Fantastic speaker, and amazing CV… which led me to wonder, who the heck is Canada’s Foreign Minister?….

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minister_of_Foreign_Affairs_%28Canada%29

Seems to be a bit of revolving door… The current Minister of Foreign Affairs is John Baird, since May of 2011… with absolutely no international experience on his CV. Oh wait, he WAS Environment Minister during 2007-8, and you can see the fantastic results of the environmental targets made…

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-16153800

Sum up:

The Canadian government has announced it will formally withdraw from the Kyoto Protocol on climate change, making it the first nation to do so.

The move was expected, as the country declared four years ago that it did not intend to meet its existing commitments, and its annual emissions have risen by about once third since 1990.

Pathetic and utterly embarrassing. Having lived abroad for a few years now, I really notice Canada’s lack of international involvement and global perspective, from its citizens up to its top levels of government. I used to think (and still cling to hope) that politicians were smarter than most of the population, and therefore better qualified to make decisions that affected our future lives. Depressing to think about the lack of smart leadership that exists in Canada.

In December/January, on my way to Taiwan to visit Per, I visited Copenhagen again, revisiting the place that inspired me – the Danish Design Center – along with the industrial design museum. I also got a taste of Russia, with a stop-over in Moscow, where I had my most entertaining flight to date, on Russian Aeroflot airlines… You can ask me about the story in person =) I got a lot of new impressions, met with old classmates from Umeå, and shopped till my backpack was bursting with cool and cheap Taiwanese fashion.

At the Danish Design Centre... The design process demystified

At Danish Industrial Design Museum... Braun <3

Taiwan, Chiang-Kai Shek Memorial

Taiwan, Toroko Gorge

New design inspirations from Taiwan =) =)

Rang in 2011 with Eve at Luxy nightclub in Taipei

Back in school for the winter/spring, completed 3 good school projects, all of them with positive feedback from our teachers and the companies! Volvo Cars encouraged me, along with 3 others in my class, to apply for jobs at Volvo because “we need engineers like you”. My lighting teacher passed along the name of a company that he thought I should pitch my lamp to (though I haven’t had time to follow through yet).

My Volvo seat concept

My helicopter concept

My work lamp concept

In February, I visited Stockholm twice. Once to see the Stockholm furniture fair, visiting with some friends, and the second on my way up to Umeå to visit my friend Roy, also spent visiting a museum with fantastic impressions, and crashing with a couchsurfing friend!

Stockholm furniture fair. Love this bedroom, but especially the lamp!!

Another interesting photo exhibit.. Basically Sweden had the lowest housing standard in the 1930s until they formed what is now the Swedish Consumer Agency, that observed, tested and made recommendations for household appliances.. the start of Swedish design?

Snow castle in Umeå. Amazingly no one steals the reindeer fur set on the benches, so that everyone can enjoy them... the Swedish collective

I visited Vienna in April, a dream of mine for some years, to revel in the artwork of Egon Schiele and Gustav Klimt.

Vienna, secessionist building

A second visit to Umeå in June to visit friends again, see the (amazing and inspirational) degree show, and the keynote speaker Richard Seymour, an extremely inspiring and optimistic designer! Said something along the lines of…

“Technology is not our limitation, our imagination is!”

I got an email response to a summer internship I applied for, along with a second follow up! I didn’t secure the position, but the fact that I am getting responses to my work is very encouraging!

Spent the summer flying and travelling around the globe, literally. Starting in June from Denmark, to Taiwan, China, New York, Canada, and back to Sweden for September.

In Taiwan, I took it easy for most of the 3 weeks, to sleep, recover and plan the China trip, though we had time to celebrate Swedish midsommar and made one last excursion out to Green Island. We only spent 2 days and 1 night on Green Island, but I would highly recommend it if you are in Taiwan, to take a scooter around the island and snorkel or scuba dive. I was skeptical about how good the snorkelling could be, so close to the shore, but I would say it was maybe the best snorkelling I have ever had!

Swedish midsommar celebration in Taiwan

Green Island, Taiwan

Green Island, Taiwan

I had planned to write about our 5 week China trip in a separate blog entry, but I’ve been so busy that I never got around to it. China is at once exhilarating, frustrating, fascinating, and full of scammers but also very kind people… It was my third visit to China, and so much has changed even from 2005 and 2008. The amount of tourism is growing staggeringly fast, especially by the growing middle class, but English is still quite limited in most places. I was grateful that Per learned quite a bit of Chinese, as there were many situations where we would not have made our way without it. I had intended to write about a lot of travel advice and tips to avoid scams that I would give to people planning to travel there independently, but maybe it’ll have to wait another day…

Irregardless, I would say that Sichuan province, particulary towards the Tibetan areas, was the highlight of our trip… If only the Chinese government had not stopped us and all western tourists from continuing onwards,”closing” all Tibetan districts, forcing us to turn back to Chengdu after all the trouble it took us to get there…

Shanghai

Panda center in Chengdu

Children's school play in Kangding, Sichuan province

Tibetan gravestone in Kangding, Sichuan province

Day hiking in Kangding

Rich, yak-butter filled Tibetan bread... soooo good!

Xi'an muslim night market

Stepping up Hua Shan. One of 2 famous mountains we walked up (Emei Shan the other)

Beijing's 798 Art District... the most interesting, and 'authentic' part of Beijing for me

On an "illegal" and little visited part of the Great Wall with a random local who insisted on a photo together. He came running down from another tower in worn out shower slippers yelling at us to "Be careful!" and to hold onto the sides of the wall for support, since we were falling on our asses despite proper hiking boots. Amazing!

I flew onwards to New York (my first ever visit!), while Per spent a few more days in Beijing before he would go onwards to Thailand for a few days. I stayed with my sister for 10 days at her ritzy place on Park Avenue (I think it was the first time we got to see each other in 2 years?). I was able to visit a great design exhibit at MoMa, as well as an exhibit with Gustav Klimt and Egon Schiele at an Austrian art museum! I also had a chance to catch up with an old classmate from Umeå a few times over lunch! Nice thing about having studied in Umeå is that you make friends from all over the world!

To sum up New York…  The museums were great, the food a bit disappointing and expensive, and the sites – well, a bit uninteresting considering the several thousand year old sites I had visited in China. For me, the best part of New York was the people and the people watching! I could imagine living there would be great… only if you could manage a high paying job that would cover the astronomical rents, and one that wouldn’t expect inhumane working hours…

Where else but New York City?

Returning to Canada, I managed to squeeze in quite a lot of visits, and errands, with the highlight being two of my best friends getting married to each other! Of course it felt a bit short, but I was glad I always had someone to see or something to do, and was never bored.

Tim Horton's, how I miss you!

Back in Sweden in September, we managed to squeeze in one last sailing trip. We could actually swim too, though it was 17 C in the water, which made it very short bathing.

End of Swedish summer sailing

The sailing trip would foreshadow the theme of “compact living” for the fall semester… Our school project would be to design a caravan, and the project would take the full 3+ months. I spent a lot of hours, days and nights in the project – some of it feeling very stressed. But overall it was very fun, designing my “dream” caravan – one that would show my design philosophy and aesthetic in my portfolio. In the end, they chose 2 projects from the class to be “closed” for possible further development. One of the ones they picked was me! Ironic that in doing the project for myself, and to show in my portfolio, meant that the company was so impressed by my result that I am no longer able to show it to anyone due to confidentiality… Awesome! =)

Along with a momentary payment came an offer to continue the work for our thesis project. I had to turn it down because I already secured a great company for my thesis! I had managed to secure one interview with a company doing a project that would have been beyond my expectations, but the client funding fell through. Still, I am very happy that they liked my portfolio enough to call me in! The other interview I secured, and will continue my final thesis project work with, is Haglöfs – which is like the North Face of Sweden! Beyond excited and almost in disbelief!

Between working hard on my portfolio and the caravan project, we took a little time out in October to visit Copenhagen, Denmark and Germany!

Koge, Denmark

Per and I also managed to experiment a little with some new recipes for the moose he hunted.

Successful first attempt at ossobucco, made with moose meat

Winter arrived, at least for a few days, here in southern Sweden

And now it’s been my fifth Christmas in a row away from Canada. Miss my friends and family a little, but glad I have a Swedish “family” to celebrate with. All in all I would say it’s been an amazing year, and I know that the coming years have even more in store for me. Happy new year to all!

Being back in Canada feels strange in some ways. There have been moments when I feel like I don’t belong back here, and feel awkward and a bit out of place. But there aregood moments: indulging in all the Asian food I’ve missed while living in Sweden, being able to talk and be understood, and being able to laugh so hard again with old friends.

Again, there’s so much going through my mind right now that I don’t quite know how to put it into words.

Design/school/careerwise I’m very happy! I asked (to no one in particular, just outloud, or at least inside my head) for more meaningful projects with great companies, that would push me to the next level, and I couldn’t have asked for more! I promised myself I wouldn’t work myself to the ground like I had last year in Umeå ever again, but I came pretty close. However, it’s rewarding that companies have expressed interest in my work, which makes me feel that all the hard work is paying off! I came close to, but didn’t manage to secure an internship this summer. Still, it feels good.

I had given myself a few days off and travelled to Vienna over Easter holiday. Initially I felt so guilty for taking time off when I could have been working on a project. But I was so glad I went. I had been longing to see Egon Schiele’s work in person for some time, and it was good timing for a visit as there was a special exhibit featuring Schiele!

I can’t get enough of seeing his work – I would go back for another visit just to see his other work in rotation at the galleries. I gained a new appreciation of Gustav Klimt’s work in person. Stunningly beautiful and exciting. I thought about buying a poster as a souvenir, but they were so disappointing in comparison to the real thing, that I passed on it. It was great to get away and experience a few days of summer as the weather and the city were gorgeous.

Museum quartier, Vienna

Beautiful architecture in Vienna

I thought I would feel reenergized after visiting Vienna to push on until the end of the school year, but instead, I felt tired after months of pushing myself to the limit. As well, I’m not used to the school year being so long, as in Canada we finish for the summer in mid-April, and in Sweden I still had another 6 weeks to go. Of course I still worked, but at a slower pace. And took time to enjoy myself, like at the DJ Jazzy Jeff show at Jönköping’s student bar (awesome show!):

I made it up to Umeå twice this year, once in February, and again in June for the design school degree talks (where Richard Seymour was the keynote speaker!). It was great to see that type of atmosphere again. Sure, it’s a bit dangerous in that you can easily be sucked into being a workaholic, but the level of work is really inspiring! And I miss the work hard / play hard, more social atmosphere a bit. (Wonder how it’ll be in my program next year, now that students from outside the EU are pretty unlikely to apply for Swedish schools due to the start of tuition fees.)

After the degree show in Umeå, returned to Jönköping to clean out my flat (moving to a better location and room next year!), and then spent a few days being spoiled by Per’s parents by lots of delicious food and great Swedish weather. Have more to say, but I should probably update more often, with shorter posts.

Day 9, July 24, 2010, Summiting Kebnekaise. I packed sandwiches and 4L of water because there is not much water when hiking to the top of Kebnekaise, and what little water is present isn’t very good for you. I estimated that summiting Kebnekaise would take me 14 hours round trip, given that I’m not so fit. I had to check out of my creaky cot room of 26 and into the new dorm room for 4; the fjällstation reception opens at 7 in the morning and closes at 10 PM, meaning I would have to be at reception right when it opened, and then haul ass for the hike.

The day before, I had been nervous that the girl had not done the reservation for me properly, and my suspicions were confirmed… They morning staff couldn’t find the new reservation, and they said they would check with the afternoon staff what happened. In worst case they would hold a cot for me – as long as I returned before 10 PM. I tried to emphasize my concern that I might not make it back before 10 and she just shrugged her shoulders. Wasn’t her problem. Customer service in Sweden sucks asssssssssssss!!!!!!!!! It was unbelievable that they screwed up the booking, and offered no advice on who to contact if I didn’t return in time. I’m sure there have been people who couldn’t make it back in time – and don’t they have arrangements for registering for search parties if solo hikers do not return?? It is a mountain!

The whole debacle at reception took 30 minutes, and wasn’t even properly resolved. I was stressed because now I had lost 30 minutes of hiking time. I tried to set a quick pace during the easy, flat start of the hiking path. The uphills were so brutally difficult for me.  I can walk quite fast on the easy terrain, but uphill was a slow slog with lots of breaks (every few seconds I had to pause to catch my breath). Families with kids blasted by me, only to pause frequently for snack breaks, where I passed them again, like a neck and neck race. A man in his 60′s(?) with a long grey beard, crazy hair, and long sinewy legs, passed by me effortlessly. I dubbed him “mountain man” because I would have believed it if someone told me he had been living out in the mountains for several years without contact with civilization.  I saw him again on his way quickly back down far before I was barely to the top.

Starting out the hike on easy terrain and gorgeous weather, 5 C

Beyond the easy first section, the hike to the top is hours of pure torture on your instep with stones, stone and more stones

Halfway to the top, at 1700m (1200m gain from Kebnekaise fjällstation). But, there is an elevation drop down to 1500m (200 m loss to be regained) before reaching the top of Kebnekaise, 2100m. Total elevation gain 1800m + total loss 1800m.

At 1700m. Kebnekaise’s peak in the distance. But first I would need to drop and regain 200m in elevation.

I was almost crawling the last 200m up. But so worth it. Perfect day. Perfect view. Couldn’t ask for more.

I made it! Just beside the peak. (And of course I HAD to blink the in one of the few photos of me.)

The peak, not for acrophobes… The top is about 1 m wide and 5 m long with a steep, narrow ridge on one side. There are only 2 directions you could safely slip off, to where I’m standing, or down the narrow ridge.

I was too scared to take any photos from the true peak, knowing that people have fallen off and died. I tried to take some photographs but it was really difficult to capture how truly breathtaking it is. So instead, tried to be in the moment and enjoy the view, spending about an hour near the top.

The way down was pure pain at every step. Knee crunching descent/hell, and about 14 hours after I started, I was back down at Kebnekaise fjällstation.

When I returned 15 minutes prior to reception closing, the girl from the morning was there as promised. However, she said she talked to all the afternoon staff, and none of them recalled booking anything for an Asian girl the day before! Unbelievable! I was the only Asian female in the whole station, yet the flighty girl from the day before apparently didn’t remember me… I tried asking in many different ways as I could just in case it was just misplaced! I resigned myself to another horrible night in cot.  But after having stalled and talked for so long, and maybe because she felt quite sorry for me, somehow it occurred to the girl, “Wait, do you have an STF membership?”

The STF cabins are apparently not part of the normal booking process??… There was one last bed free (the one the flighty girl from the day before was supposed to have booked for me). Yes! A 4 bedded room! With showers in the same building! (As opposed to the communal shower house.)  So I can highly recommend purchasing an STF membership if you will be hiking Kungsleden and/or Kebnekaise.

I treated myself to the overpriced BBQ burger at the cafeteria. I barely had the energy to stay awake to eat, shower, and organize my things for my early morning departure (so that I could get back to Umeå without sleeping in Kiruna). I only slept from 11:30 PM until 5:30 AM, but it was a sound sleep in a luxurious bunk bed in a room with a quietly sleeping Swedish family.

Day 10, July 25, 2010, Kebnekaise to Nikkaluokta. 8 km of flat terrain, followed by a boat (runs twice daily, saving 6 km of walking), and another 5.6 km of flat terrain. A nice, easy recovery walk, especially after hiking up Kebnekaise. Leaving Kebnekaise fjällstation, I saw a few other early morning “hikers”. They were looking for the helicopter pad to leave via helicopter.

Took the boat for 200 SEK to save 6 km of walking in order to make the bus departing for Kiruna at noon.

At the Sami village on the other side of the lake, there is a LapDånalds. Unfortunately they weren’t open yet, otherwise I wanted a reindeer burger!

Walking the last section to Nikkaluokta, I passed many hikers who were just starting on their hike in the opposite direction to Kebnekaise (most don’t continue on much farther than Kebnekaise). I was amazed to see a girl with a pack that looked like it weighed at least 25 kg, only steps past the starting post, hunched over and straining. I don’t know if she ended up ditching any of her things on the way, because I couldn’t see her making it very far.

Waiting at the bus stop at Nikkaluokta, I saw the mountain man again (who had also taken the boat). He said he was impressed by how fast I was walking the prior morning, but I said it was only during the flat parts that I could walk that fast, and how difficult and painful the hike was for me. He said it correctly, that it was all “mental strength”, and that for him, it also hurt at every step! I almost rarely have problems with my knees and feet, and every step down Kebnekaise sent pain through my knees. I can’t imagine how much pain someone who didn’t have healthy knees and feet as I do, would feel. I’m envious and aspire to be as fit as the people who breezed up and down the mountain.

The bus that runs from Nikkaluokta to Kiruna only takes cash (no credit cards). I planned to take the train from Kiruna to Umeå, where I had my student flat, to save myself a night of accommodation. In a rush to catch my train, I bought a burger and fries to take away from a northern Swedish “fast-food” chain. I had to wait over 15 minutes for my burger. That’s fast food in northern Sweden for you.

Waiting at the train station, eating my burger and fries on a bench, I felt kind of sick. Almost as though my body was rejecting the unhealthy, greasy food. I felt inspired to continue this healthy way of life I had been doing (at least in that moment ). Lots of activity. Food as fuel, but really enjoying and savouring fine food, as a special occasion. And the simplicity of having only the things I need on my back, consuming as little as necessary, moving by my own muscles and feet. And a greater appreciation of modern conveniences, such as clean clothing, showers without needing to carry the water I use.

Of course the train was several hours late (surprise, surprise). The whole time I was waiting I had wanted to use the toilet but was afraid the train would come barreling into the station, taking off after stopping for a few seconds. I couldn’t get any information on how much the train was delayed from SJ, because “it’s a different train company”. Nevermind that they are using SJ’s train station.

The last few months have been a blur: I started my masters in industrial design, in a completely new town, this time in the south of Sweden. I met new people, partied alot, travelled alot (visiting companies around Småland, as well as my Christmas break vacation through Copenhagen and Taiwan), but also worked hard. I might say a little too hard, but I haven’t worked myself to the near breaking point that I did at Umeå – which I vowed not to repeat again this year – yet I can’t help but feel guilty that I didn’t push myself a little harder.

Initially I was elated and grateful to get into my program, and finally could see how far I had come after my first year studying design. But with the first semester of my new program – and therefore, 25% of my masters program complete – coming to a close, I am slightly disappointed at the program and at myself for not having come further. I’m frustrated with the amount of group projects that we have had to do, which take up a lot of time, with very little return. Yes, if a diverse group of people work well together, then the result is much better than what any single person in the group could have done; but the situation I encountered over and over was having to do the majority of the work on my own, with the end result being worse than I would have done on my own without hours wasted attempting to meet and work as a group.

There isn’t so much time left for me to “get good”. Or as good as the level that I wish to see for myself. Passing the courses is easy and has no meaning for me – the standards that I hold myself to are much harsher than any teacher would comment. My insomnia this school year has been even worse than last year. Many nights, I lay in bed, absolutely exhausted from working at school all day, but the pressure and stress I feel keeps my mind awake (and wishing for some sleeping pills). I want to be a skilled and employable designer more than anything I’ve ever wanted before. I’ve never allowed myself to hope for something like this before… Admitting it to myself, and admitting it out loud to others has taken me a lot of courage. I still expect that some will scoff as they did before, but now I feel that my determination will win out, and the slight risk of failing is worth it.

I spent a few days in Copenhagen, checking out the Industrial Design museum, as well as the source of my epiphany from 2 years ago, the Danish Design Center. I jotted down a lot of notes from my days here, thinking about the direction I wanted my career to go in. Just briefly, I would say that I am glad of the trend that progressive design firms seem to be moving away from simply putting a new pretty package on old solutions, and are trying to tackle the next generation of problems. It’s absolutely perfect for me!

Then I spent 3 weeks in Taiwan visiting Per. I had no idea what to expect from Taiwan, and it was a pleasantly surprising mix of China and Japan. Some superficial observations about Taiwan:

- I created a lot of garbage even during my short stay there, by all the disposable cups, bowls, chopsticks, packaging, plastic bags, etc. I did like how they had clearly marked items that could be recycled by a special symbol (and a lot of the packaging was recyclable), but they could do a step better by simply reducing the amount of packaging they use, and by using more reusable items. For example, in a restaurant, it really wasn’t necessary to serve us the meal in disposable tableware! And I didn’t need to have my drink that I purchased – in a plastic cup – placed into another plastic bag, for “ease” of carrying.

- I’ve never heard such polite Chinese spoken! Even teenagers say thank you to the bus driver and clean up after themselves in food courts.

- I’ve never seen such non-aggressive dogs roaming free! Likely it’s due to being so well fed from table scraps. They were pretty cute and friendly and grew on me after awhile.

- I never thought I could feel so cold at +15 C… Sweden and Canada don’t feel as cold, when you can at least escape the cold by going indoors to heated buildings.

- I really would like to learn more Mandarin. But add that to the list of a 100 things I would like to accomplish sometime in the near future now…

We had a chance encounter with a Swedish man at the airport. He was married to a Taiwanese woman, and had his own business in Sweden, in a really fascinating field. What was interesting was that he started out in a very different field! Makes me even more convinced that I need to find my “niche”, to secure demand for my skills… I met up with one of my classmates from Umeå in Taiwan, and she was soon on her way to Copenhagen to start her masters. It makes me really happy to hear of the successes of my former classmates! When I look at my former classmates, I can clearly see their “niche” (or did they already know their niche and already start to market it?). But I’m not so clear on what my own strengths are.

As for travel, I think that the travel bug has lessened somewhat in me. I’m still interested in going to other countries. But I want to experience it deeper than just a few days or weeks. I want to communicate with the people and get a deeper sense of the place and its people. Learning another language is so time intensive, but so rewarding I think. (Yes, I need to learn more Swedish, though I’m trying.) I am so envious of people who really get to experience a place. I wonder if I’m able to do the same, or whether I let my shyness hold me back too much of the time.

Sleep is beckoning me, so I shall have to ponder all this some more later.

Decided to stay at Singi to extend the adventure, as I knew continuing onto Kebenkaise fjällstation, it would be crowded and touristy. Chatting with another Swedish guest in the hut, he said he had never experienced so few mosquitos as this summer! Yikes! I wouldn’t want to imagine when it’s bad. So there is an upside to rain after all.

It would turn out to be a good decision to stay at Singi for many reasons… After settling into the hut, the wind suddenly picked up! With the mosquitos gone, I bathed in the near ice-cold stream. After my river fording experience from the previous day, cold water wasn’t a big deal anymore, especially after sweating in rain clothes all morning! You won’t get much privacy bathing at Singi, as there’s no sauna house and the designated bathing place downstream from the drinking water is within view of both tourist huts.

Beautiful clouds in the evening, about an hour before the storm started and carried on through the next day.

I would find out at Kebnekaise fjällstation the next day, how glad I was to stay an extra night at Singi instead…

Day 8, started hiking early leaving Singi at 8:15 AM for Kebnekaise in the hopes of arriving early to secure a bed. I had not made a reservation because I didn’t know if I would stay extra nights along the way.

Stormy weather the previous night, with insane wind of 15 – 20 m/s continuing during my walk to Kebnekaise fjällstation! Luckily the wind was at my back. I almost got blown off my feet several times! I felt sorry for the poor saps walking in the opposite direction.

Looking backwards, I could see literally a WALL of strong wind and precipitation blowing my way.

One last photo of this mountain, moments before the rain and snow(!) blew in and I could no longer see it at all!

Sideways rain through the valley.. still, really beautiful

Close to Kebnekaise fjällstation/mountain station

Kebnekaise fjällstation

Finally, I arrived at Kebnekaise mountain station!

Placed Per’s hiking pole at the front door along with some makeshift wooden walking sticks… I briefly thought to myself, “Maybe I shouldn’t put it here? If someone wants to steal one, they might be tempted by this one.” But then I brushed the thought off, because I’m in Sweden, and I’m on a hiking trail… Really stupid of me. A few hours later, when I remembered to retrieve it, it was gone. =(

I checked the weather report, and the next day was to be sunny and 5 C! I had deciding during my week of walking in almost daily rain that if there was good weather at Kebnekaise, I would go to the summit. It was decided then!

Because I hadn’t reserved a 350 SEK dorm bed in advance at Kebnekaise (a very busy tourist spot only 20 km from the road at Nikkaluokta, where most people walk in or helicopter from), I got the privilege of paying 450 for a temporary bed in this sh*tty room, with 25 other people, sleeping like sardines on a creaky cot.

When I asked about reserving a dorm bed for the next day, the girl said they were completely full. I frowned, and asked again if there was anything else. “Yes, there is one bed left in a 4-bed room, but it’s 450 SEK.” Uh, gee, duh, wouldn’t I prefer to sleep in that for the same price as the room with 25 other people!? “Yes, can I take that one??” “Okay, I’ll reserve it for you.” “Uhh… so you will do it then?” “Yes.” Can you do it now?! I should have pushed her to do it for me on the spot, and to give me a confirmation number, but the lineup forming behind me made me feel pressured… (get back to this later)

I booked myself in for dinner for my first real meal (plus wine!) in over a week! In the afternoon, I hand washed all my clothes, except my fleece jacket and long johns, which I could wear while everything else was drying. I just had to remember not to unzip my jacket if I got warm. I looked around in the shop, picking up some food for sandwiches the next day, and a platypus bag (to bring 4 L instead of 2 L of water for the summit). I liked Per’s platypus bag, so I would need to buy one for myself anyway.

The most expensive meal I’ve ever had (450 SEK) while eating in my long underwear, but soooo delicious after 100 km of walking.

I was so tired after three courses of dinner that I skipped the sauna and went to bed early. It would be a long day tomorrow.

To be continued…

Leaving Tjäktja for Sälka, the 100 m gain involved walking over a lot of stones before reaching the highest point of Kungsleden, where there is a wind shelter. It was another another windy and rainy day, so I was glad to use the outhouse and stop in the shelter for a short coffee break. I was a bit wary for the steep downhill, but it was actually quite gentle and easy with a lot of switchbacks and no tricky footing.

After Tjäktja pass, looking into the valley. Not perfect weather but I had better visibility and views than the people who would have walked the day before.

Five and a half hours after I started, I arrived into Sälka with a very light 10 kg backpack! Knowing I walked the most strenuous leg of Kungsleden and found it quite easy made me feel a little bit good. Though my feet, particularly the instep, hurt a little from stepping on stones all day. I think I could easily do this trip again with a tent, at least physically I feel strong enough. Doing this trip in a tent could be mentally taxing. The weather could have been a little (or a lot) better, as I usually walked relatively quickly to the huts so I could get inside to enjoy my lunch and hide from the rain. But apparently it has been a really cold summer in the north this year. Usually there are some days of good weather along with the days of not-so-good weather.

Photos taken at Sälka:

Sälka Glacier Day Walk

The next day, I was lucky since the sun was shining for the first time in days, and I decided to stay an extra day at Sälka as originally planned to do a day hike up to Sälka glacier. If the weather was anything like what I had during the past few days, there would have been no point as rain clouds would have completely obscured any views. The trip is 12 km round trip from the huts, with a 700 m elevation gain, and requires fording a river.

The route: Starting from Sälkastugorna (Sälka huts), cross the north Bro (bridge), walk downstream and cross where marked. Then followed the top (going north) red route up along the waterfall/stream to the lake. Then up onto a ridge to reach the glaciers. I stopped short of climbing in between the glaciers before returning the same way. (It’s possible to walk in a loop up and between the glaciers, and down another way returning via the south red route, but as you can see it’s much longer, as well as tricky to walk between the glaciers.)

(Sorry for the bad photo quality.)

From the Sälka STF huts, looking west. The route is up between this pass, following the south side of the waterfall stream up to a small lake.

The route is simple in theory… But the trail is not marked, and it was a mentally and physically exhausting walk for a relative newbie like me, starting 9 AM finishing at 5 PM. Lots of lessons and experience gained that day…

My first river fording experience…  I told the STF hut host of my plans to walk up to Sälka glacier and he mentioned that I should cross one (or a few?) footbridges back towards Tjäktja, then downstream, crossing the main stream before all the streams joined up together, crossing directly to “the big rock” on the other side of the river.

Found the spot, and tried to spy a line of stones that stuck up out of the water that I could cross up onto. Took off my boots and socks, and then stepped into the freezing cold water towards a first stone 1 m away. Knee deep in icy cold water, I barely made it up onto the first stone, my leg muscles shaking so violently from the cold water I could barely stand. I can’t do it!

I jumped back to the river bank. Paced back and forth on the river bank barefoot for well over half an hour. What should I do? I didn’t want to show my face back to the hut hosts so soon, admitting defeat. Was there a better place to cross? I looked across to the big rock, and a seagull perched on the rock watched me, taunting me. Then I noticed an orange plastic stake about 1 m high stuck into the ground on my side of the river – probably this was where I was supposed to cross! The water here did look a little more shallow. My feet got a little more used to the sensation of walking on rocks with my pacing. Okay, I’m going to try again! With some yoga breaths and repeating to myself with each step “THIS DOESN’T HURT!!” I made it across! Some parts were knee deep, but for much of the way the water was only a few inches deep.

Lesson #1: Cold moving water is more painful than you expect and potentially dangerous.

Then I saw reindeer!

Photo break:

I saw some snow ahead of me. Attempted to go above the snow, not following the way drawn with a sharpie on my map, until the steepness would force me to boulder around the mountain. Cut my finger, and then stopped and realized the foolishness of trying to boulder around a steep slippery mountain, particularly being there all alone… So ended up dropping back down and crossing the snow after all.

Lesson #2: Understanding how to read a map and interpret the surroundings is invaluable.

Lesson #3: Follow the way suggested by others exactly! They have suggested it for a reason. (#2 is required in order to complete #3.)

Lesson #4: Sometimes crossing snow is necessary.

Lesson #5: Wear gloves.

Trying to find my way up onto the ridge… Due to my poor map comprehension skills, I learned the hard way again how not to attempt to go up a mountain, before finding a better way.

Lesson #6: See lessons 2 & 3.

Wouldn’t want to be below this rock when it fell.

Finally, I made it to Sälka glacier!

Sälka glacier

I could see in the distance a few grey rain clouds would be headed my way in a few hours, so after a short break I headed back down to the STF huts in time for a well deserved sauna with beer and sausage (Canadians read: Hot rod).

Despite the day’s difficulties, I was proud of the fact I did it! I also felt that I didn’t take any stupid risks, and I was able to put trust in myself, stopping to think and evaluate the situation in front of me. So many times during the day I wished Per was there to help guide me. But I wouldn’t have learned as much – I needed to learn them the hard way. It was absolutely wind still and quiet on the top, and really wonderful being up there alone (with the reassurance that others weren’t too far away).

Often I questioned myself during this trip, “Why am I doing this?” During the walk to Sälka glacier, I realized the answer: “Why not?”

To be continued…

I had factored in extra days in case of rain, so I was quite content to stay inside for a day. I had met a nice Norwegian couple in their late 60′s/early 70′s in the hut kitchen from the previous night. They decided they were going to walk on to Tjäktja in the rain. “What! But do you enjoy walking in the rain?” I asked them. “Well… We don’t enjoy it exactly…” But coming from Norway, the rain for them was just the way it was. Tough Norwegians!

Lucky for me, Alesjaure has a really nice cafe which was perfect for waiting out the rain. Well, if you can call it a cafe – it’s a common room overlooking an amazing view, with books and games for borrow. I wasn’t alone in deciding to wait out the rain. In the evening, after my sauna, a boatload of poor people arrived after having walked all day in the pouring rain. I didn’t regret my decision to stay another day, as the rain hardly let up even by the time I went to bed!

I decided to start early on Day 4, waking at 6:30 AM in order to start walking at 8, with the idea I might walk past Tjäktja to Sälka, for a 12 or 25 km day. As well, I might possibly avoid any bad weather that could start up later in the day.

Departing Alesjaure on Day 4

Only one set of footprints before me, plus lots of animal hoofprints and droppings. Reindeer crossed ahead of me, and then I realized there was a whole slope of them to the side of me! Quite special to be the only one on the trail at that hour! At this point I decided I didn’t need to walk to Sälka -I saw reindeer, what more would I want of my day!

Reindeer!

As I walked on, I could see the sky to the south was becoming more and more grey, and that I should expect more rain.

Sign that rain was going to start moving in… what, did you think they signaled the end of rain?

Since I started hiking early, I managed to enjoy the few hours of great weather (about +8 C but not stormy yet) in the day.

For the last hour of walking to Tjäktja, the rain started to come down, but I was quite comfortable in my Gortex jacket and pants. The last kilometer to Tjäktja hut involved a small altitude gain (200 m). I could have carried on to Sälka, but the thought of walking another 5 hours in the worsening rain didn’t really appeal to me. Snagged a bed in the 4-bed room (another score for being female!).

The rain cleared for a brief moment, which allowed me to go out and take some photos:

Rising clouds… beautiful, but definitely a sign of heavy rain to arrive.

Tjäktja hut

Tjäktja hut was quite full with walkers coming from both directions who wanted to dry out during their lunch hour before continuing on to the next hut.  I heard from some hikers coming from the south that the previous day with the extremely heavy rainstorm, walking from Singi to Sälka, at about 3 km south of reaching Sälka they were “forced” to wade through a thigh-high stream at one point! I was really worried… At dinner time I mentioned this to my dinner companions, the 69 year old Japanese man I met previously, and a solo + a pair of German tenters who decided to sleep indoors. We all discussed about what we should do considering how dangerous it was to cross deep moving water, and about whether the previous hikers I spoke to could be exaggerating? A Swedish couple overheard our conversation and confirmed that they also walked through 1 metre deep water for 5 metres in order to reach a footbridge that swelled from the excessive rain. So then we were a little relieved – as long as it wasn’t raining 11+ mm the day we walk past Sälka, we shouldn’t need to walk through dangerously deep water. The German guys were great dinner companions, really funny, and broke my stereotype of what I thought German people were like! (shame on me… )

One of them, upon learning I was Canadian, said he had met another Canadian hiking up north: “Ah, so you come here to walk? He said there weren’t really any places to walk in Canada.” I was flabbergasted, but got over my surprise and laughed: “No, no, there are lots of places to walk. I’ve been studying in Sweden for the last year, so that’s why I’m here. He must have been from the east.” Pretty amusing! All in all, I really enjoyed meeting the types of people who walked Kungsleden, as they all seemed to be friendly and considerate people.

Before I had left on my hiking trip, I had read a blog account describing Tjäktja hut as “barren” and “hardly worth visiting”. Tjäktja turned out to be by far my favourite hut on Kungsleden! It’s the smallest hut I stayed in during the trip, with only 20 beds, and no shop or sauna, but I think the ruggedness adds to its charm and coziness. I had a great time bonding with the other hikers while the rain started coming down sideways and didn’t let up for the rest of the day or night. There were a few brave, hardy tenters that set up outside the hut but one group finally gave in to the temptation of sleeping indoors, bringing the total to 21 persons inside the cabin (one had to sleep on a mattress on the floor of the largest bedroom).

To be continued…

After only 30 minutes of walking, I stopped to enjoy water straight from a cool creek into my kåsa.

My lavender kåsa!

Found a nice spot near a creek for lunch halfway through the 20 km walk to Alesjaure. Because it was sunny, there weren’t many mosquitos during the walk. But after having stopped for some time to boil water for my freeze-dried meal, I somehow attracted a swarm of mosquitos and small flies. It was hard for me to enjoy the views or my lunch. I almost felt like I was forcing my freeze-dried meal down because I didn’t expend THAT much energy the day before or this day. I felt so stuffed afterward I could barely walk 2 km during the hour after my lunch stop. I think on future hiking trips I would plan to bring smaller meals that didn’t require cooking, so I could eat quickly and not feel weighed down.

Sami village. Norwegian mountains in the distance.

I debated taking the boat for 200 SEK  (runs at set times) the last 5 km from Abiskojaure to Alesjaure. Grey clouds and sudden strong winds made me really, really nervous. But the woman at Abiskojaure said that it was windy through that particular section of the mountains, and that it wasn’t supposed to rain… For me, 200 SEK is a lot of money and I also wanted to be able to say that I walked the entire way… As well, the 5 km saved is completely level terrain, or rocky for most of the way, but when it’s not raining it’s not so slippery or difficult. So I faced my fears and continued on bravely.

The boat pickup point between Abiskojaure and Alesjaure run by Samis (note the flag on top of the wind shelter).

And then I learned – grey clouds and wind means… grey clouds and wind! I only got a few drops of rain on me. The boat could have been good to save on slogging my boots through the mud for the last 2 km to Alesjaure. (Later on I heard from other hikers that I could have been slogging knee-deep in mud, so I shouldn’t complain.)

I wasn’t sure if I had made the right decision to walk the last 5 km at first, knowing I was the last one on the trail. I think if I were utterly alone somewhere, it could be terrifying. But as I approached Alesjaure, I could see 2 walkers ahead in the distance, and suddenly felt relieved. The female half of the walking couple didn’t seem to be in very good spirits, as I saw quite commonly during my time on Kungsleden.

Taken from Alesjaure STF

By the time I arrived at Alesjaure, the sun peeked out of the clouds. I made it! I really felt like I earned my sauna and cold beer I had planned to purchase in the evening. After checking in, I found out that the females’ sauna time slot was about to start. (They have time slots for males only, females only, and a mixed time slot around 8:30 PM or 9 PM.) I asked about where to bathe, and the woman, not as friendly as at the last hut, briefly stated the river and pointed in a vague direction near the sauna house.

I practically ran to my cabin, threw my things in, and towards the sauna house for a much needed bath. I bathed in the cold river at the boat dock, but when I walked into the sauna house, I found out there was fire-heated water availabe inside! (And why didn’t the STF host mention this to me when I inquired about the bathing area??) Oh well, too late now. And I found out that I had went for a dip in the wrong area as well, as there was a steep wooden walkway down from the other side of the sauna house to a faster moving part of the river.

Oh, what luxury! Cold beer in hot sauna. And I had my room completely to myself! I almost burst with happiness! One of the benefits of being a slow walker and female! (STF seems to try to group females and couples together, and males together.)

A whole room to myself in the hut for both nights I stayed at Alesjaure!

Dinner was freeze-dried, Norwegian produced Real Turmat Sweet and Sour Chicken, one of the better tasting brands for purchase in Sweden, and a recommended flavour by one of the staff at Naturkompaniet. The first bite tasted… ketchupy. But then… the more I ate, the more I liked it. The bits of deep-fried chicken were pretty tasty and a nice change in texture from the usual freeze-dried meal mush.

I had gone to bed with a sleep-mask after rolling down the black-out blinds, but awoke by a bright light leaking through a small crack that the blind couldn’t cover. Was it time to start walking again? Nope, it’s 3:30 in the morning.

to be continued…