Ski and Paddle Norway 2009

Distance 37km | Time 4.5hrs | Ascent 280m | Descent 280m

After breakfast I had to go and do some banking errands. I owed people money for telephone bills, postage costs and also for a GPS. These were soon sorted out. Then I had to buy some food for the evening as I would be in a self contained cabin at Grasbakken some 37 km to the east towards Kirkenes.

Due to banks opening late I was not ready to leave Tana Bru until 1200 so the short distance to Grasbakken suited. In addition I was saddle sore after a long day cycling yesterday.

Initially I cycled over the bridge which spanned the Tana River. It was flowing quite fast here and must have been 50 metres wide. Huge slabs of ice, nearly a metre thick and the size of a half a tennis court, when drifting by under the bridge. They slammed into a ice jam further down stream with much crunching as they hit the jumbled build up. It was a spectacular sight.

After the bridge was an easy 4 km beside the river. The river here seemed to flow through narrow lakes and lagoons these were still covered in ice. However great chunks of it were breaking away to flow down to the ice jam below the bridge.

After these pleasant 4 km the road now climbed up for a long gentle ascent which seemed to go for ever. There was an increasing easterly wind along this section and this slowed me considerably. Even on the gentle descent down the other side I could rarely freewheel because of the wind. After 13 km I reached Varangerbotn.

Varangerbotn was at the head of a massive but quite open fjord, more like and estuary than a traditional fjord. The head of this fjord was still covered in ice for a couple of km. It was now so far east the effects of the Gulf Stream were diminishing.

I stopped here for a snack in a petrol station and partly to rest and warm up before the next 20 km along the south side of this massive fjord. It seemed to have a large collection of substantial and traditional wooden buildings which were called the Lapp Parliament. Perhaps this was a political and administrative centre for Lapps.

The journey along the south side of the fjord was slow. The wind was a good force 4 and it was due east and directly against me. I frequently walked the uphill sections rather than peddle in the lowest gear. In the end I was looking forward to the uphill sections as I felt walking was as good as resting.

There was remarkably little snow here now. I think this whole region had received little this winter. Huge areas of the surrounding moorland were bare. The birch trees showed no signs of spring yet but there were catkins bursting open on some of the willow bushes. There are at least 20 species of willow bush in Scandinavian and some are so similar that the only way to tell them apart is when their catkins are showing as they contain the differentiating features.

There were many ravens here. They are remarkably acrobatic birds and seemed to be enjoying the wind and the opportunities it gave them to show off their skills. They were constantly diving and twisting.

There were many small homesteads along the road here. I assumed many were Sea Lapps, judging by some of the traditional outbuildings. None of the houses here are more than 65 years old as the Germans laid waste to northern Norway when they retreated at the end of the second world war. They did this so the advancing Russians would find no livestock, food or shelter.

After passing through some of these small hamlets I came to Grasbakken. Here there were two log cabins which were transported whole from Pasvik. They even had birch trees growing out of their turf roofs. One was open for me as arranged. It was perfect and cosy inside.

The father of the owner arrived soon after and I paid him. He seemed a Sea Lapp because of his size and stature. He was very friendly. Alarmingly he said I had come at the wrong time. In May he said it was a constant strong east wind. I should have waited for June. It was too late for that and the last week had been benign weather.

I had a snooze as I was feeling tired. I am not taking to this cycling like a duck to water and it is hard work on both legs and rump. I know the rucksack is to blame but the luxury of panniers were hard to come by at short notice up here.

It had been a reasonably uninteresting day in which I had struggled a little with the wind. It is only 105 km to Kirkenes now but I do not think I can do this in a day without it becoming purgatory so will head to Nieden tomorrow which is some 60 km and hope the wind drops.

Distance 88km | Time 9hrs | Ascent 1120m | Descent 1100m

I got up at 0600. The sun had been up for hours and it was a mostly overcast day with a slight east breeze. Haldane had laid out the breakfast already so I started on that soon after and managed to get away just before 0800.

The east breeze was cold. I had to wear gloves and balaclava and most of the drips from overhangs had developed small icicles. The road climbed up with purpose and within a few km I was already at 200 metres. All yesterday’s sleet was lying as snow up here, the road however was generally clear. There were many impressive snow drifts on each side of the road in places.

After passing a couple of cabin areas, probably owned by Lapps as it was beside a lake, the road continued to climb up onto the plateau. There were lots of Finnish cars and campervans here. I could see them sitting on stools on nearly every lake I passed ice fishing.

The road on the plateau was high and exposed. It would have been miserable up here yesterday. There were some drifts of new snow blowing across the road where I had to get off and push the bike. They were only a problem because there were no cars on the road and they had built up to 15 cm.

For the next 20 km the road undulated across this plateau. To save my legs and rump I walked a lot of the uphill sections as I would not go much faster on a bike. It was still very wintery up here and easily possible to go on skis. It was much more overcast now.

Then came the long awaited descent of the plateau down to Vestertana Fjord and the hamlet of Sjursjokka. I assumed this hamlet was Sjoesamisk, or Sea Lapp. These Lapps did not participate in reindeer herding but lived beside, and from, the sea. The Finnmarks Law of a couple of years ago gave huge privileges to reindeer herding Lapps but little to the Sea Lapps or anybody else really. Some people almost described the Finnmarks Law as apartheid with the Reindeer herding Lapps as A people and everybody else as B people.

As I cycled round the bay I saw a white hare on the road. It was huge and bounded off with great leaps when it noticed me. There were also a couple of Sea Eagles in the bay, waiting for some carrion.

Sea eagles along the coast here are common. They are bigger than Golden Eagles. They live largely from carrion and some fish they manage to catch as opposed to the Golden Eagle which catches prey. This reflects a bit in their personality. The Sea Eagles are scruffy vagrants compared to their cousins, with none of the pride and panache a Golden Eagle has.

The next 20 km was along the coast and cutting over various headlands. It was a cultural landscape with small homesteads beside the fjords and small farms were there was some flat land for grazing. Occasional harbours had a few small fishing boats and the large high traditional A frame shaped drying racks for the cod.

There was a lot of up and down on this section and it was hard work. Again I walked many of the steeper uphill bits but before long I arrived at Rustfjelbma. There was a garage here where I stopped for a drink and some snacks. Some people recognized me from the article in the Finnmarken paper which I had not realized was published yet.

The final 25 km to Tana Bru was just what I needed. The road was flat as it headed south along a terrace above the Tana River. This river is one of the great rivers of the north. It drains a huge area of north Norway and Finland. By the time it gets to Tana Bru it is old and lazy, but still virile enough not to meander across its flood plain. It has deposited vast amounts of sand and gravel here and continues to do so in the fjord it flows into.

The snow on the hillsides was continuing to melt. Around each birch tree the warmer air had penetrated and melted a wide ring which exposed the ground plants beneath. The whole hillside therefore looked like a bundle of Dalmatian dogs. Mostly white with masses of black spots.

The river was partly still frozen and partly starting to break up. It would be impossible to cross now without a bridge. That is what Tana Bru has and it is why it is reasonably important town. The river is also a salmon fisherman’s paradise.

There is one hotel here. Having got used to poor value for money in Finnmark I braced myself especially as the place had a monopoly. For once I was very pleasantly surprised. The assistant manager could not have been nicer. They gave me a very reasonable deal and were very service minded with free laptop, sauna and even a very nice simple dinner. He also phoned to arrange a cabin for tomorrow and to see if anybody had the newspaper. Top marks.

I wrote the blog in the evening and then went to see if I could find the newspaper. Tomorrow I have some banking issues to deal with in the morning before the relatively short day to Grasbakken some 40 km to the east. Leaving two short or one extremely long day to Kirkenes.

It had been a great day. The scenery was good and varied, the weather improved from cold and overcast to warm and sunny and I had gone a considerable way without getting too saddle sore.

Distance 0km | Time 0hrs | Ascent 0m | Descent 0m

I got up at 0700 for breakfast Haldane had prepared. I had not slept well however as I kept getting cramps in my thighs when I moved in my sleep. These cramps woke me instantly and I had to wait at least 30 seconds while the painful spasm subsided.

Not only were my legs stiff but I was quite saddle sore also. It had been a while since I was on a bike and the 10 hours yesterday was well beyond comfort. It was also pouring rain with the odd bit of sleet thrown it.

As I ate breakfast I pondered a day off. It was 88 km to Tana Bru with many ups and downs. The forecast said rain all day and then dry for the next week. I decided to stay put long before I finished breakfast.

In the morning I borrowed Haldane’s laptop to check my website and a few other things. The phone rang and it was the shipyard in Kirkenes. The kayak had just arrived. That was a huge relief as there was plenty of scope for a muddle here.

Then I had a snooze. As it was such an easy day I skipped lunch. It was no effort as I was not really that hungry.

In the afternoon I padded out the bike seat with another layer of foam and read newspapers. It was still pouring outside and had not let up all day. It must have been plus 5 at least.

This weather really was the death of winter. I watched the river below the café swell through the day with large chunks of ice getting dislodged and carried downstream. It would be impossible to cross and all the small becks were now swollen torrents.

The decision to post the skis and cycle to Kirkenes was definitely the right one. There were 4 groups of people trying to ski the length of Norway behind me. They all started in Mid January and were at least a month behind. All 4 groups had recently thrown in the towel. To do this trip really one has to start in mid December and be quite single minded about it. I had just made it and I was relatively lucky with the weather.

It finally cleared up in the evening and by then I was throughly bored. Without my laptop, which was dispatched from Oslo to Kirkenes by Hartmut in the afternoon, there was little useful I could do except rest and I had done a lot of that at Mehamn.

It had been a boring day. Saddle sore or not I was off tomorrow to Tana Bru some 90 km towards Kirkenes.

Distance 106km | Time 10hrs | Ascent 1210m | Descent 1180m

I got up at 0600 to a fine morning. It was mostly overcast, but unthreatening, dry, and wind still. After a large breakfast of bread and spreads I packed my much reduced rucksack of about 13 kg and set off at 0730.

I made good time out of town but Ifjord was a long way off, with 2 large hills to climb. Already after 4 km and half way up the first hill I had to stop. The saddle was desperately uncomfortable. I suspected it might have been so took some tape. I cut a section of my foam mattress and taped it on. Then I cut another section and placed in between my underpants and trousers. It was instantly better.

I climbed up to around 300 metres in one go and then started across the plateau south of Mehamn. The bike did not have panniers so I had to put the rucksack on my back which added to the discomfort.

After having the freedom to go where I wanted on skis I felt quite confined by the road. There was little of interest along it. No plants in crevices, no ptarmigan hollows filled with their droppings. It was mostly sterile gravel with the very occasional litter.

The speed I was going at was fantastic though. Having been used to skis all year, I could not judge the distances on a bike well. I would see a landmark and assume I would reach it in half an hour. Yet within 10 minutes I was long past it.

The plateau itself was a tad misty. I did see the odd herd of reindeer and these again seemed frightened of me on a bike but were totally unbothered by the rare car. Indeed hardly any cars passed me all morning.

After a good three hours I was descending the south side of the Nordkinn plateau and heading down to the narrow isthmus which connects it to the mainland at Hopseidet. It was only 300 metres wide. I will be disappointed if impatience gets the better of valour and I decide to portage here in a month, rather than go round Kinnarodden, due to prolonged bad weather.

After Hopseidet it was exactly the same. A steep and sustained climb up to around 350 metres and then 20 km across the plateau. There were hardly any reindeer, or their tracks, here at all. Obviously all had been herded across the isthmus.

Towards the southern end of the plateau was a great view down to Torskefjorden. It was once inhabited but the farms along the fjord are now abandoned and used as leisure houses. It was the first time I had seen trees in a week and even if they were birch, it was pleasant.

Then came a lovely descent down the south side of this plateau to the rather idyllic hamlet of Bekkarfjord. I noticed just how much the snow here had gone in the week since I stayed. The streams were all open now and flowing in spate. Water dripped from every overhang.

I dropped in to see the Jenssens but the whole family bar the quiet old dog were away. It was still early at 1430 and I had already done 72 km with 2 big climbs. It was just another 34 km to Ifjord so I set off with gusto.

The gusto soon ran out. The road was initially easy to Lebesby. It followed the rough coast of jagged outcrops with some more gentle looking islands just offshore. After Lebesby however my energy ran out and I was getting very saddle sore. Although only 17 km it took well over two hours. It was also quite hilly and I opted to walk the uphill and freewheel down.

I reached Ifjord just at the same time as the forecasted rain. It was not a luxurious place at all but I was made to feel very welcome by the Swedish couple who ran the place, and Haldane the owner. They also seemed genuinely interested in my skiing adventures of the last week since I left here heading north.

I got the same room and after a double hamburger wrote the blog. It was pouring sleet outside as I finished at 2130.

It had been a good day but my legs were tired and I was saddle sore. Tomorrow was another long day of 88km to Tana Bru. I hope I hold up. Haldane gave me some tape to further cushion the saddle with another layer of foam mattress and this should help. I am sure I will sleep well tonight!

Distance 0km | Time 0hrs | Ascent 0m | Descent 0m

I got up at 0700. The usually reliable weather forecast was wrong and it was pouring rain. The temperature was probably around plus 5. It did not entice me onto the cycle at all. I went back to bed and when I re-emerged at 0900 it had not changed.

It was however completely windstill. It would have been a great day for kayaking, but not cycling. Despite the fact I had done all I needed to do in Mehamn it looked liked I would have to spent another day here, as cycling over the two 350 metre plateaus between here and Bekkarfjord or Ifjord would not be fun.

Besides I had not had a day for ages where I had nothing to do. It would give me a chance to relax completely. Having said that I still had to find an address in Kirkenes and phone Ovind in Oslo to pack up and send various items to this same address.

After lunch I went for a wander around the town. It was essentially a fishing town with plenty of trawlers and fishing boats. The smaller boats would go out for a day or two and fish in the coastal waters while the larger boats would go out for a week or two. There were plenty of fish processing plants in the town.

It had a population of around 1000 people, so it was not a large town. It was mostly concentrated around the harbour. The youth hostel was sited opposite the town on a peninsula.

One of the usual products of the fish processing here was stockfish or dried cod. The fishing boats would bring in large amounts of cod. Much of this cod had the head and digestive system removed. Then the tails of two cod are tied together and they are hung up over a round log, some 20 brace along one log. There are then about 300 of these logs in a row and about 10 rows to one drying rack. Mehamn had two of these huge areas laid out in drying racks with about quarter of a million fish drying.

These fish would dry under nets to protect them from seagulls. After a month or two of drying these cod were ready to be exported to Spain, especially Galacia, where they are made into a revered Spanish dish called bacaloa.

By midday the rain had turned to drizzle, and by mid afternoon it had stopped. It was too late however to leave. I managed to scrape together some bike tools from Vidar’s workshop including a old puncture repair kit.

I spent the rest of the day snoozing and with a bit of writing. After a simple supper I allowed myself to watch some time-killing television.

It was not a well spent day, perhaps a wasted one even. I would leave tomorrow whatever the weather.