After well slept night, we packed up, ate a big breakfast with boiled eggs and tomatoes. Marcin also called to ask about the compensation for the lost package and now we had to wait for an e-mail from them, in which they will send a form to be filled out and send back. We cleaned up the hut and said goodbye to our boots, which have gone through so much, but unfortunately their time has come to an end.
After the wet night came the wet morning, so we ate breakfast in the tent. About 9 o’clock we went to the reception hoping it would be open. And there, a dead silence, everything was closed. We stood for a moment under the roof, trying to call the phone numbers of the information board, but nothing came of it.
Ritsem is quite a big tourist centre and there were many people here, so we had a challenging task in the kitchen this morning to prepare scrambled eggs, which we planned for today. Today we had a boat crossing to the other side of the Áhkájávrre Lake. The Sun was shining from the very morning and it promised a beautiful day ahead. The boat was leaving after 11, so we managed to have a coffee in the hostel beforehand.
After a few days of break, we returned to walking and finally we got onto the E1 path! We left the campsite quite late, as we had to repack, pack our food supplies and change our way of packing the bags. In the end, we decided to have a coffee as well, as it was already time for it. In Abisko we bought one pair of walking poles, Marcin, after talking to other walkers became convinced to them, and decided to try it. We walked with sticks, one for each, and we both quickly got used to them, and we both agreed that it was a good purchase.
Sometimes days turn out completely unexpected. We packed up in the rain falling on our heads. We walked a bit through the villages, then along the E6, stopping at bus stops to drink and eat something. Although it rained most of the time, we were lucky, and we managed to prepare and eat dinner in the only weather window on that day.
The previous day we dried everything nicely, only so that today we could pack everting in the rain, all wet, but this is life. We had our backpacks loaded with food, so we moved slowly on. It was raining constantly, so we could not even stop for a coffee because we couldn’t find any shelters.
We packed our camp and went back about 5 kilometres to the village, because we got information, that there were people who deal with shipping parcels between Norway, Sweden and Finland and will be able to help us. Finally, we managed to find the right person. A nice lady from the supermarket, on our behalf, called Russenes post office, explaining the situation, and asking them, as soon as our parcel will arrive, to send if forward to one of the post offices located further in the south of Norway, to which we will be able to get during our walk.
Starting from Kautokeino, as we decided, we got on to the E1 trail. As the path at this stage goes at fairly low height, we hoped, it would be less snow, and we will be able to move forward at reasonably peace. Just in case we had the option to retreat or change the route. We started on the road, then moved to a muddy path and finally we walked on the snow as well.
With food supplies we moved on towards Kautokeino. We have long considered the option of trying to get on to the trail that was an old post road at this stretch. However, we managed to call one of the shelters and a lady quickly dispelled our hopes, saying that getting on foot through this stretch is impossible. So we followed the roads. The traffic was heavy, but we got used to it a bit, and the farther from the city, the fewer cars there were. People sounded their horns and greeted us, and from time to time someone stopped by and offered us a ride. We politely rejected, it was a walking expedition after all :)
There is no doubt an advantage to leaving for the walk of the campsite, you can pack in peace and have breakfast somewhere else than in a tent. We had to find new ways of packing our backpacks, as now we had less equipment and more food. The backpacks weighed roughly the same, but this time they were packed with “good” stuff, which will disappear in time.
