2013 Expedition - Jokkmokk - Part Two

In the morning, we set out for a quick reconnaissance of the immediate area.

In particular we wanted to scout out an area where we could set up a camp for a couple of nights. The snow was deep and powdery, fairly solid on tracks that were well beaten but off track we were sinking a couple of feet into the powder even with snow shoes on.

Sweden has laws which give campers very good access to the outdoors or “The Nature” as they say it there.

With these rights also come responsibilities.

Firstly you must be a reasonable distance from the nearest dwelling and not damage crops including tree plantations.

There was plenty of dead wood in the area and it was near enough to the Camping Centre for a retreat if required.

We double checked with the local Tourist Information Office that it would be suitable and then sent it’s location to the other expedition members that were due to follow us in a few days.

In the afternoon we walked back into Jokkmokk for a better look around.

Although the temperature was around -10°c there was not a breath of wind so the snow was sitting thickly on every branch or surface. It was the sort of scene that you think only really exists in fairy tales.

Many of the trees were bowing down under the accumulated weight of snow which must have built up over several days.

Compared to the conditions we get in the UK the snow here is much drier. Even when walked on it does not compact like the snow we are used to back at home.During our entire stay the sun did not rise more than 10° above the horizon.

It is this partly this low angle which gives the light such a strange quality in the Arctic.

There was some beautiful craft work or “Duodji” at the Saami Handicraft Foundation and they also had some very good books in their library as well.

Damian found some very good woollen socks in one of the local stores too (I bought a couple of pairs a few days later too.)

The Boreal Forest is breathtakingly beautiful in the Winter, especially on a calm day.

The texture of the trees is brought into relief by the snow and there is a kind of exagerated reality to it all.

There is also an eerie silence interrupted only by our footfalls and the occasional flock of feeding birds.

There were lots of tracks to be seen, mostly hare but also reindeer and elk too.

Old man’s beard was easy to find and there was plenty of birch about too.

The main problem was a lack of reliable distance information so we had to estimate or distance at about 6-7 miles for the round trip.

We had been given advise not to venture out onto the river when we arrived and given the low temperatures at this time of year it might be tempting to think that this advise was over cautious.

Having said that we observed slush pools in various places on the ice covering the river and there were frequent piles of snow which must have been covering collision piles of broken ice.

What did surprise me however is the open leads in this small stream running through the woods and the slush pools we saw on even quite small pools that we passes along the mire.

The consequences of breaking through such thin ice, often disguised by a covering of snow could be very serious indeed at these freezing temperatures and this goes to show how important it is to heed the advice of people that live with these conditions and know the area well.

At one point we discovered a small snow covered sign indicating that the track we were following made up part of the “Arctic Trail”.

This is a network of snowmobile trails covering Northern Sweden, Norway and Finland allowing “Travel without borders” through some of the most spectacular winter landscapes on Earth.

This certainly started Damian thinking about future projects.

As we returned to the cabin we saw the first arboreal avalanche of what turned out to be many more.

It was as if the whole forest had grown weary of it’s burden and one tree after another shrugged it’s shoulders to lighten the load.

A faint breeze of just a couple of knots was all it took for this hair trigger response and we spent some of the evening watching these sudden downpours of powder and the associated “crump” of the snow as anything up to a hundred pounds or so of snow cascaded from the overloaded trees.

We set aside the next day to visit  Ájtte, the Saami museum in the town.

We gave ourselves 4 hours for this but soon discovered it was not really enough time. There was loads to see and here are a few of my edited highlights although there were many more.

Wooden blade protectors for an axe and an adze.

It is slightly more awkward on tight turns but rides on this powder very well indeed and is narrow enough to follow the trail left by our snowshoes. It is easily capable of carrying two men’s gear for a cold camp and I suspect a hot camp would be no problem either.

I had noticed this bent tree on our earlier foray. I had the idea that it would make a good structural frame for a modified Adirondack style shelter which is my preferred tarp rig in these conditions.

I stamped the snow down with snowshoes and let it set up for about half an hour before proceeding with my rig.

It’s worth pointing out that this surface was still about a foot above the forest floor and walking without the snowshoes meant sinking about six inches further into the snow until the surface hardened after a couple of nights.

Damian set up a ridge tarp over a dug out area which gave him snow walls on three sides.

He also dug a small “fire pit” in one corner which he used to shelter his stove for a brew up.

I had a hot drink in a flask and a packed lunch, which admittedly was a bit crunchy as it had frozen somewhat, but still provided the food I needed for just one night.

My sleeping arrangements were much the same as last year. My Exped Down Mat with an Alpkit Skyhigh 800 Down bag inside a Nanok -10 Extreme Sythetic bag both contained by a British Army Bivi Bag. Warm, cosy and comfortable at the very mild -10°c we were out in that night.

We prepared some firewood and left it under my shelter in case the lads arrived too late to sort anything out themselves and left that shelter standing to see whether it attracted any attention in the next couple of days.

One thing we were aware of is that if the others wanted to visit the market, they would have to leave their bivis standing because there was not really enough daylight hours to break camp and re-set up every time.

We noted a few sources of dead wood so that we could find them in the dark if needed and marked the trail into the camp area in case we were not around when the lads arrived.

The area was relatively high and dry as far as we could determine but was bounded on two sides by an area that could well be a bit boggy.

Given the evidence of free water that we had seen earlier we wanted to be very sure of our position in the dark.

There were some very large erratic boulders around.

I’m guessing that the area was partly a glacial moraine left by the last ice age but I’m no geologist so I’ll let more knowledgeable souls consider that one.

This was not the biggest boulder I saw but it was easily larger than my van so cannot imagine any other force that could have placed it there.

There seemed to be a high pressure system moving in.

Finally we were starting to get some glances of the sun.

Andy, the next arrival of our group was due to arrive on this day and it looked like he was bringing good weather with him.

This shot across a bend in the river shows a fire shelter that we considered using for our evenings watching the sky until we realised that having a fire, comfortable as it might be, would spoil any night vision that we hoped to acquire.

We were told that a lad had tragically lost his life in this area trying to cross the river on a snowmobile last year.

It’s all too easy to underestimate these conditions unfortunately.

This is work sold by the makers themselves and many of them expect to make a reasonable living from such work.

When I consider buying such items I look with a craftsman’s eye.

How long would it take me to make something like that? and how much would I expect to earn in that time?

I certainly didn’t think the prices were unreasonable.

I’ve seen people spend extraordinary amounts on mass produced equipment but these things are unique creations made by well known local artisans.

Unless noted otherwise, all photography, artwork and content on this site is copyrighted. © Gary Waidson 2022 All rights reserved

The Ice Raven Project promotes sustainable and low impact bushcraft and wilderness skills in Arctic and winter conditions. This includes the use of  tents, tarps  and snow shelters where possible. Fires are only used where safe and where use and collection of firewood will not damage the natural environment. We often travel to locations by public transport and then use snowshoes, sleds, toboggans and pulks to transport our equipment into the wilderness.