Abisko to Nikkaluokta (Sweden)

Deleted all the boring stuff…pictures should say it all :-)

Cheers, Peter

Beautiful pics. My son and I hiked from Abisko to Saltoluokta a couple of years ago–one of the best hikes we've done.

Thanks you David. Yes, I wouldn't mind going back some day.

Thanks for sharing the pics. I can't wait to get up there myself. I am finishing up my complete section hike of Bohusleden (only 7 stages left!), and my next project after that will most likely be doing the entire Kungsleden in several (3 or 4 if I am lucky) section hikes. I even ordered a Zpacks Arc Blast to handle some extra weight specifically for more demanding/remote backpacking like Kungsleden, where I would want to bring more clothing, food, and luxuries. I will probably go from a 2.5-3.5kg base weight for BHL to 4-5kg for KL. What was your base weight for this hike?

Was water easy to find? Good taste? I have heard great things about the water up there, but conflicting reports (this is mostly anecdotal) about how often one passes water sources. And how bad are the bugs?

Peter – Congrats, thats an awesome stretch of trail. A group of us from DC UL Backpacking just did the entire Kungsleden in June. (Trip Report: http://www.meetup.com/DC-UL-Backpacking/messages/boards/thread/36000642, http://www.meetup.com/DC-UL-Backpacking/messages/boards/thread/36550132; Photos: http://www.meetup.com/DC-UL-Backpacking/photos/15565252/, http://www.meetup.com/DC-UL-Backpacking/photos/16106162/)
If you do head back someday, I'd recommend considering the stretch from Hemavan to Jäkkvik. You get the same big expansiveness but with more variation, fewer people, and IMO better trail.

Water wasn't a problem when I hiked that stretch – there's plenty of it, it tasted good, and I didn't bother with any treatment.

As for bugs, they typically weren't much of an issue above tree line when I was going through (June 2013 – the mossies were out early according to locals), but when you got into any wooded areas they were everywhere. Here's a shot from the inside of my Tarptent Notch at Svine (about 20km south of Saltoloukta).

Really good to hear that Beautiful Sweden is represented on BPL :-)

@Cesar
I will agree with Brian – water is plentiful and tastes great. I didn't treat it either. Mosquito season was coming to an end, there where some, but with Jungle Oil we could eat dinner in the lowland parts without headnets on. This was in August.

I Checked Bohusleden out – a lot closer to Denmark than Lapland! Looks good. A possible future trip for sure :-). Have a good last stretch!

Base weight was probably 7 kg. I did carry whisky, Kindle and an extra pair of shoes, because i wanted to test my tolerance for wet feet (one waterproof and one non-waterproof pair of shoes). A 5 kg base weight should be doable for sure.

@Brian
Thank you :-). That's impressive! Really good to hear from somebody who's done the entire Kungsleden – looks from your pictures that you had better trails than us! Thanks for the recommendations!