Kungsleden Day 6 – Protest and Passion

12 miles

My legs protest as I turn from our little camp along the lake and head north on the last day of our Kungsleden section hike. Three days of waking ten or more miles a day around Stockholm followed by five days on the Kungsleden has turned my normal gait into an abridged shuffle. One which takes an hour plodding under the moody low-slung clouds to work itself out and set my legs to churning across the marsh and miles. Glacial valleys pass into rain-soaked valleys which dip and roll into sparse forest. More than sixty miles and in some ways we are exactly where we started, in an arctic forest crossing river after river, some bridged others requiring dancing steps across moss-laden rocks.

If I am being honest, our campsite for the night cannot come soon enough. However, since crossing into Abisko National Park we are relegated to one of two campgrounds along the trail. And so, despite passing a number of viable options I trudge on through tired muscles and a grumbling stomach. Yet, this is not to say I am not fully enraptured by the experience. But rather that joy, unlike fun, comes at the junction of effort and passion. In this moment I am exhausted and my feet hurt and I smell in a way that is both unpleasant and unflattering. And yet, I spent today, tired moments and all, pointing to glaciers peaking through the clouds, watching mama birds wrangle her chicks, and sharing it all with one of the people I love most in this ridiculous world of ours. The discomfort, the pain, they are tied together with the wonder. Without the effort I would not have these moments and it is that which breeds joy.