Fatmomakke first, midges later

A wonderful place to visit. Quite peaceful and very interesting historically.
Historically the Samisk reindeer herders passed this place twice a year. First in the spring, as they moved their herds from the lowland forests to the open mountains for the summer. And at the end of the summer they returned here on their way back to the winter feeding grounds in the forest.
This was a time when there were no roads here. If you wanted to come here you walked and took boats along the lakes. There were no priests, no police, and no doctors. In the 1800’s a priest and government representative met with the Samisk herders twice a year here. Tourists started to visit around 1900, but they had to be tough too, walking and boating the final 120 kms, and then the same distance back!
History is both in the past, but still present here. Jan’s blip of the kåta being renovated showed the new planks and the new birch bark, but the heavy framework inside has the date 1838 carved into it, together with the initials NNS. Nils Nilsson???
Roads finally got here in the 1940’s. Those times were so tough it is hard to believe for us in 2023. Anyway, if you ever come to this area visit Fatmomakke, and for that matter the village of Saxnäs, from yesterday’s blip.
So life was tough then but we are still suffering some of the same problems they had to deal with.
Our problem today will be familiar to people who’ve camped in Scotland!
Midges…
We have stopped in a quiet clearing, mountain birches, on one side, a fat flowing river on the other. A lovely spot, but we can’t go out without getting devoured by dense clouds of midges. I ran to the back of the van to check the gas, ran back, and jumped back in, and in those few moments a cloud of midges descended on me, and followed me back into the van. Yuck!
Between Fatmomakke and here we drove over the high road across the mountains but as so often with mountains it was raining, and very atmospheric! So we crossed the mountain and came down the other side, back into the birch trees and the midges!
Tomorrow we hope for drier and windier weather…