Day 4, August 7, 15 km

I take off early and walk by the Låddejåhkå huts before the trail goes uphill passing a reindeer enclosure and a number of storage buildings. At the pass it starts raining and I pull out my rain gear and talk to a fellow hiker brewing coffee behind a large Cairn. She is on her way to Nordkalott-leden, an 800-kilometer trail crossing the Pajelanta trail in to the rougher terrain of Norway.

The rain continues the rest of the day, and the leg to the Arasloukta huts is heavy. 

 I reach Arasloukata around 2 pm and decide to spend the night in one of the huts to dry my gear. Meake and her two children, 6 and 13 years old are having lunch outside in the rain. They set off in the rain to find a place to pitch their tent. I am impressed. They are a tough bunch.

 An hour later Markus and Hans, my Swiss friends, show up and move in to the hut next to mine. We have dinner together and share a nice evening together.

Huts on the trail

The accommodations along the trail are run by STF (Swedish Tourist Association) or by the Saamis. 

Each lodge has a host and a small store. They lack electricity and running water and guests are expected to fetch water from streams and clean up after themselves. The water from the streams is drinkable without filtration all along the trail, a great bonus.

 In the communal kitchen a woodstove sparkles, hikers cook meals on the gas stoves and share stories. Most huts have bunkbeds for six to eight people. It is possible day-passes, a way to dry out gear and get away from the mosquitos for a few hours.