Hi!
I’m flying to Kiruna this Sunday and was planning to head to Abisko for around 3 days.
Plan A is to sleep in a tent, but is that actually realistic at this time of year? I have a decent tent and proper gear, but most of the information I’ve found doesn’t really say much about camping conditions in October.
Also, if you have any recommendations for things to do or see in Kiruna, I’m all ears!
Thanks!
We hiked in reverse from Vakkotavare to Abisko, camping everyday, sometimes wild camping, sometimes near the huts. We also did a little detour to the Kebnekaise hut, where we spent 2 nights to climb the peak. That took us 9 days over 150km.
This may be one of the best hikes for those who enjoy wild camping. Endless opportunities along the way, and the fact you can restock supplies in some of the huts make it easier. We started with enough food for 3 days, and we mapped the huts on our way with shops, so we knew exactly where we could buy more.
The Kebnekaise summit was also a nice extra chapter we added to our trip. We almost abandoned the plan because the weather forecast was very rainy, but we decided to give a try and we started at 4am to avoid the heaviest rain. At the top it started to rain, but since the temperature was negative it turned into snow. We had the peak only for us, which seems very rare, but we didn't last so long up there cause it was freezing. We were probably the first ones to make to the top that day, cause we didn't cross with anyone on our way up, then when we started our way down everyone would ask if we made to the top, cause it was still 10am and they would have just started.
We didn't have much sunshine, but we had good rain proof gears, including a Goretex boots, and we were very happy with our gears. We would cross the rivers and just walk with the boots and on the other end we still had our feet dry.
Here is a silent hiking film from our adventure in case you like to watch people walking with ambient music ;P https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJR5CfAP9uU