Nordfjellaksla, or have faith in the locals
I am in the south of Sweden now, where the forests are few and far between. Yesterday I managed to get a ride on the local hill "Rommelklint". It is not very big, but there seems to be a good scene going and there are some really nice well made tracks. Good flow with some jumps, berms and drops. The snow is thin and on the tracks it is mostly worn away by knobbly tires. A nice day out, but I still cannot help thinking about the great rides I had this summer, like this one on Nordfjellsaksla, Lofoten.
The sun rises on another day in paradise. After studying maps, discussing and eating breakfast we decided to leave the central part of Lofoten and head north-east, towards Lödingen and have a last few days there before going home.
New morning in paradise
We spent most of the morning trying to find a trail that was supposed to take us to Strandtinden, but when we at last found it turned out to vanish in the jungle-like forest. A bit disappointed and frustrated we went looking for another trail that a local had described to us. He didn't look like the man who was out hiking much, and in fact he was not even sure where the trail that passed by his house ended up. (If you are reading this, man in the cottage, it ends in wet feet and impenetrable trees deep in the canyon). Obviously, we were not too optimistic about this supposedly existing trail, its nonexistence on the map did not work in its favour either. However, with the afternoon to kill luckily we gave it a shot.
The climb starts on the highest part of the pass on the E10 by Fjellsendvatnet and is mostly a push/hike a bike, as usual. Going up the trail looks very fun indeed, lots of big rocks and steep chutes. The climb is punctuated in the middle by a false summit, full of thick vegetation and a nice view.
The climb eased off a bit and the terrain opened up
False summit, with fantastic view as usual
Continuing the climb one reaches the hut at the top, good spot to indulge in sandwiches while taking in the view. The way down is in some places steep and rocky, as we have grown used to by now. Since the ride is fairly short we stopped and did some sections more than once, trying to nail the crux moves with varying success.
Finding the line in the rocks
Maria pushing up to have another go
Between the steep tricky bits there were sections where flow was cheaper, making this a very nice and varied descent.
Enjoying the views
Once again thanks to Maria and Lennart, various locals and geology in general that created these spectacular mountains!
Flowing off into the fjord in the setting sun, the best way to end a day