2019 Trip – Day 7

Distance Average Speed Max Speed 46.9 km 11.4 km/h 34.7 km/h A very warm day up to 3 degrees above freezing. Equipment started to get wet and the “English snow” repeatedly clogged the brake. Managed to get away by 10:30 and after a great deal of pondering decided to see if I could explore the western half of the north swamps and then follow the trail across the other side of the main trail around Parkavaara.  As it turned out

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2019 Trip – Day 6

Distance Average Speed Max Speed 43.1 km 10.1 km/h 25.6 km/h An even warmer day with some snow and sometimes above freezing.  Got away from Kylkeinan at about 11:15 and tried to make my way towards Lohilampi.  I had already heard from Milla that it wasn’t possible to cross this year due to concerns about ice state, but thought it would be nice to visit the general area.  One trickiness was trying to avoid ending up on the Tilsa road

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2019 Trip – Day 5

Distance Average Speed Max Speed 42.1 km 11.2 km/h 24.7 km/h I was collected from the hotel at 1100 with a Dutch day trip group.  They left first and I got away at about 1230.  The weather was warmer with snow and some strong winds. Dog Change – Amber replaced by Foxy. I drove to Tilsa doing my best to avoid the swept Tilsa road.  This involved a roundabout route including the usual hair raising descent of the Tilsa canyon.

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2019 Trip – Day 4

Distance Average Speed Max Speed 67.9 km 12.6 km/h 30.2 km/h A much colder start with a low of -28 °C when I was feeding the dog’s their breakfast but another sunny day which warmed up to about -5 °C by the afternoon. I headed over in the direction of Saija and on the way decided to turn south on the disused railway line. I was hoping to find a trail which would lead me to the area south of

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2019 Trip – Day 3

Distance Average Speed Max Speed 31.5 km 11.7 km/h 24.6 km/h An unusual day with much better weather.  I got a text from one of the guides, Laura, to say that her uncle was coming to take some publicity photos and would I help. After a late start I met up with Laura, Milla and the uncle and we drove to Janisvaara hill whilst Laura and I were photographed. The uncle then departed and we had lunch on top of

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2019 Trip – Day 2

Distance Average Speed Max Speed 27.0 11.8 km/h 24.4 km/h Got up at 07:00 and only then thought that perhaps the missing axe might be in the wood shed – Duh! Given a lift to the farm, Old safari house completely gone following October fire and now just an area of snow. The guides managed to find most items I needed except snow shoes – which was a pity as they might have come in useful later. I was allocated

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2019 Trip – Day 1

Due to early flight I spent Saturday night at the Heathrow Radisson Blu hotel. They did a deal with 8 days parking which was very reasonable. At a most unpleasant hour I caught the bus to the terminal for the uneventful flight to Stockholm. The plane was only about 1/3 full. Whilst in Stockholm airport I tried to make use of their free WiFi. Now, I know that my travel laptop is old and weird, but it has worked fine

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