ARCTIC CIRCLE TRAIL_2014
DAY 10: KANGERLUARSUK TULLEQ TO SKI LIFT
We slept over eleven hours last night, woke up around 7:15am, and felt well rested. The fog was still very dense, and we were grateful to have this cozy hut to shelter us from the cold and wetness. For breakfast we had oatmeal with powdered milk, pork floss, and tea. After packing up and cleaning out the hut, we departed around 9:15am.
The morning started with a uphill hike through boggy terrain in dense fog along the south shore of the fjord. The other side of the fjord was barely visible. We crossed a few streams, one with a small waterfall, and then began a steady climb away from the fjord into more dense fog. We took many breaks because the trail was steep and sustained. Eventually we reached flatter terrain, but it remained wet and boggy. We saw an outhouse with a steep roof perched on the precipice of a rocky bluff. More trash began to appear littering the trail as we got closer to Sisimiut, including empty glass bottles and plastic bags. After a strange rocky valley with shallow pools of water followed by a stream crossing, we finally began to descend steeply into a valley surrounded by peaks shrouded in clouds. The expansive view of the lush green valley floor was magnificent.
We forded across a shallow but icy cold river on the valley floor, the final river crossing of the trek. Then we began a gradual ascent up rolling hills on a very straight trail with low-lying vegetation. The skies began to clear and the sun eventually started to peak out from behind the clouds. It was already mid-afternoon and we were still over 8 km from Sisimiut, the terminus of the Arctic Circle Trail, and we were not sure if the reception desk would be open at the Sisimiut hostel. Surrounding us were unbelievably beautiful views of serrated peaks, including Nasaasaaq (also known as Kaellingehatten), with patches of snow at their base, and a lush green valley floor with a gurgling stream. We didn’t want the trek to end, so it was an easy decision to stop for the day (at around 4:15pm) and complete the trek tomorrow. We found a relatively flat spot near the base of the ski lift to pitch our tent.
Fan filtered some water. Jie set up the tent and unpacked. We cooked dinner together by some boulders: BP Mexican style rice with beef, garlic mashed potatoes, cheesecake, and lemon balm tea (from our Haute Route hike in Switzerland last year). Everything was delicious. The lazily setting sun cast a golden glow on the valley floor and the greens and yellows really stood out. After dinner Fan took a cold but refreshing bath in the stream.
We climbed into our sleeping bags around 7:45-8pm. The sun was still setting slowly but the skies grew slightly cloudier. Bugs became more abundant in the later afternoon. During the night, we heard some loud, low rumbling sounds due to rock fall at the base of the mountains across the stream. Our tent was pitched at a safe distance from the rock fall, but it was nevertheless unsettling for Jie.
Daily totals: 7.5 miles, 7 hours.