Water up to my knees, living in a melting environment.

Wind burts, not a continous ones, kept me awake most of the night. Due to the permafrost, no snow scenario, theres really nothing to anchor the tent safely in. So the heavy Fjellpulkan did the difference, but I couldnt relax. At times I had the tent ceiling on me.

I quickly relaized that the wind had cleared more snow and created wet deep snow when available and the lakes and rivers where showing patches of open water.

Birds where singing, cranes trumpeting, dripping water was heard everywhere and I realized I have to cut the journey short and return home. I am a week late. If I would have had the opportunity to set off a week earlier, it would have made a major difference.

So all I can do now is to reroute back to basecamp, shouldnt take more than a day or so. Depending on the conditions.

Anyway, I set off after a filling breakfats of apple pancakes and bread made on the stove and started to cross a lake with open water on and off, for security reasons I didnt harness myself in case you go thru, that is death immediately pulling you down in the case of the Fjellpulka. Snow got mushier, deeper and the going was really, really hard. On and off, the snow caved in to just plain water up over the ancles.

Up and down in strong heat, but the advantage was stopping drinking ice cold water from new streams, really the best of the best. And the views, so extreme, so beautiful. I doubt theres a more remotely scenic and beautiful place on earth

And even though the going is tough, it means no people, seeing winter break and spring arrive and just enjoying the heat.

Camp same as yesterday. Windy with no anchor.