Lapland

[pdedse]

D+2. P.S. I forgot to mention the dinner at Kallgården - smoked trout with herb sauce and new potatoes, worthy of a picture:



D+3. A big day, since we'd be crossing over Stekenjokk, Sweden's highest located permanent road, Vildmarksvägen ("The Wilderness Road", a somewhat naff name I must admit). Stekenjokk is one of the indigenous Sami people's places for reindeer to feed during the summer. In 2013 Stekenjokk recorded continuous wind speeds of 170 km/h (110 mph) during that year's major storm. The road is closed wintertime and opens on June 6 every year. Starting the day with some chain maintenance.



From Kall via Järpen we followed the main road, the E45, until Strömsund. Nothing special, just covering the distance and stopping for ice cream every now and the as the temperatures were creeping up. Strömsund is the southern entry point for Vildmarksvägen so efter topping up on petrol there we expected immediate and proper adventure stuff. But no. At first the only difference was the lack of houses. Just endless forests. After an hour or so the roads started to deteriorate. Then we were increasingly attacked by gnats when we stopped. Progress was now slower than planned and we were a few hours behind schedule. At Gäddede, the last outpost before the climb to Stekenjokk we called it a day. By chance we found a pair of beds at the Pilgrim Hotel, a spiritual non-profit place dedicated to bringing people closer to nature. The view across the lake:

Ok, I'm curious...what are "new potatoes"?