Hiking north of the Arctic Circle, late August

[Troy Hawkins]

Hello, I've never really hiked much outside of spring/summer/fall hiking in fair climates, so the threat of hypothermia and snow during a hike is a new world to me. A [mostly inexperienced] friend and I will be hiking a weekish long section the Kungsleden in northern Sweden (Abisko to Nikkaluokta, for those familiar).

The entirety of my hike is above the Arctic Circle. I've done about as much research as I can for the trip. The average temperature seems to be about 50ºF and I don't believe precipitation will ever escalate to more than a drizzle, so there are some items on my list that might be worth omission (Rocky socks, GoLite rain pants, etc). My only concern with omitting them is that at those temperatures, if anything developed into sustained rainfall over a long period, I'd be cold and wet, my least favorite combination. The region is also known for early snowfall as well.

It's worth noting that we'll also be summiting Kebnekaise, Sweden's highest mountain. From everything I've read, aside from the glacial cap, it's a relatively easy hike, but it's still largely exposed and at altitude. I think the clothing is pretty adequate, all things considered.

I'll admit to my almost absolute ignorance in this climate and region, so I'll default to my more experienced peers: any glaring omissions from my existing list, or anything you would omit from my list?

http://lighterpack.com/r/3xdpnl

[Wim Depondt]

Hi Troy,

I’ve done some hiking in that region in August (Sarek). You should be prepared for both prolonged (cold) rain, sleet and snow. So yes, I would bring rain pants after reading you’ll be wearing regular nylon pants.
I would also bring rain mitts and a warm puffy for camp shores and to supplement your sleeping bag (light frost is certainly a possibility that late in season).
I didn’t notice a repair kit for your matrass?

The section you are planning to walk is the most popular section of the Kungsleden, with plenty of well equipped huts (read: comfortable shelter in inclement weather), well maintained trails and a fair amount of backpackers. I wouldbt worry much.

BTW: I haven’t walked it but I have been told that the Vistas-Nallo variant is superb: less people and superb deep mountain valleys. Check it out on panoramio.com and Google Earth.

Wim

[Troy Hawkins]

Thanks a ton Wim! I'll definitely look into going that route instead, my friend and I think we'll have a day or two to spare, weather permitting and we were considering some day trips, it looks like going that way would add at least a full day to our route.

I was considering bringing my puffy with me but at those temperatures (it seems the record low is just a bit below 0), I thought the cap 1, cap 2, and R1 would be enough. I'll definitely keep that in mind, and keep checking weather leading up to our trip (we fly in August 22nd, fly back September 1). The rain mitts are a good idea. Will definitely pack something to keep the rain off the wool.

I've got a couple of patches I put in my emergency kit, but I'll also have Gorilla tape (a more extreme sticky variant of the venerable duct tape).

And like you said, I'm not too worried about anything because if push comes to shove, there should be other backpackers around every few hours or so, and huts are spaced at about 15 km along the trail, so if push comes to shove, we're only a few hours away from help.

I really appreciate your first hand knowledge though, finding details online has proven sort of difficult, but it may just be because the trail itself isn't difficult and fairly self-explanatory, to even the most inexperienced hiker/outdoors person.

Thanks a lot!

[Wim Depondt]

A puffy will provide you much appreciated comfort during camp shores (read: resting and eating outside your tent). I wouldn't be able to leave without it. Thus IMHO worth the weight penalty.

PS: Interesting weather statistics can be found here: http://www.tutiempo.net/en/Climate/RITSEM/20130.htm

[Katy Anderson]

"I don't believe precipitation will ever escalate to more than a drizzle"

On the contrary, rain is to be expected. Sometimes days on end. So maybe the precip mostly comes in the form of a drizzle, but when it lasts for long enough it can be quite cold and wet. When the rain does stop, it may still be cloudy and not warm enough to dry out wet clothes and gear. So yes, the rain should be your primary concern. Having said that Sweden is just at the tail end of a six week long heat wave, so it doesnt always rain, but do be prepared for it.

Bring full rain gear.

Trail runners are fine if you are comfortable hiking with wet feet.

Bring something like a trash compactor bag to make sure you can keep your sleeping bag and extra clothes dry.

Bring a wool or fleece hat instead of the down one. At 50 degrees and raining it is really nice wear a wool hat under your rain jacket hood.

The fleece is great as a midlayer under your rain jacket. Maybe also bring a wool midlayer, so that if one of these gets wet you have another.

You might not need two baselayers, bring the Pat 1 or the Pat 2.

You will probably be wearing your rain jacket enough that you won't really need the wind shirt.

You can filter if you want, but even the Swedish tourist/hiking association says its unnecessary. The kupilka cup you are bringing is a modernized version of a Same cup, a kuksa or in Swedish, a kåsa. This is a long handled cup that you use to scoop water and drink out of streams as you hike along, much like the classic Sierra cup in the US.

Have a great time and come back with pictures and stories!

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