward, Yaseen suddenly called out to tell us that he was going back. I was surprised but I could understand why. We had no idea what was lying in wait beyond, what the trail looked like, if it was even accessible or not, the sky was turning darker by the minute, and we were in fact in the middle of nowhere without anyone around us. We said goodbye and wished him luck on the way back. I've never turned back on a trail before and I wasn't going to start now. It seemed like Avery and I agreed to try and go as far as we could, at least reach the halfway point since we weren't even there yet. Not soon after restarting, we were immediately stopped in our tracks by the presence of a beautiful ivory gull. The white bird matched perfectly with the snow and as it was sliding across it, it left a cute trail behind. We couldn't move forward since it was still gracing us with its impressive form. As we tried to creep ever an inch closer to get better photos, it finally flew away.

Now the sun had already set, and we were almost halfway. Avery seemed to read my mind and asked if I wanted to turn back, and that she would go back with me if I chose to do so. Nahh, we came this far already, we should finish this. I'm sure it'll be fine, how bad can it be to hike in the dark? Avery was overjoyed to hear that, it's so obvious how much she wanted to finish it too, it was so funny. Well now that we were committed, it was really no use worrying about the time anymore, and I felt more present and free. I started to enjoy the hike and embraced the spirit of adventure, though I'm sure Yaseen would have called it idiocy. But hey, I can't really deny that too. Passing the halfway mark, we wanted to check out the lake as well. Unfortunately, the lake seemed to be frozen and all we had was a barren wasteland filled with snow. I was on a lookout to find my own stick as well and I've tried several branches but the right one was elusive. Avery and I talked about various things but among the most memorable ones were the conversations about the Journey to the West and Wukong. It was so fascinating to learn that she had to memorize the powers and information on the different Yao Guai that Wukong battled with. After that, I did find my own stick as well, "Now you can be like Wukong," she said.

I expected it to be pitch black, but there was still some light. We both looked up at the sky and thought the same thing seeing the cloud cover, but it wasn't night yet and it looked pretty promising since we could already start to see some stars. By the time we finished the trail, it was pretty dark already but we made it. As we walked back towards the lodge, a long train passed by and we stood there watching it go on almost endlessly until the racking stopped and only the sound of silence remained.

Feeling victorious, we left our sticks outside the hostel and found Yaseen who had already met a new friend from Hong Kong. We caught up on the happenings and I was pleasantly surprised to see Louis again at the back. He was with the rest of his family this time around, cousins and his sister. Laure, Camille, and Philip. I invited them to go out with us later that night to hunt for the Northern Lights. They had initially thought that it was not possible to see them tonight, and only around 4 AM but I begged to differ. Having convinced them to come along, I was excited that we had a big group now. Avery made us some ramen for a semi-dinner which was just the perfect meal after a hike like that.

Avery and I went back to our rooms to rest up, using the hair dryer to clear off the remaining ice hanging on our clothes. As we tidied up, Avery asked me to play some music and I hit her with "I'm Yours" by Jason Mraz, a song that stuck in my head ever since I got to Sweden. Things got much more cozy and I was switching up to a relaxed mood when suddenly there was a knock on the door. It was Yaseen. This guy suddenly told us that he needed us to go outside and help him cuz he apparently lost his vape while taking photos of the stars. Oh dear, well it was short-lived and now it looks like we were going back out to the fray. Avery and I accompanied him to the spot where he said might have lost it and so we started to look around, he also pointed to another possible site across our dorm so we went there too. I mean, I really tried my best but somewhere along the line, I just found the whole thing to be so hilarious that I just started to laugh. At least now I was enjoying myself on this wild goose chase much to Yaseen's disappointment. I think he realized that it was futile and started to call it off, but at this point, Avery and I were pretty invested so we still kept trying to sweep up snow. Until Yaseen started to say "It's gone already, it's impossible to find it at this point. Let's go back." I just found the whole situation to be so funny, I couldn't stop laughing. "Fuck you." he said, but I gleefully countered it with a "Hey, we came out for you." so I got a much better "Thank you and fuck you." Chef's kiss, truly.

As time passed, I was checking the website Yaseen recommended about the SkyStation and was super impressed with the sheer amount of stars being captured. Since it was almost 7 PM, I figured it was time we set off to try our luck and hunt for the auroras. We were joined by Louis and his cousin Philip, and the five of us headed towards the lake again. After a 20-minute walk we got to some benches where we could make a campfire. We had the necessary materials but never actually got to doing it. The air was electric with anticipation. I was quite confident we would see them tonight, though I haven't the faintest idea what they would look like or what to look for. Louis did a little Northern Lights dance for us, now they'll come for sure.

Avery gave me one of her airpods, it was playing classical music which was quite fitting and made the whole thing much more immersive. While waiting we got to enjoy doing some astrophotography, I was able to get some mighty good shots of the stars and Yaseen was really knowledgeable about it as well. We were later joined by Laure and Camille mid-shoot, and everyone was able to get their photos taken under the canopy of stars. It's where Yaseen truly shined as he became everyone's de-facto director, a very strict one at that! After my turn, I noticed that there was a red streak at the side of my shot but I didn't exactly pay it any mind. When Yaseen saw it, he was a bit more heightened and after he took a shot of his own, he later called us to confirm that it was there. Oh joy, I couldn't even see them with my own eyes but after a while, yeah, I could see a faint whitish glow. My phone's camera however was able to capture a lot more light and the green and red were much more visible. Still, this was what we were waiting for so everyone had started to go around to take their own photos.

As we were going around taking photos, I noticed Avery was a looking a bit frantic. Turns out she had lost her phone which was certainly not the best timing with the lights finally out. Having almost lost my phone just the other day, I could empathize and it being dark and cold right now while everyone else was focused on the lights wasn't ideal. I decided to help her look for it as well, I scraped off the snow around the benches and tried to check the spots where we were taking photos but I hadn't much luck. The music was still playing from her earpods so it should be around. Fortunately, she was able to find it and we were able to get back to enjoying the lights. I had wanted to get some shots of the light being reflected on the lake and as I went down towards the shore, I saw a pair who were watching from there too. The lights were much more visible now and I was able to get really clear shots much to their amazement. They asked if I could take their photos and I happily obliged. Laure and Camille also joined us and I also took their photos, after everyone's turn they kindly helped me take my photo as well. We later went back and I found out that one of the girl's name was Aygun from Azerbaijan and the other guy was from Sweden. We traded socials so I could send them their pics later. It seems like the group was satisfied and they had stared to head back. We stayed out for more than 2 hours until 9:30 PM. I was very satisfied with what I got as well, and looking up at the sky, I could appreciate them even more as they danced above us, as if saying good bye. I was talking to the Aygun for most of the way and asked if they were staying at the Turistation, but they were actually heading back to Kiruna after this. I noticed Avery was a bit behind everyone else so I waited a bit so she could catch up. We walked back to the dorm where we joined Yaseen at the cafeteria. As I was getting settled in, Avery went out again to do some more exploration while I enjoyed Yaseen's company. After a while, I decided to check what the lights looked like and was astounded. Seems like the night wasn't done afterall, they just kept getting better and better. Now, it's truly undeniable, as visible as the stars to the naked eye. I went back to the cafeteria to call whoever was there and I was joined by Louis and Philip. Now even they were both satisfied seeing the auroras in this manner. After a while, I later went out again to check and this time around the auroras were really on fire, so wavy and humongous that it stretched across the sky.

I noticed a bit late that Avery had already sent me messages to come out and see the auroras, but this time I also called Yaseen only to find out that he was in the bathroom. Needless to say, it didn't take a lot to convince him to drop his biz and come out. I went back and told the French team that they couldn't miss this show, and everyone later reunited at the back of the hostel, even Laure and Camille were back. This was where I saw Avery again and I got another one of her airpods for some classical background music to accompany the dancing lights. It was already 11:00 PM around this time and the cold and wind were prevailing. I was able to get some cool shots using the snow mound which incidentally provided some of the best views of the area. By 11:30 PM, the French team had already gone back and Yaseen also pardoned himself stating that it was getting a bit too cold. I didn't find it to be that cold and I was still enjoying the show, I think Avery thought the same so we decided to climb up the snow mound again and snuggled up on the summit which barely had space for two. By this time, despite the continous amazing display, I had already stopped taking photos and just dedicated the moment to appreciating the present. The freezing wind, the cold of snow seeping through my pants, and the auroras dancing all around us. It was a powerful moment that brought me to a state of awe and wonder. I was really grateful to have someone beside me to enjoy this moment with. The horizon over the lake, behind the mountains, and even directly above us there were auroras! With everyone else going back to the lodge, it seems like we were the only two souls left braving the elements. The mood got really introspective and we started to talk about our lives, the universe, and finding meaning. I was really happy to have met someone like her. Even when we wanted to go back, we still somehow ended up extending for another half hour or so and before we knew it, it was already 1 AM by the time we got back. Yaseen was so surprised to see us and asked if we were actually outside this whole time.

Now I was really satisfied, I mean I was already satisfied with just the first session by the lake, but I never thought the night would lead to something so magical and profound. The auroras never stopped at all, it was truly a blessing. And speaking of blessings, we got another serving of Avery's ramen while Yaseen also made us some pesto-tuna sandwiches. Both of which hit the perfect spot after a night out in the cold. I took a much awaited hot shower only to find out that Yaseen and Laure were going back out to watch the lights with some drinks after I had finished. Bummer, I would have joined them but going out again in the cold after a shower didn't sound too enticing. I went back to our room to find that Avery had started to pack. It took some time and we got to talk a bit more since it wouldn't be possible for me to sleep with the lights on. We ended up going to bed around 3 AM by the time things settled down.Read more