Padjelantaleden

See also: Hiking in the Nordic countries

This trip goes into wilderness areas where assistance is unavailable and unexpected events can occur. Always use caution and make sure you know the conditions you might encounter. Do not attempt to hike on Padjelantaleden without a detailed hiking map. Off line GPS hiking maps for Padjelanta and Kvikkjokk-Jakkvik can e.g. be purchased via the app Calazo. A spare device with the electronic map, off and watertightly packed, is recommendable. Still carry at least an overview map on paper – and check it has enough detail for finding a viable route should the electronics fail.

Padjelanta national park is part of the Laponia UNESCO World Heritage site. The area is a Sámi region, where reindeer husbandry and other traditional livelihoods are still practised.

It is possible to hike Padjelantaleden in either direction. At Ritsem, the Fjäll (mountain landscape) consists of higher and steeper fells than in Kvikkjokk, where the trail leads through forest sections. This article describes the direction from Kvikkjokk to Ritsem, thus providing a climactic scenic experience for most travellers.

In this article, we concentrate on a summer hike.

There is also the possibility of going in the winter, but only with the right skills. You will need skis suitable for off-track skiing. The trail markings can be obscured by snow and there is less service; the huts are not necessarily manned, but one of the huts in any of the camps should be open. Beware of snow storms in open areas, and Arctic temperatures. The huts are manned at Easter, which is about the best time for winter hikes.

The huts in the national park itself are maintained by the local Sámi communities through

• Badjelánnda Laponia Turism, Storgatan 40, Jokkmokk, ☏ +46 70 281 30 03, padjelanta@padjelanta.com. (updated Apr 2017)

Some huts, such as at the trailheads, are maintained by the Swedish tourist association, STF.

From Stockholm, there is a night train stopping in Murjek, from where you can take the connecting bus to Kvikkjokk. In Kvikkjokk, you have to take a small boat to get to the trailhead.

The trail ends in Anonjalme, on the south side of the lake Áhkájávrre (Akkajaure). There is a ferry going to Ritsem, from where you can take the bus to Gällivare, where you take the night train back to Stockholm.

The connection by train to Stockholm takes some time, but staying in a sleeper in the train is quite comfortable and the buses and ferries are generally set up to provide a seamless trip without having to wait too much in one place. It is recommended to buy your bus ticket combined with the train. In that case, if the train is delayed and you miss the bus you will be supported to make the final link. Although less ecological, flying to Kiruna from Stockholm might be an alternative.

Several of the huts on the trail have a connection by helicopter. Although expensive and not a very ecological solution, they do provide the possibility for quick travel in case of unexpected problems, provided one is near one of the huts with helicopter landing zones.

In the start and end points, Kvikkjokk and Ritsem, there are STF fell stations, which are quite large and carry a greater range of supplies than the huts in between. Other than that, only Staloluokta is large enough to have a range of items available.

Also when the huts are unmanned there should be firewood available. If you use an unmanned hut, pay by the giro forms available at the hut, to the host at the next hut, or on the Internet.

Although the trail should be quite easy to follow, if you lose it, you are in the middle of wilderness. Know how to cope and don't panic: admit the problem before straying further from your last known position, have a good rest to calm down – would lunch now be appropriate? – and figure out how to get somewhere you cannot miss. If visibility is bad you might want to camp.

It can be cool, windy and wet also in midsummer, with a risk of hypothermia. If your gear is deficient, you might have to keep on moving until you can get to the next hut or camp safely – especially if somebody is cold and wouldn't want to. Also, somebody who is miserable might think that finding their gloves in their backpack or putting on that dry sweater is too much trouble, especially as it means taking off some clothes first. Don't give up for such reasons. If somebody is in bad condition, sharing a sleeping bag can help.

Don't rely on mobile phone connectivity. There are probably long distances without connectivity. In emergencies, getting to higher ground can help, otherwise send someone to the nearest hut.

Kvikkjokk is not only the starting point of Padjelantaleden, but also serves as an important waypoint of Kungsleden. Connecting to Kungsleden is thus possible.

On the other end of the trail, hiking part of the Nordkalottleden is possible, as described above as an alternative exit or continuing farther along it. In the Kvikkjokk end, you could take Nordkalottleden from Kvikkjokk or Stáloluokta to the Sulitelma massif and end up in Norwegian Sulitjelma (37 km from Stáloluokta, 116 km from Kvikkjokk along Nordkalottleden), with bus to Fauske and Bodø, which have connections onward. You could also fork away just before the Sulitjelma village and continue by the European long-distance route E1 towards Sicily.

From Ritsem, there are several hiking possibilities. Long hikes include the Gränsleden trail to Norway, Kungsleden, and Nordkalottleden (the latter two passing reasonably close: a day or two away). At Akka (the end of the hiking trail, just before taking the ferry over to Akkajaure), it is possible to do some more serious mountaineering in going into the Akka massif. Proper precautions should be made, since the weather may change rapidly at any time. A small trail starts near the east side of the large bridge over Vuojatädno.