Ski and Paddle Norway 2009

Distance 62km | Time 8hrs | Ascent 610m | Descent 630m

I started to write the blogs for the last two days after breakfast. I had managed one before James at the border post phoned to say he would be there in a couple of hours to pick up the kayak and gear and drive it to the border and my start point. He would also bring a bicycle for me. It was earlier than expected so the writing was abandoned. I had to move fast now.

First thing was to go and check my old bike onto the ferry to Mehamn. It took a good half hour as it was well over a km away. Then I took my rucksack to the post office and posted both it and my ski boots, both of which had been very good to me. Then I had to buy a couple of bottles of malt from the government liquor store. The selection was poor and the prices were double the UK.

Next I had to try and find some tide tables but didn’t succeed. They were not that necessary and I felt I would soon get an intuitive timing for the flow and ebbs without neurotically consulting tide tables continually. It did not really matter too much about the tides as I was not going to wait for them. If I was in a sound and it was against me I would just have to find eddies or have a pause, and if it was with me I was lucky. The tides here were smaller in amplitude than in the UK but there were larger amounts of water on the move. Generally the tides changed direction every 6 hours. I did not even know what phase the moon was at as I had not seen it for ages due to the near 24 hour daylight.

After my goodbyes at the hotel I returned to the shed to await James. He arrived promptly and with a bike. We chatted for a good hour about Norwegian mountains, the West Coast of Scotland, kayaking and his job. He was one of the 4 in charge of the border post. He was very much into the outdoors and found the job at Grense Jakobselv suited his interests.

We unpacked the kayak into the van and then put the kayak on the roof. He then set off and I followed on the bike. Immediately I realized something was seriously wrong with the crankshaft on the bike. I took it two the two sports shots in town. They were not interested and said it would make it the 60 km. I was not so sure but had no choice. Indeed I was disappointed by the reaction of the sports shops where I had spent some cash over the last days. They were mainly run and staffed by older scruffy men who stank of stale tobacco smoke.

I then returned the key to Kimek with a bottle of whiskey for their invaluable help and generosity. Stein Ulvang had been extremely helpful and had taken care of every problem and provided me with a great place to store and pack the kayak.

With the clunking crankshaft I peddled off on the road to Murmansk. Just after the turn off to Grense Jakobselv and after some 25 km, the whole thing fell to pieces. I cursed. There was still some 35 km to go. I could use the bike as a scooter for some sections and freewheel the downhill sections, but it would still take 6 hours. I phoned James now back at the border post with his team on duty. He said he would see what he could do.

It was a very pleasant walk along the road here at the southern end of the Jarfjord. The sun was out and the sea was calm. The tide was also out exposing silt flats and seaweed beds.

Then I started up a long climb up to the Jarfjordfjellet Mountains. Here the road climbed to almost 200 metres. It was a different world up here. The lakes were still ice covered and the hillsides still had considerable snow on them. The drifts at the side of the road were a few metres high. This section of road is blocked in the winter. Just before the top an army jeep stopped and a chirpy young soldier hopped out with a bike. It was in perfect working order. He took the knackered bike.

It was a nice pleasant cycle across these mountains for some 10 Km. There were a few lakes under the steep ramparts of many dark crags. These crags were shaped by the ice but seemed to follow much older fault lines and went for kilometers in the same direction. The rocks here were some of the oldest in Europe at 3 billion years old. It was cold up here and I had to put gloves and a hat on.

The run down to the border post was quick. In the valley I was heading down to was a river, Jakobselv. The deepest point of the river was the border with Russia, so as the meanders move slowly so does the border. On the other side of the river was a birch forest with large snow patches still and this was Russian territory.

James showed me round the border post and the vehicles. One vehicle which was especially robust was a two sectioned troop carried with 4 belts for traction. It was amphibious and could go through the soggy spring forest with deep icy pools without any problem. From this base there were many smaller lookout posts where soldiers monitored the border up the entire valley.

There was still another 10 km to the sea itself so I set off on the bike. There were a few farms down here but all agricultural activity was abandoned some 30 years ago and the farms were mostly leisure houses now. The problem was the blocked winter road. The military had their vehicles but the farmers did not and it was too difficult to eek out a living here. There were some 10 farms and 40 cabins in the valley. The river ran on my east, often flowing swiftly through ice debris and trees, as it was in spate.

Just before the beach James caught up at the Oscars Kapell, the much photographed church built to try and encourage a community and establish sovereignty some 100 years ago. Just beyond was the beach. It was a kilometer of fine sand with a couple of smaller beaches nearby. It is one of Norway’s finest beaches. It was also the end of the road both in reality and for the rather fraught 400km bike ride from Mehamn.

The bike ride was just a way of joining up the skiing and paddling trips without resorting to vehicles. It was not well organized by me as I did not know what to expect. I would probably not do it so differently next time but I would have a better bike with panniers.

We unpacked the van and unloaded the kayak. Then we went for a walk around the area at the end of the beach. The border post has a weekly swim here every week of the year. In January or February the air temperatures can be minus 30 so warm vehicles are used to dry off in after a icy sprint up the dark beach.

There was none of that now. It was about plus 6 with streaks of snow on the hill. The waves were relatively small and the sun was going to set in a half an hour. It was a very pleasant evening. There was the odd iceberg which had got swept out of the river and was melting on the shore. James told me the water temperature was around plus 4 throughout the year.
There was another paddler, Tom Amundsen, who was also doing the same trip. He set off from here about a week ago. I found a small stone message he wrote stones in the sand. “LYKKE TIL JAMES – TOM”. A very nice touch. He was already up in Batsfjord area so I would be unlikely to catch him up but hopefully we can share a beer sometime.

After the extremely helpful James left it was already 2200 and getting cold. The sun had just gone below the horizon for a few hours. In a week it would not set at all. I put up the tent and collected some water. Then I tried to organize myself and get the new petrol stove going to warm the tent. While cooking supper I tried to write the blog but there was just too much going on in a small area. After supper it was midnight and I was just too tired after the cycle. I would write it tomorrow morning before it got out of hand.

As I went to bed on the sandy grass I had a chance to reflect on the enormity of the journey I was about to take. I did not have the same apprehension as I did in Lindesnes the night before the ski trip, in fact I was eager to start. However there can be no doubting that the kayaking section is a more serious undertaking than the skiing section.

It had been a good day. Despite the best efforts of cheap Chinese bicycles to hamper my cycling trip it had been interesting and enjoyable. Cycle touring is not really for me though as I find the confines of the road far too limiting. I was now ready for the main course.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 13th, 2009 at 9:42 am and is filed under Update. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.