The King's Trail (Kungsleden) - From Abisko to Hemavan

After a restful night in the hostel in Abisko I started directly the next morning on the Kungsleden. In the accommodation I had met a German who accompanied me the first day and a half.

The first part there were many tourists on the trail, who were only doing a day tour. But quickly it became less people - at least until I met almost all 1,500 participants of the Fjällräven Classic Event from the second day on. They hiked from Nikkaluokta to Abisko and therefore our route overlapped to a not unnoticeable part.

Scenically, the first day alone was already incredibly beautiful and diverse and also the upcoming days the landscape changed behind every mountain.

Tent spot for the first night

On the third day, I finally reached the junction in the morning, where the event participants took a different path and the trail suddenly became empty again. Now and then I met some hikers, at the huts a little more.

The Kungsleden includes seven boat crossings, which should be planned a little bit before hand. However, right at the first place across a lake there was also the option to take a rowing boat and not one of the motor boats, which usually have fixed departure times.

Without really having any rowing experience, I wanted to try this out and the distance wasn't all that far either. Fortunately, however, there came shortly before I wanted to go two swedish girls and so we went for it together. Since I then realized on the water that it needed a bit of practice and my arms also have basically rather no muscles, I was then glad not to be alone and the three of us could take turns and so arrived safely on the other side.

Afterwards, I walked about ten kilometers further and then set up camp for the night.

First time rowing

In the sunshine I put down my tent the next morning and walked only a few kilometers to the next hut, which was next to a road. Apparently, the Kungsleden is interrupted here and there are buses to the next boat, which is about 25 km away. But since I neither knew that nor wanted to take a bus, I walked the bit and was then at the boat at the same time as some others I had already met the day before.

After the boat crossing, I then walked a bit further and put up my tent after a solid 49 km.

The following day started in drizzle. I put down the tent in the rain and walked the last few kilometers to the boat, since the motorboat only left once in the morning and once in the evening. However, when I arrived, I found out that the morning boat left an hour earlier than I thought (I had asked a few hikers the day before). For once, however, I was allowed to shelter from the rain in the woodshed of the nearby hut and then had to wait six hours for the next boat - after all, there was an extra trip that afternoon.

But due to the waiting and the half day I spent sitting around, I was quite annoyed and finally walked quickly on the other side to reach the next boat in the evening since there were only a few kilometers parting them.

After that, at the latest, I had lost my enthusiasm for the boat crossings and was already eagerly waiting for the last crossing to find my own rhythm again without hectic. With shorter daily stages, the scheduling of the boats is much easier. But I had a few other hikers telling me that they were annoyed by the boats as well.

Despite some mud and swamp, no one could dispel my good mood, as the sun was shining and there was no boat crossing a bit before Jäckvik that day.

Looking back - the climb was worth it

In the evening, I suddenly noticed after I had filled up with water, that my backpack was wet at the bottom and realized that the water bladder was leaking. Fortunately, however, my sleeping bag remained dry!

To make some use of the day's remaining sun, I tried to catch the last rays of the day in the forest and hung my gear over branches to dry while I set up the tent.

The next morning another boat crossing was waiting for me and shortly before Jäckvik then another place where there were only rowing boats. In contrast to the motorboats, however, I really enjoyed it, even if my arms quickly got tired, but without current I had no pressure and could take my time.

And finally, after eight days, I arrived in the first small town with a supermarket. This feeling is simply indescribable, you want to buy and try everything at once and at the same time you are completely overwhelmed with the many people and the selection.

Therefore, grocery shopping rarely takes less than an hour for me!

The Kungsleden continued via Adolfström to Ammarnäs, whereby I came to the latter place on a rainy day and bought there in the supermarket only chocolate and wanted to charge my powerbank. I was even allowed to sit inside and the store manager offered me a little later freshly baked cinnamon buns that his mother had just brought over and they were delicious!

At some point I pulled myself together to move on - the weather would not get any better today anyway. And so I walked quite a bit up the mountain before I found a nice place to camp near a hut.

On the last day I hiked through a beautiful valley before a last small climb followed and then went downhill to Hemavan. At the last hut I had a chat with the hut wardens, a couple who were quite enthusiastic about my tour. She played me something on the flute before I went on the last kilometers of the Kungsleden.

Through a cloudy valley towards Hemavan

So I reached the end point after twelve days and stocked up first in the supermarket, before I settled in the local fjällstation, in this case a hotel, pitched my tent there and enjoyed my first shower since almost two weeks.