August 19 - Yet more rain when we woke up so we stayed in the tent until noon when the rain finally took a short break. We have 2 days to do the last 12 miles, so there's no hurry, the rain is supposed to stop, and there is plenty of light to hike later.

We packed up and walked 1/4 mile to the Kebnekaise mountain station which is actually a huge resort with 200 rooms, restaurant, and shop. We enjoyed a great lunch buffet with reindeer, chicken curry, rice, corn, quinoa, and juice. We really took advantage of the stop and their wifi.

We met a Danish couple and two French hikers while relaxing after lunch in a common room waiting for the rain to give up. Another hiker noticed the scouting emblem on my hat and asked about it. Turns out he was a scout in Hong Kong but has lived most of his life in Australia. He was in a group of 10 we had passed yesterday that are hiking hut to hut.

Around 3:30, we finally hiked from Kebnekaise mountain station down the last of the trail out of the mountains.

Because there was no rain this evening, we finally had the opportunity to choose a camping site that looked good to us and have time to set up the tent and relax. We found a flat sandy spot right beside a river. We are camped two miles away from our bus stop in the morning where we will board a bus to Kiruna. We are going to stay in a hostel for two nights and have a chance to wash clothes and check out the area before we fly to Stockholm and then on to Edinburgh.

This bridge leaving the mountain station had stickers pasted on it, so.... can you find mine?

Check out my current location on the map.