When I woke up, the first thing I did was to take a look outside. When I saw the morning light on the mountain opposite the lodge, I just had to go out with the camera and get some quick pictures before breakfast. We wanted to get going early because the 19 km from Sylarna to Blåhammaren is the longest hike of Jämtlandstriangeln and we had made dinner reservations (yes, that’s right – dinner reservations) and despite all our calculations to assure ourselves that we wouldn’t have a problem with time, we still preferred a comfortable safety margin.
The first 3 km from Sylarna was down hill and we made quick time. The sky had completely cleared by then so now we had glorious blue skies all around and it was warm enough to peel off the jacket, it was just unbelievable to hike out there in the sunshine with hardly any wind at all. I ended up hanging my camera from my neck instead of tucking it in the backpack all the time, because I now had photo ops around every corner. Normally I don’t even like carrying the camera around my neck because it starts to ache quickly, but now I was able to wrap the OpTech strap around the backpack harness so that the weight was spread across my shoulders instead. Glad I got the strap, although I never thought I’d use it like this when I got it!
It turned out that the hike wasn’t nearly as hard as we thought it might be. Felt like the 19 km today were a lot easier than the 16 km yesterday and in a way it probably was so – the uphills were more gentle, the trail was smoother and our spirits lifted by the scenery around us. We got to Blåhammaren before 4pm so the problem wasn’t with making it in time for dinner, it was the idle time waiting for it!
Blåhammaren is the smallest of the mountain lodges in Sweden and it is located at an altitude of 1086 metres (making it the highest mountain lodge), but it has one more important claim to fame – dinner. Reputed to be a culinary experience with table seating and introductions, of course we just had to try it. And excellent it was – a perfect way to finish the triangle (tomorrow’s trek is just the short 12 km to Storulvån and then a drive home) and well worth the visit just for the sake of it, as it seemed like a lot of people do. My only regret (albeit a very small one) was that I missed the moonrise which I had planned to photograph, but I did see it from the dining room window right where I was sitting. It probably wouldn’t have been any good anyway – too much light left in the sky so the full moon was too pale to make an impression. Sour grapes perhaps, but wonderful dinner.