RAPADELTAT

RAPADELTAT

FOR A LONG TIME, RAPADALEN HAD BEEN ONE OF THOSE PLACES WE DREAMED OF REACHING. WE HAD SEEN PHOTOGRAPHS OF ITS VAST VALLEYS AND MOUNTAINS AND KNEW THAT ONE DAY WE WANTED TO EXPERIENCE IT OURSELVES. THIS YEAR, WE FINALLY MADE IT.

THE WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY WAS SHORT. THERE HAD BEEN HEAVY RAIN BEFORE OUR HIKE, AND MORE RAIN WAS FORECAST FOR THE DAYS AFTER. BUT FOR ONE DAY, THE CONDITIONS WERE ALMOST PERFECT. WE SET OUT ON A 32-KILOMETRE HIKE, KNOWING THAT WE HAD TO MAKE THE MOST OF THIS ONE CHANCE.

THE MOSQUITOES WERE UNFORGIVING, BUT THE HIGHER WE CLIMBED, THE MORE IT WAS WORTH IT. UP ON THE MOUNTAIN, WE WERE COMPLETELY ALONE. THE LIGHT WAS BEAUTIFUL, AND THE LANDSCAPE SEEMED TO CHANGE EVERY FEW MINUTES. EVERY TEN MINUTES, ANOTHER MOOD, ANOTHER LIGHT, ANOTHER VIEW.

IT WAS ONE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL AND PEACEFUL HIKES WE HAVE EVER EXPERIENCED. DESPITE THE LONG DISTANCE AND THE MOSQUITOES, EVERYTHING FELT JUST RIGHT. BEING THERE, ALONE IN THIS VAST LANDSCAPE, WITH THE LIGHT CHANGING CONSTANTLY AROUND US, FELT LIKE AN ABSOLUTE STROKE OF LUCK.

THE NEXT DAY, THE WEATHER REMINDED US HOW QUICKLY THINGS CAN CHANGE IN THE NORTH. IT POURED WITH RAIN, AND THE BOAT RIDE OUT WAS PROBABLY ONE OF THE MOST UNCOMFORTABLE WE HAVE EVER EXPERIENCED. BUT THAT IS PART OF WHY WE TRAVEL THIS WAY. THE LONG HIKE, THE MOSQUITOES, THE RAIN, THE COLD, THE UNCOMFORTABLE BOAT RIDE — WE WOULD DO IT ALL AGAIN.