Saturday 5/8

When I got up at 06:45 it was still cloudy, but the base was higher than the day before. I availed myself of the fine and varied breakfast, and then packed up the last things and checked out. The Finnish bus was running a bit late and almost had me worried, but it showed up eventually and stopped in the same place as the Norwegian one had. It only had a few people on it, and a visibly stressed driver. The road (north)eastwards passed through wide, grass-covered valleys, and as we approached Skibotn the weather had grown quite fair.

Morning at Nordkjosbotn...

...and Vollan

Side valley

Fields

More greenery

Steep

Tower

Storfjorden

The next stage up through Skibotndalen was intriguing, with a wooded ravine in the center before climbing towards the Finnish border. Here there were large groups of reindeer on and near the road, but the trip's second border passage took place without incident. The bus stopped right outside the door of Kilpisjärven Retkeilykeskus somewhat late, but again I had quite a bit of time to spare.

Going up

Sender

Borderland

Hiking center

Here in Finland it was both sunny and windy, and I spent some time looking around the premises before heading down to the boat jetty. One of the two boats in service – Malla – was moored while its sister ship Maria was currently at the far shore waiting to return. I walked along the near shore to a wind shelter with a fireplace in it and did a crossword to spend the time. Upon walking back to the jetty I met some more people who were planning on taking the late tour, and then waited for Maria (which was now visible out on the lake) to return. I spoke with Markus the captain, first in English and then in Swedish (you never quite know which is better with Finns, especially in the border regions), and then sat down on a rock to have lunch.

Roadside

Ylinen Kilpisjärvi

Norwegian fjelds

Malla...

...moored at the jetty

Maria returning...

...to join her

More and more people were arriving, and about 14:45 (Finnish time) the boat staff returned to let passengers on for the 15 o'clock tour. I took up position on the roof, and literally held onto my hat as we sailed out into the waves as the wind remained fairly strong. Once in Koltaluokta on the other side (and back in Sweden) Eveliina the purser held a short talk for all the tourists heading to the Three-Country Cairn, and then spoke with me about my upcoming sojourn and eventual return. It was around 14:45 (Swedish time) when I left myself, keeping the wind jacket on due to the still considerable wind.

Leaving Kilpisjärvi

Crossing the lake

Passing Pikku-Malla

Kilpisjärvi and Saana behind

Bow

Across

I passed a slow-moving hiker at once and then set off at a fairly brisk pace along the wide, sandy track. At the start of the sparse forest there was a spring where I filled my flask, but after that it was dry. I met some people going the other way, and as I neared the shore of Kuohkimajärvi the sun passed into cloud. I stepped back into Finland at a series of border cairns, one of which is the fabled triple one, and waited for most of the people currently encircling it to have their fill before going out myself. The cairn itself is just a lump of concrete out in a lake, but the views into Norway are pretty great and the idea of freely straddling three countries at once does hold a certain significance.

Setting out

Sandy

Sanna over there

Into the woods

Golddabákti

Water

People at...

... the Three-Country Cairn...

...with its pretty backdrop

Before moving on I visited the Kuohkimajärvi cabins, one of which is open and very basic whereas the other is locked and must be reserved in advance. I then passed a couple of reindeer fences and entered Norway, walking on a narrow, stony path which soon got better as it left the water behind and entered another sparse forest. I met a few people before the path emerged onto open land, where the view was great and the wind again strong. The sun was returning here and there as I neared Goldahytta, meeting another two people, but it was not until I was almost there that I spotted the buildings in among much denser woods a short distance up from the plain. A single hiker without pack was coming down as I walked up, and there were two people outside when I arrived before 16:30.

Regular border cairn

Locked cabin

Open cabin

Interior

Leaving the tourists

Wooded

Opening

More open

Fully open

Some sun

Rooftop

Arrived

Both guest cabins – identical in layout – were locked, and since my reservation was for the older one I unlocked that one, finding a rucksack but no people inside. I went to fetch water and then walked around a bit, saying hi to the two others who were just having dinner outside before moving on, after which I started dinner procedures myself. As I was doing so I noticed a low hiss coming from the gas canister in the vestibule, and I could detect a faint smell of the warning agent added to the gas, so there appeared to be some sort of minor leak; I therefore kept the inner door shut and closed the main valve immediately after I was done and sat down to eat.

Outside

Inside

Water source

As I was washing up a German popped in to have a look and to sign the guestbook before he continued westwards, and another two people passed by eastwards from the direction of Gálggojávri. I relaxed inside for a while before donning the down jacket against the rapidly growing evening chill and went out for a walk. The man I had met when arriving was just returning, and as expected he was the owner of the rucksack; he was a retired Norwegian and we spoke for a bit before I continued down to the plain on another path. Back up again the Norwegian had moved to the new cabin, and as it turned out there were no other overnight guests so we both got our very own buildings.

I read inside for a while before going out again, noting that the western clouds had sunk further while it was still clear off to the southeast, and the wind had lessened. After my evening snack I went out for the last time, finding a nearby cloudberry mire, and as the clouds appeared to be breaking up I returned down to the plain – where my timing was perfect for a beautiful but rather short breakthrough from the sun as its last act of the day. It was quite chilly, however, so once the show was over I returned inside and read for a bit more before drifting off to bed at 22:15.