Hi,

Thank you very much for the comments and cheers, both on the web page and here on the trip. They encourage me and it feels nice that the topic is of interest.

What a week or two it’s been. I can’t really tell if there was a day that it wasn’t raining some kind of white. Actually, there was at least one: when I passed Värtsilä, the sun was shining magnificently from the blue sky, and another one in Koitajoki.

I left Satulavaara with hope, with dry gear and new sliding strips installed on the toboggan and a bag full of snacks.
While eating the snacks, I noticed that the peanuts were running out and I remembered that the bag I had brought with me from Matarmäki of Tyrjä given by Tuomo and Timo had been an energy-rich addition to the use. Thanks also for the coffee and filling up the thermoses.

One nice extra and safety accessory for the trip is this reindeer hide. The host of Valkeaporo, Oula Jomppanen from Lemmenjoki, donated it to my upcoming trip, when Saku and I travelled there with motorcycles last summer and stayed overnight. Kari Niemelä also donated his reindeer hide, saying that I might have more of a need for it. Thank you both. However, the beginning of the trip was damp for a long time, so I thought the hide would soon turn into reindeer soup when soaking in the toboggan. But now it’s most convenient to throw it on the floor of the tent as a warm platform for camping or as a cushion for a lean-to. And if the air-insulated mattress bursts, there is a reliable mattress underneath.

It’s really quite a holistic thing to do this winter hike, and there doesn’t seem to be any time left for anything other than constant preparation for the next phase to make the trip as smooth as possible. Daylight hours must be spent on moving, eating from a thermos and making a new dish in there. Tasks in the dusk include setting up and unpacking the camp, melting snow, boiling ditch/stream water to fill thermoses, and sleeping. The roulette spins all the time and there is no extra time left for anything else. These few reports also come with a bit of a delay and it’s hard to remember all the events when you decide to take the time to write. Now, however, after a rest day and the following night, I thought I could share what’s going on.

So, tens of kilometers after Satulavaara, the metal binding threads circling behind the heel from both skis broke, both at the same point. Neatly cut, so seemed like a metal emission or a material defect. Now the yarn seems to be a little thinner and the quality may have changed, as they seem to last. I had an extra ski binding, and when the other broke, I snowshoed to the evening camp, to which our service-minded border guard provided this wandering citizen with an intact binding on loan until I could get my own! This really warmed my mind as I gave thanks to the North Karelia command centre and the border patrol.

In winter, there’s not much going on in the Finnish nature and it is very quiet when you stop to lean on your poles to catch your breath. Mainly, the great spotted woodpecker is opening pine cones against dry wood, and a large crossbill squeaks as it goes and also opens pine cones with its crossed beak. I think they’ll start nesting during February. There are a delightful number of fowls here. I have spotted many flocks of black grouse eating in birch trees and capercaillies glancing at the top of a spruce tree. I’ve had rifle ready to go and a shotgun also, in case of any surprises. Pye in dense spruces and grouse in willow thickets. Traces of deer, foxes, squirrels, hares and otters can be seen.

It was a pleasant surprise when Tuomo, who trains his daughter’s beagle with a hare drive, made sure that there was enough wood at the Virranlampi lean-to. It was nice to continue the journey again after the warm fire. Ilaja’s outdoors men allowed me to stay in their hut near the old big logging cabin in Ilaja. Thank you. In the village of Möhkö, there was a fine Manta Inn, where a shower was arranged. The accommodation setting, renovated and decorated by Tuija and Jorma, with its main buildings, yard saunas, ship cafés and Lapland home, is made very nicely and tastefully. I have to come and visit it in the summer time. Thank you to the hosts for the opportunity to wash up and for the sandwiches and coffee.

The previous week felt really hard and my strength was depleted when there was no time for an entire day of rest. I can’t remember when I would have been so tired physically. The going was just a few steps at a time and even though the mind wanted to go, the body didn’t seem to be able to cope. Even when I was running out of food, I had to endure a decent frosty night before the rest day in Ruunaa. I will return to that.

-Jukka