Route

The route for the Northern Section of the Kungsleden.
There is really no navigation problem on the main trail. It is both well marked, well worn and well frequented. Several of the significant points on the route are the various mountain huts which are roughly a day's walk apart.

The side route
The side route is well marked with cairns, and is more or less obvious anyway as it follows a couple of river valleys. There is a gentle climb of around 350m from the main trail to where we camped. The climb to the summit from there is about 1000m. Our return trip with plenty of time for food and hot drinks in the shelter near the top took us 11 hours going gently. Daylight is not a restriction in mid August.

From north to south the main points are:

• Abisko Turiststation is where you would most likely arrive if coming by train.
• The gateway to the walk itself is about 700m away from the station.
• The first campsite we used is one of only three places where camping is permitted in the National Park, which lasts less than the first full day of walking. Helpfully it has a small open shelter.
• There is a shelter at the northern end of the second big lake (Alesjaure) which we found useful for lunch on day 2. It is where people taking the boat wait. If you want a boat you need to raise the Yellow flag.
• Alesjaurestugorna
• Tjäktjastugan
• Sälkastugorna
• The junction between Kungsleden and the side track to Kebnekaise via the Western route. This is not the traditional tourist route from Kebnekaise Fjallstation.
• From our camp 5&6 we took three hours to reach the junction between the Western Route and the main route up Kebnekaise. The trail from this point is marked with red paint on the cairns.
• From the col the route to the summit is clearly marked, although the summit itself is snow-covered and very likely icy (see Hazards).
• Singistugorna has very picturesque toilets 
  
• Kaitumjaure - according to the friendly host there is a small beach on the river near here - downstream from the bridge - where you can swim!
• Teusajaure is on the edge of the lake that must be crossed by boat. You can either row yourself (free but you may need to do it three times to ensure a boat is left on both sides) or in a motor boat (100 SEK for a 10min ride).
• About 150m from the southern landing place there is a small shelter with a woodstove.
• Vakkotavare is on the road to Gällivare. There is a bus stop, a toilet and a carpark.

Hazards

Weather
Without question the major hazard on this trek is the weather.
You need to be prepared (both in clothing, shelter and food) for cold, wet and potentially windy conditions. And that's in summer. On the other hand it can also be mild and sunny. Sometimes these follow one another within minutes. Changeable is the word. As there is no phone signal you would be well advised to get a good weather forecast before starting, and if you have concerns check with Hut Wardens who may have had a radio forecast.

On Kebnekaise itself the wind and cold combination can be severe, and you will need to dress accordingly.

Kebnekaise summit

Almost all the trail up Kebnekaise is very straightforward (at least under the conditions we experienced) BUT the summit itself (the last 25m or so) was a bit sketchy. It really merited crampons and an ice ax. Indeed we saw someone putting on crampons as soon the snow started. There was a high wind with very low visibility, and a slope on either side that disappeared into nothing. It required a deal of care in normal hiking shoes. On the other hand this was barely 300m of walking in 160km, and probably on a fine day would be pretty straighforward.

River crossings
We did not encounter any difficult river crossings, though as always these need to be executed carefully. On day 9 there was the option to take a bridge but most people we saw went straight and walked through the river.

Mosquitoes
These can be a major annoyance in particular seasons. However there is some relief. They don't much like cold and wind. They were not present higher up. They are very slow. The bite doesn't seem to itch much. That may be purely personal, but certainly they seemed less annoying than either midgies in Scotland or sandflies in NZ. I used a head net a few times and was very glad of it; also a strong DEET repellent when necessary. This wasn't as bad as I feared, but it can make cooking outside the tent a bit testing if it is warm.

Getting help
We had no phone signal for the entire trip, but then we didn't try on any summits. The Mountain Huts are the obvious contact point in the event of an emergency. Some (all?) of these have radios. There are no access points other than Nikkaluokta between the start and finish. However this northern section is well frequented in season. Further south that may be a different story altogether.

Gear

Pack

This was the first trek with my new pack - a Crux AK70 70 litre angle compartment climbing sack. It's key features are light weight (1.5kg) and drybag level waterproofness. Both were really nice to have on this trip. I attached an Ortlieb drybag to the exterior with some strong shock cord. The tent and the foam mat clipped neatly onto the sides and yet it still felt like a neat narrow bag. 

The first few days with maximum load were hard but soon it was down to a reasonable level and it became very comfortable.

I'd still like to take this through a few more journeys and treks before I can feel totally confident about its durability. This is because I had some major failings with an earlier model AK57, but this seems to have been a major upgrade since then. Let's hope so. 

Tent

I used the Tarp tent Contrail (750g plus a trekking pole) that I'm currently cycle touring with. We somehow fitted in and survived quite well. This tent has already crossed the Pyrenees, Iceland and Scotland with me as well as a little use in the Himalayas, so it has form. However I wouldn't choose it if I had all my tents available to select from. I'd go for something a bit more four season. If we had had the rain we had on day one combined with the wind on day 6 for all ten days then that would have been a bit testing. 

I'd go with something really designed for wind and rain together. Still kudos to the Contrail for getting us through this in good order. My experience in Iceland was put to very good use here when siting our tent. Happily because I was anticipating wind I bought extra tent pegs (11 in all compared to the miserly 4 that come with the tent). This was a very good move. 

One big plus of this tent is that it's very fast to put up and take down provided that the ground takes pegs (not a given) and you can find a loose rack as a hammer. As a result we often put the tent up at lunchtime to enjoy some respite from wind for cooking and from potential or actual rain while eating. In an hour long break it adds a bare 5 minutes so is well worth it. 

There's a good argument for having a freestanding tent on this terrain. 

People with hammocks need not apply! Once again they are useless. Evidently I'm not a fan, but in truth most of this is open treeless terrain with low rocks at best, and high wind at worst. 

Sleeping

In August the temperatures were very moderate (0-20°C). It only froze one night. Wind and rain were more significant than cold. My Exped bag (rated to -1°C) is about 6 years old. It has been badly treated with high use and has deteriorated significantly in the upper half. Notwithstanding that I was always comfortable provided I wore the correct number of layers (and head gear) to bed. This varied considerably from 2 light layers to everything I had short of my shell layer. 

I prefer a lighter bag and extra clothing as a more flexible solution. My rule of thumb is "On the coldest night you should be comfortable with all your clothes on in your bag, otherwise you are carrying too much". So on that basis this was perfect. 

That said I'd like a new down bag rated to about -5 (and about 1kg). 

It was fortunate that we had periods of dry weather but in fact I seldom needed to dry my bag beyond what occurred naturally with body heat.

Underneath I used my trusty 3/4 length Thermarest ultralight mattress. To this I add a square of closed cell foam mat in the upper half. Not only is this useful as a sitting mat, but it also adds some insulation and protection to the Thermarest. Importantly it also stops the Thermarest from sliding about on the tent floor. Very handy when on even a slight slope. 

Cooking

We used gas with an MSR Superfly stove (Note: this is one of only a few stoves that fit both canister types - screw and click). We used one 460g and two 230g canisters. We emptied the last canister after the last breakfast. So perfectly judged but not much leeway. Another half small canister would have been wise in the event of worse weather. 

But then I'm far from minimalist with gas. We make chai three (on a bad day four) times a day and cook a decent evening meal. We didn't stint ourselves but used a windshield consistently. I took the stove up Kebnekaise and we enjoyed hot chocolate near the summit. 

We did meet him one guy with a small wood fuel stove. Good luck with that project in the wind and rain above the tree line (or in a hut!). Still they are great in their place. And to be fair there's a lot of Sweden that's ideally suited to them. Just not the central 7 days of this trek. 

The rest of the "kitchen" consisted of

• 1.8 litre Primus pot (with integrated heat exchanger)
• 0.5 litre titanium mug
• 2 spoons
• 1 plastic mug
• Opinel #8 knife

Note! The huts have gas cookers (and possibly utensils) for those that are staying there. 

Technology

• iPhone 5s for navigation and some photos
• Canon S95 for most photos
• Charger and cables (can be used in trains)
• Two battery packs (only one needed)
• Spare batteries and extra camera card (not used)
• Suunto vector watch
• Steripen (not used)

There was no internet at any point. This was one of the great blessings of this trek.

Storage

• Large plastic bags to divide top and bottom sections of pack. 
• Several stuff sacks for food (organised by meal type)
• Many ziplock bags
• Ortlieb drybag for extra clothing (attached to rear of pack)

Miscellaneous

• Headlamp (Petzl) *
• Baby powder and Cream *
• First aid kit *
• Repair kit for mattress *
• Spare sunglasses * (optimistic, but it's one of my rules)
• Lighters (another rule - I took four plus matches)
• Fine cord and some small carabiners (used as clothes lines)
• Hiking pole (in addition to the one for tent).
  In fact I walked using only one pole but used this one for the tent "vestibule" which was very handy
• Toothbrush and toothpaste
• Baby wipes
• Water bottles (1 litre Nalgene, 1.25 l and 0.5 l sports top)

* Not used

A note on water
Water is abundant. Often excessively so. Almost off of it appeared drinkable (depending a bit on your standards and level of caution). In practice I carried barely 0.25 l whereas my companion carried 1.5 l and drank it all. While I filled my drinking bottle directly from flowing streams, most of the water I drank was boiled and in the form of tea.

Logistics

The logistics for this trek are extremely simple. It's Sweden after all.

Getting to the start
For most people coming from the south the train to Abisko is the easiest way to get there. And by far the most civilized. There is a fine sleeper service, with a restaurant car. It takes 18 hours on the night train from Stockholm and arrives at about 14:30.

Getting back (however reluctantly)
In season there are one or two buses a day from the Mountain hut stop at Vakkotavare to Gällivare from where a train runs overnight to Stockholm and the outside world. Luckily the train is full of hikers which provides a bit of a buffer from the shock of returning to what is known as "the real world".

Notes
Both these trains can be full in season so these need to be booked well in advance. We booked in May for August. 
A small pack of water is supplied. There are power sockets in the sleeping compartment.