| Distance | Average Speed | Max Speed |
|---|---|---|
| 29.6 km | 14.2 km/h | 26.1 km/h |
Got up at 0700 and found that the hut was a chilly but acceptable 11 deg C. After breakfast I was able to feed the dogs by adding hot water to the remains of last night’s food.
I sent Timo a text to ask where I should be going and he replied that someone was out on a snowmobile making a route.
A little while later two snowmobiles arrived and immediately left again without stopping to say anything so I finished tasks like washing up and set off along the marked route.
The route they had opened was the one due east from Kylkeinen which leads to the Hameenvaara swamps, crosses the Tilsa road and then across the swamps to the snowmobile trail. Some of this was therefore the same route as day 3 but in reverse. The final section across the swamps was different and indeed possibly unique as the snow mobile seemed to have got lost a couple of times and gone round in big loops.
As I approached the end of the snowmobile trail I began to wonder if I could have my lunch at Tilsa as I was going to pass less than 100m from it. Timo had said that access might be tricky, so I parked the dogs at the end of the trail and walked over to check. As it happened the snow wall wasn’t too bad. To make it easier I removed the harness lines for the two wheel dogs, leaving them connected only by their collars. This greatly reduces their power and makes it much easier to handle the sled in a tricky corner. I was then able
to make the sharp turn onto the Tilsa road and then immediately off it in front of the kota.
After lunch I followed the side track next to the kota until I was able to re-join the marked route. This then led me back to the kennels.
When I arrived Timo told me that it was a very good job that I hadn’t returned five minutes earlier as Jussi had only just left with several guests and my sudden arrival would have caused chaos.
Temperature was again around zero with quite a bit of sun.