EUROPE > Sweden > lapland
Stendalen — Swedish Lapland
Jane
Dickman
Article & Pictures © 2009 Jane Dickman
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T/T #104
FreeStyle 7.8
Feature Article
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When
you say you are going to lapland on holiday, most Swedes look
at you, thinking, ‘Är du inte klock?’ (Are you
mad?). Midges, millions of them they think... But by late August
most of these insects are gone. |
When you say you are going to lapland on holiday, most Swedes look
at you, thinking, ‘Är du inte klock?’ (Are you mad?).
Midges, millions of them they think, or as my Swedish teacher thought
it was in English: midgets! Most foreigners think Land of the Midnight
Sun, Icehotel... then midges! But by late August most of these insects
are gone and it is autumn above the Arctic Circle. Driving along the
E10 from Kiruna to Abisko and encountering Torneträsk lake, a rich
deep blue framed by the forest of birch trees with leaves turning golden,
you cannot help but think to yourself: is this where they got the idea
for the colours of the Swedish flag? On this drive, of a couple of hours,
you are likely to encounter more reindeer than cars: we saw 3 cars and
about 70 deer! Quite a contrast to the comparable distance on the M6
from Manchester to Birmingham!
On my second trip to Abisko I had hoped to do the Stendalen trail but
was spoilt for choice by the plethora of wonderful walks in stunning
scenery among snow capped mountains, or the beauty of walking along
Abisko Gorge and the northern end of Kungsleden (The King’s Path);
I ran out of time — always a good excuse to return (which I did).
Rallarvägen (the Navvy Road) is the route of the Malmbanan (The
Ore Railway) which was completed in 1902 and meant iron ore could be
shipped year round from the mines of Northern Sweden out through the
Norwegian port of Narvik , which is ice free all year.
Nowadays the railway is also used for passengers, as well as freight.
My trip to Stendalen was scheduled to start at Abisko rail station.
Unusually, for Sweden, the train was late. The rather distorted tannoy
announcement stretched my Swedish — but the gist was the train
is cancelled. A bus is replacing the train. Please go across the road
to the bus stop and wait. There were about 15 of us on the platform
and we all scurried across the road as instructed.
The bus arrived, already quite full. I was lucky enough to get on and
to even get a seat. After about 30 - 40 minutes the bus pulled up and
the driver announced this was the stop for Stendalen. It looked like
she was depositing us randomly in the middle of nowhere! On closer observation
I spotted a footpath sign across the road. Heading for that, we walked
over a bridge, over a stream, then crossed the rail line and climbed
up through low birch trees, crowberry and lingon bushes, along a surprisingly
well defined path, which had been invisible from the E10.
After
about a 20 minute climb our group were at the mouth of Stendalen. It
was the Valley of Stones — actually more boulders — and
some of the rocks where bigger than houses. It is a typical U-shaped
glacial valley like we all learn about at school, with an array of hanging
valleys, and a glacial cirque lake at the foot of the frost shattered
headwall. The last was our lunchtime picnic goal.
But
first we had to pass between two small tarns which are home to a unique
tiny shrimp species only found in them and nowhere else. A bit further
on, there were a couple of quite deep scars, like a giant JCB had been
randomly at work. It was in fact the indentations from a huge chunk
of rock which had recently shattered off the valley side further up
and bounced down the mountain side to join its relations who had settled
in the valley bottom when the glacier receded. We then visited the biggest
‘stone’ in the valley.
Our
guide was well informed about the various plants in the valley of which
there were many alpines, and he let us try some Sami ‘nuts’
and ‘lemon grass’ as well as angelica as he found them on
our trek. After a couple of hours we reached our picnic spot –
Trollsjön (the Troll Lake). None were present! Its slightly sulphurous
nature means it has no fish but it is a glorious turquoise colour and
the water is deep and very clear. We lunched on the rocky lip at the
front of this cirque lake and the sun came out to set the scene off
in its full beauty.
Our
return route was along the western side of the valley and less well
defined. We clambered down a waterfall, inched round a rocky outcrop
and bog trotted through heathers and other low bushes before wading
a couple of streams of crystal clear icy water. It tasted so fresh and
invigorating. We stopped for a short break and saw a sea eagle soaring
above us. Another half an hour and Vassijaure Rail Station came into
view.
We continued down. Just as we were exiting the valley a herd of reindeer
appeared on our left on top of a hillock, silhouetted against the sky.
The lead stag, with an impressive array of horns, stood alone away from
the herd with the sun behind him. It was a fabulous farewell to Stendalen.
As we neared the village a couple of the local children appeared chatting
to us and running alongside. What a great playground they had!
We crossed the rail track and reached the station, a monolith of a
building, totally out of place in its surrounding. We had ten minutes
to spare. Outside the building is the memorial to the only Swedish national
killed on home turf during the Second World War – a delivery man,
who was not a local, just in the wrong place at the wrong time. (Guess
what. Sweden is a neutral country).
This time the train did arrive. The return journey allowed us to wonder
at the stunning scenery glimpsed between avalanche tunnels and reflect
on our truly amazing walking experience.

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