Starting with a nice boat ride across Sitojaure, the hike following landing is a stretch through the forest as you climb higher and higher and break the tree-line before a short plateau walk and then a steep climb down, which becomes very steep approaching Aktse.

Trail Information

Distance: 9km + 4km

Difficulty: Hard due to a steep rocky climb up and down.

Transport: Motor Boat: CASH ONLY: Adjacent to STF Sitojaurestugorna, a few blue cabins offer boat crossings. There is a fixed time of 09:00 and 17:00 for a fixed price, but assuming they're not busy with other things for 350kr, the Boat Driver will run you across at any time, which can be very convenient.

Row Boat: Both the STF cabin and the Motor Boat drier advice against trying to row the lake. Its a long distance and not a direct route. Whilst the boats are available, the motorboat has to regularly go out to collect rowers who have overestimated their ability. There are other lakes to row across if you want the experience.

Resupply: None

Accommodation & Shopping

STF Sitojaure Fjällstuga

Sitojaure is in a picturesque location right on the lake and perhaps 300m away from the motorboat crossing. ITs in a clearing in the forest with some rocky outcroppings into the water. There is no STF store here.

Svijnne

A small emergency cabin just off the docks with camping spaces around it. A good place to wait if you are heading north and have some time before the boat arrives. Information on the boat is left in a laminated sheet at the dock.

The Experience

Day 8 - 26th:

The boat is a short walk away from the STF cabin, run privately by a local woman who also rents out cabins. There are two official crossings, 9:00 and 17:00, with the return being 9:30 and 17:30. (I'd recommend being early for the return trips to be sure you are seen) However, the driver will also run you across any time she has availability for a higher price. This can be particularly useful if there are several of you, but even alone, at 350kr, I took the boat several hours earlier, allowing me to carry on during one of the nicer days I'd had on the trail.

On the trip across the lake, the driver told me of the numerous people she's had to rescue from the rowboat who decided to row the 4 kilometers across the lake and failed halfway. Given you will need to tow a boat back with you if you are taking the only boat on your side, you may be rowing 12 kilometers in total.

The driver also told me it was only 9km and an easy 9km to Aktse, and if I pushed that evening, I'd be able to take the early morning boat across the lake. It sounded like a sensible plan, and I decided to give it a go.

I stopped in Svijnne, just after the dock on the south side of the lake for a break, and spoke to a young Sami girl who was walking the whole trail north with her huskie, so not only have to carry her own food, but enough dog food to keep a large huskie happy. Harder work than I would have wanted to do!

This was perhaps the first of a pattern of stretches in the King's Trail, a lake followed by a steep climb and a long flat plain, followed by a steel decent to the next station and boat crossing. There were not too many creeks for water along this section, and the boat driver warned me of this to ensure I had filled up. There are three I found, one about twenty minutes walk in, another 30 minutes or so further along. There was also a tiny stream due to the heavy rain on the piled rocks you have to climb to reach the hill's summit, but this is not something to depend on. The largest of the creeks forms a small waterfall, and a pair of girls were making the most of the sun and water to clean up and sunbathe.

Reaching the summit is a tough climb, and it is probably five kilometres before you really start to climb. There are many loose rocks as you get higher, but a beautiful view back over where you have come from. Once you reach the top, it is an easy walk along and above the tree line until you reach the final descent to Aktse. If you don't plan on staying at Aktse and paying for camping, stay at the top before the forest as there are a lot of mosquitos down in the lowlands and staying high will be a nicer experience, but you will need to be up early as its about an hour from the top to the boat dock.

The trail down is steep. There are some places to camp as you get closer to Aktse, small clearings in the forest, and you cross a few streams for water, but the mosquito count is high. (not that being in Aktse avoids them).

Etapp 10 - Sitojaurestugorna - Aktse