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Padjelanta and Sarek NP

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    • Padjelanta and Sarek NP

      Astro just posted about hiking in his ancestral homeland (Scotland). Curiously, I have been doing the same, reading about hiking in Padjelanta and Sarek National Parks in NW Sweden part of a remote, scenic, and rugged area north of the arctic circle. Padjelanta NP is a high arctic plateau with many lakes, hills and mountains and is a summer home of the Sami - indigenous semi-nomadic reindeer herders. Access is provided by a network of well marked and maintained trails that are serviced by huts with beds, stoves, kitchens, saunas, and shops offering resupply options (including fish and reindeer sausage). You can also hike off trail and camp anywhere you want. Adjacent Sarek NP, in contrast, is complete wilderness (no trails, huts, or people), with steep glaciated mountains separated by deep valleys. I found a Swedish hiking forum which thanks to Google Translate has been a great source of info. Someone there posted this photo of where the two parks meet at Alkjarve. Remarkably, next to this lake is a 200 year old stone chapel that is still used for Sami church services. To get there you have to hike cross country (no trail) 9 miles from nearest hut, which is a 33 mile hike and 2 mile boat ride from the parking lot/bus stop. If you are in a hurry you can take the helicopter to Staloluokta and hike 16 miles cross country. After church you can follow that valley west through Sarek. Four days later you will come out the other side. This spot is over 25 miles (as the crow flies) from the nearest road, making it more remote than any spot in the US outside of AK.

      swedishtouristassociation.com/trails/padjelantatrail/
      swedishtouristassociation.com/areas/kungsleden/


      The post was edited 1 time, last by odd man out ().