Kilpisjarvi to Hirvassvuopio. 61km 11 1/2hrs.
Maps don’t lie. Well not good maps anyway. Over a hundred kilometres separated me from Kautokeino. Despite the growing strength of the sun the snowpack was still in winter condition; comprising of largely unconsolidated facets, making for exhausting, if not impossible trail breaking. Staying on the scooter trails allows progress and so far they have been incredibly quiet. Two marked winter trails reach out to each other from Kilpisjarvi in Finland and Kautokeino in Norway. My problem was that they don’t quite make the handshake. There’s a 10km stretch of rolling flatland, lakes, marsh and willow shrub in between. Precisely the type of terrain that shut me down last week at Lappjordhytta. (I’m still traumatised by 2km taking me 2 1/2hrs.) I’m told there is a border fence and it’s illegal to drive scooters across the border so it’s likely to be pristine. It’s not unreasonable to think that this 10km section might take over 12hrs for me to break trail. It might not be possible at all. The trouble is, having looked at the other options, this is my best plan. So I confirm as much as possible and go for it. A big day with few rests takes me to a Finnish forest hut within 3km of the border. I’m tired but happy to stop and try not to let my worries start driving my imagination about the task ahead. Oh… and I saw a herd of over a thousand reindeer today…
Reindeer ❤️… Started early for a big day but when I came across this, time just left my control..