Northern Kungsleden: Early September (Questions)
Current plan:
| Date | Day | Stage | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 28 Aug | Travel | — | |
| 29 Aug | Day 1 | Abisko → Abiskojaure | 15 km |
| 30 Aug | Day 2 | Abiskojaure → Alesjaure | 21 km |
| 31 Aug | Day 3 | Alesjaure → Sälka | 13 km |
| 1 Sep | Day 4 | Sälka → Singi | 12 km |
| 2 Sep | Day 5 | Singi → Kebnekaise Station | 15 km |
| 3 Sep | Day 6 | Summit Kebnekaise | 18 km RT |
| 4 Sep | Day 7 | Kebnekaise Station → Nikkaluokta | 19 km |
Hi all,
I’m thinking of hiking some of the Kungsleden end August / 1^(st) week of September. I’ve done a few multi-day (~5 day hikes) and have been doing some ultramarathons this year but this would be my first completely solo through hike. I was planning to pre-book STF huts to make it easier (and lighter!)
I’d love to get some input – I’ve done some googling but always good to hear from people who’ve done this before.
Distance / time: If I had a really good reason, I could probably add a couple of days at the end – was thinking of adding Nallo/Vistas. Is it worth it? How long would you give for this?
Hut-to-hut in September: the STF website says to take a sleeping bag. Is a liner sufficient in early September / are the huts heated? (I’m further assuming that if I pre-book huts it’s unnecessary to carry a sleeping bag as safety).
Food: Again, with the goal of packing light I was planning on buying food at the STF stores and cooking in the huts. Do I need to carry my own gas for the communal kitchens? Can I pay by card in the hut stores, or do I need to carry krona? How reliable are the hut stores / do I need to carry back up food? I’m assuming it’s worth carrying approx. 3 days of food at any one time.
Water: I was planning on carrying 2l + a basic water filter. Are purification tablets necessary for stream refills?
Kebnekaise: How sensible (or not) is attempting to summit Kebnekaise solo? I’m assuming there’ll be others on the trail and I’d plan on taking the Western Route. Would I need crampons for this time of year?
Weather: would base layer + down jacket + good waterproof shell be mostly sufficient for this time of year or do I need to add a midlayer?