I met with friend Zach in Kilpisjärvi, Finland. We walked together for five days through driving wind and cold rain most of all of the days, with a few hours here and there of sunshine respite. We exited early, at Storslett, Norway, about 55 miles before the northern terminus of the Nordkalotrutta at Kautokeino. I was tired of the abusive weather and felt that I had gotten enough of this experience to call it a day and get out. Zach, a former competitive snowboarder, was in agreement (his five days versus my 24 days.)
Tired and happy to be out of the wilderness in Storslett, Norway.
This is a beautiful, wild area. But I won’t return here, at least for some years. I have learned that there is a reason the local people have built and maintained shared cabins in abundance up here. It is simply too abusive of an environment for most people to happily dwell in nature up here for more than a few days without respite from the elements. For most of the days on this trail, I wore absolutely all of the clothing I was carrying, in a pack approximately 150% of the weight I am used to carrying. Without Zach, this was not enough to keep the tent warm some of the nights, and I shivered through the night, waiting for sunrise. It is August.
Stay tuned for trail synopsis.
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