Hiking the Kungsleden Part IV - Parte to Kvikkjokk

Part IV of the Kungsleden Series

In this article:

• Parte to Kvikkjokk

Parte to Kvikkjokk

On the final day of my multi-day hike along Kungsleden I got up to grey skies and a light drizzle. It was considerably cooler than the previous days and so I got out my rain jacket and packed my stuff to hit the trail rather sooner than later. This section from Parte to Kvikkjokk would be roughly 17 km with only short climbs - most of it descending to the river valley where Kvikkjokk is located. Just before I left the hut the host approached me and asked me if I could take some letters for his family to the post office at the Kvikkjokk fjäll station. I agreed to take on this official assignment and started my way down the Kungsleden.

Most of the following parts were pretty uneventful with most of the trail leading through a dense forest and across some slippery rocks. Minding my step I cautiously made my way further down the trail. 3 km into the hike I met a fellow hiker from the Netherlands who was my hiking buddy from there on out all the way to Kvikkjokk. Pausing every once in a while to refill our bottles at one of the countless creeks crossing our path, to take the occasional picture, or to talk to other hikers along the way we made good time. However, we would soon have to find out that we were not yet out of the woods - literally! After roughly 13 km, and just 5 km before Kvikkjokk we suddenly noticed how we must have lost the actual trail as we suddenly found ourselves on the snow mobile tracks that ran parallel to the actual hiking trail. Here the path was almost impassable after the rain with mud and ankle deep puddles creating some last exhausting hurdles. 

After a while we found ourselves back on the actual hiking trail and reached the Kvikkjokk fjäll station. All in all this final section took me roughly four hours. With my soaking wet feet I was glad to be back in civilization and couldn’t wait to take my first hot shower in four days - after hiking 70 km and gaining 2100 meters of elevation in one of Sweden’s most dramatic wilderness areas. Four days packed with perfect stillness and solitude, beautiful landscapes, exciting wildlife, and lots of friendly faces along the way.

Wooden church

View of the Scandes