Saltoluokta - Vakkotavare - Bro - Teusajaure
- Distance: 17km
- Duration: (with breaks): 5h 30min
- Elevation gain/loss: 610m/580m
I woke up to a beautiful sunny day. A perfect day for hiking. From Saltoluokta one needs to take a boat across a lake and then a bus to Vakkotavare to continue on a trail. A bus is hard to avoid as it covers 27km of road, so walking that distance would take a day in itself. Unfortunately, as it was the end of the season, there was only one bus in the afternoon, which meant that a hike to Teusajaure, my goal for today, is hardly possible unless I wanted to walk in the dark.
The whole morning I was wondering what to do. It felt such a shame to lose a perfect weather day to waiting for a bus. Then during breakfast, I met another solo hiker, a girl from France. She came from Teusajaure and said that she actually hitchhiked the bus section and that way was able to finish the section in one day. Hitchhiking? Alone? Hmmm, I don’t know. I never hitchhiked before…
After breakfast I met a fellow hiker who was doing the same trek as me, so I casually suggested this option as a way to proceed with the trail. However, he was not really in a hurry as he had a few extra days and so he settled on waiting for the bus. As there was a boat crossing to the other side at 11:00, I had to make up my mind quickly.
Just as with other decisions I made on my solo hikes, I decided to follow my gut feeling. When thinking about getting a hitch, I didn’t feel scared. I felt rather calm. For some magical reason Kungsleden really gives this vibe of safety and trust. That is also how I decided to wild camp a few days ago. It just felt fine. And so today I decided that I will hitchhike to Vakkotavare because it felt fine.
As the place is very remote, I was risking not getting a ride at all. But hey, then I’ll just wait for that afternoon bus on the other side while sitting in a sun. I knew I’d regret it if I didn’t try and so I bid my farewell to Saltoluokta and took the morning boat to the other side. Let’s do this hitchhiking thing!
While on the boat I was already eyeing potential “helpers” to my quest, but it seemed that everyone was heading the opposite side, away from Kungsleden. Most of the people went for a bus, which also went in another direction, it’ll only come back in the afternoon. Once the bus left, I settled on the other side of the road where soon dead silence greeted me as I awkwardly stood and waited.
A few cars showed up, but they all came from Vakkotavare. 15min later I started doubting whether any car will go in my direction. After all, there was not much to visit there. Then I saw a car coming from the pier with two ladies in it and showing a turn towards Vakkotavare. OMG, my finger shot up with a look of “please take me”.
The driver stopped for me (hallelujah!) and asked where do I need to go. They didn’t know Vakkotavare and cautiously told me that they’ll only follow this road for a couple of kilometers. No way I’m letting them go, maybe they’re my only chance, so I quickly reassured them that any ride towards my destination is fine. I have nothing to lose as the bus would only come after a few hours anyway, I can take it midway if I fail to reach Vakkotavare before it comes.
So here I was sitting in a car of two strangers on my first hitchhike and it felt completely fine. In fact, it felt awesome to drive towards the trail. Ladies had a small discussion in Swedish while checking where this Vakkotavare is and then told me that they’ll take me all the way there. They worried that I will not get any other ride and will be stuck on the road. That was sooooo sweet of them. Once again, random kindness from people on the trail melted my heart.
A few kilometers before Vakkotavare there was some road work happening and the ladies decided to stop there. The road was narrow, so they didn’t want to get stuck there. I was mega grateful for the 24km they drove me and completely didn’t mind walking the last few km. Thank you so so much!
It was only 11:45 and here I was hitting the trail. Magnificent white peaks on the other side of the lake followed me all the way to Vakkotavare while t-shirt weather put a smile on my face. Life is beautiful.
At Vakkotavare I stopped to chat with the warden of the hut and scored an almost full gas can for my stove. Many hikers leave various hiking stuff behind for others while leaving the trail, so thanks, somebody, for the gas. I didn’t even know I was in a critical gas situation until my own gas was empty that same evening. Close call!
As I ascended the hill above Vakkotavare, I got to see the whole valley with white peaks of Sarek national park in the distance. Some of those peaks seemed to be forever buried in snow, I hope it stays this way! Peaks surrounding my trail were sprinkled with fresh snow as well, reminding me again, that winter is coming to Kungsleden. It felt that I should expect snow any day now.
Today’s trail felt truly majestic. The vastness of the landscape around me was both breathtaking and intimidating. I really felt like a little speck treading through the wilderness. There was nobody on the trail, even no sounds, just me and the mountains everywhere I looked. As if I was far away from any civilization, fully relying just on myself to cross this greatness.
Towards the end of the trail, I had to cross the coolest bridge on the trail. It was again one of those tall long metal hanging bridges, but what made it cool was its name. I crossed a Bro bridge. Apparently, in Swedish, a bridge is called bro, which technically makes every bridge in Sweden cool. However, I consider this particular bridge the coolest as it has this sign “Bro”.
As I was descending through a forested slope towards the lake, I knew I’ve missed the last motorboat for today (yep, another mandatory lake crossing). I thought about taking a rowing boat. It was only 1 km and a straight line, maybe I could do it?
At the shore I found only one rowing boat on my side, meaning I’d have to row three times. Then I glanced at the other side and, man, it looked soooo far away. While hitchhiking felt fine, rowing alone didn’t feel that nice. I think I’ll just camp next to the lake and get the boat in the morning. Cannot complain about the views anyway, what a sunset.
Day 5 tips
- This bus and boat schedule mismatch I had, happens only towards the end of the season. There are fewer busses and boats in September, while in summer there usually are at least two connections: in the morning and the evening.
- You don't have to cross Bro if the level of the river is low. Bro requires a little detour, while an old trail is going straight and then descends steeply into the river bed. I've met other hikers who crossed the river directly, they said it was ok, so it might be an option. It is up to your judgment though.
Heya, is it so that there’s no rowing boat for crossing the Saltoluokta lake?
Nice post, I’m planning for the Kings Trail Hike Through for 23.
Hey Martin! That’s right, there’s no rowing boat, the only way to cross Saltoluokta lake is by private boat, which puts a clear “deadline” for the hike 🙂