AUTUMN IN SWEDISH LAPLAND
For one week in 2021, I hiked alone through the Swedish Arctic (Sápmi) documenting the ethereal Autumn season. The yellow hues blanketed the deep valleys with snow capped peaks jutting upward to the sky all around. The hollow sound of silence rang out on the lonely paths, where I only met a handful of people. Sometimes I went days without seeing anyone.
Looking back at these images, I’m reminded of the feeling of being intrinsically a part of nature and not separate from it. Our modern lives cloak this reality, and it can only be removed by moving with the water, wind, snow, the light and the dark unassisted. I hope to return to the Arctic soon.
Day 1
A small heard of reindeer stood motionless under the glowing pastel hues of a rainbow. It floated in the bright white sky opaque with a fine mist of rain that blanketed the hills. The heat of the reindeers breath rose up creating scattered prismatic light in the dewy air. They rested with me in the silence unbothered by my presence.
Food is scarce for reindeer in the Arctic. Lichen, moss and algae sustain them through the harsh winter but it will be blanketed underneath the snow and sometimes frozen unable to be reached.
Day 2
The waters of lake Alesjaure were a clear mirror of pastel blue that moved with the ripple of the wind. A white blanket of fog was blowing towards me in the distance creating a deep chill in my cold fingers that burned as i warmed them in my jacket. Wispy white Cotton Grass swayed in the fields around the lake that looked liked dancing angels in the breeze.
Day 3
The deep valley's were luminescent with rays of light that intermittently pierced through the white cloud cover above. These passing corridors of light illuminated flows of grey water into silvery hues. This 28km section of hiking smelt of decaying grass and was fraught with howling wind and heavy flurries of snow that cloaked the pathway and made navigation impossible for periods of time.
Day 4
My heavy steps crunched beneath me as I trudged along a steep slate covered mountain pass. When I reached the summit, I viewed an expansive pathway that cut through the mountains that was ominous with grey clouds above that suddenly fractured to reveal milky blue skies. The golden orbed sun shone bright above me soaking the wide valley in a yellow light. It was here I met other wanderer’s all moving in different directions and a Sápmi woman with a set of fallen reindeer horns fastened to her rucksack.
Day 5
After hiking a 23km stretch my feet felt like sharp daggers pushing up into my ankles. I jumped into icy waters that were as clear as glass and the freezing temperatures shocked my body which had me sucking cold air in and out deep into my chest.
I set up camp as the dusk set in and clear black skies stretched out around me. I lay awake in my tent gazing at the white dots of sparkling stars. Suddenly, a faint white line split the sky in two and grew in a snake like movements to a swirling mass of green neon light that expanded over the horizon.
Day 6
Hiking the Kebnekaise pass was the most difficult section for me. Exhaustion had set in after hiking for 6 days straight and i fell ill at the base on the climb taking shelter in an emergency hut. With no choice but to continue i trekked the grueling climb to the summit over 2 hours. After reaching the peak, i felt re-energized and continued to walk the the 24km section of winding valley. Heard's of reindeer silently grazing along the river banks kept me company over the 8 hours it took me to complete.
Day 7
I reached the Kebnekaise hut the previous evening and was back surrounded by people day tripping to the mountains from the city. My feet were completely spent after accidentally taking a 40 km detour in the earlier stage of my trip which i haven't detailed here. I flew out of the area by helicopter to the nearest checkpoint Nikkaluokta hovering over a swamp laden valley.
