Sweden Arctic trip 2022, Day 8 & 9

With another night time photo session it was weary heads that woke,the Trailstars "no door" option allowing us to see another good days weather was ready to great us 
 

My cup sadly was cracked when i took it out of my pack on Day 1 off this trip,luckily some of Treadlite gears excellent Cuben tape sealed it perfectly 

The day started cold again with a fresh wind but warmed as we followed the river and path down to the valley bottom

Ive walked this valley section before on my first trip here and it was again alive with autumn colours,every shade of yellow was on display

As this path serves the Kebnekaise Fjallstation and access upto the Tarfala science station/huts its a good path all wet sections well boarded over in the two plank style of these far Northern regions 

It was on this section i got chatting to some folk,who turned out to be finishing and leaving there Science work at the Trafala station,they were surprised we had been over the JoJo trail,telling me that in 5-6 yrs the glaciers had retreated 100m some up to 145m ....sad times

Passed here twice been closed both times but theres now a big new restaurant and i think living chalets a bit further up the track 

The day had just got warmer and warmer topping out at 23 c.Id camped in a lovely spot here with Matt and Lee back in 2017,it took a little finding but we did find it,others had too as there was a fire ring built close to the river bank

With this the last camp of the trip and the warmth of the day we had a tidy up and a wash in the river,warming our feet with the big haul of old wood we had retrieved from the nearby forest 

But as the sun dropped so did the temperature,more wood for the fire…around 9 I thought I saw some movement in the sky,this phone pic below confirmed it 

And so it started the most amazing Aurora display I’ve ever been lucky enough to camp beneath,by 12 am I thought we had seen it all but then it ramped up more !

But by now it was really cold,trainers are not the best at -6c so I used my drinks bladder as a hot water bottle,it did the trick nicely,but by 1 or 2 am we were both shattered and I snuggled into my bag with every stitch I had on,still on

I woke with a sweat on at 7 am,bitter sweet last day….it was now just an hour and a bits walk to the bus stop at Nikkaluokta,where we had a super breakfast as we waited for the bus and the ride back to

Fresh food 😋 fruit bread juice 😀

The end of this trip,any questions folk may have feel free to message me …….Safe travels Peter