2025-05-31 64 25

Location

In a forest near Paakkupää, Alpua, Vihanti.

The point on a topographic map: [1]

Participants

Kripakko

Plans

This May has been an unlucky month geohash-wise; there has been exactly one reachable hashpoint near Oulu, and that was on a day when I was too busy to think about geohashing. All others have been inaccessible or impractically far away. So, when the month came to its end, I had to go for whatever was available to keep my monthly streak alive. I did not want to drive a long distance just for a geohash, but thankfully this one would be pretty easy to reach by train and bicycle.

I planned to catch the IC 856 train from Oulu (16:11) to Vihanti (16:50), cycle to the hashpoint and back and then catch the returning IC 837 train from Vihanti (19:02) back to Oulu (19:41). I would have two hours and 12 minutes to cycle about 30 kilometres and document the geohash visit, which should be plenty.

Expedition

I went as I had planned. The day was rainy, but I believed that the strongest rainclouds had already gone over the region, so I grabbed only light clothes and a thin windcoat. Indeed, as I cycled to Oulu railway station there was a very slight drizzle, and I thought that it would be all right. It was rather rather warm summer day after all, about 10 °C, and I should not get cold too easily.

I got off the train in Vihanti and started cycling towards the hashpoint. It was all right at first, but when I had cycled for a kilometre or so it started pouring with rain and I got soaked quickly. The windcoat was useless, and it was obvious that I should have been wearing a raincoat instead. Although the rain was probably not as heavy as back on 2023-09-19 64 25, it quickly went through all my clothes as I pushed through it, and soon enough even the contents of my pockets and backpack were wet. Thankfully my phone and GPS receiver can take a bit of water without breaking. The phone’s touchscreen stopped responding properly when it got wet though, and I had to try to dry it every time I wanted to use it.

I eventually exited the paved main road and cycled the last two kilometres on a dirt road that the rain had turned into soft mud. I could still push through, but it was much tougher and slower than on hard asphalt. Then the road became so soft that the tyres got stuck, so I abandoned the bicycle and walked the last 200 metres or so. The hashpoint itself was easy to reach in the middle of some pine and birch saplings that were obviously also very wet. I was absolutely soaked by then though, so getting a cold shower from one did not matter at all.

I retraced my steps and cycled back to Vihanti. As I started nearing two hours outside in the rain, I began to get cold, and especially my hands started getting slightly numb. I had brought gloves in the backpack, but by then they were also soaked, and wearing them would be useless. My only option was to go to the station and wait for the train. Well, there was a small grocery store nearby, but I doubted that they could offer me anything warm, and there was a shelter at the station where I could at least be protected from the rain. It was surprising how cold and tired I got even though the temperature was manageable, but I guess the rain made the difference. I have previously survived much worse though, so this was not too serious. I could still enjoy the landscape of the calm countryside and the scents of damp forest, wet soil and squashed earthworms on the road.

I got to the station and waited for the train for about 15 minutes. When it arrived, I got on and bought a large hot coffee from the restaurant car. It very nicely warmed up my hands, and I temporarily felt better after drinking it. I knew though that I would have to step outside once more and cycle home, which I did not like at the moment. Thankfully in Oulu the rain was relatively calm, and even though I did get cold again as I cycled, it was not too bad and I got home just fine. There I had a warm sauna waiting for me, which I greatly appreciated. According to the GPS receiver, the length of the trip was 175.7 km, of which I walked 1.0 km, cycled 38.7 km and travelled 136.0 km by train.

Tracklog

Blue = cycling and walking, red = train.

Photos

The train is about leave from Oulu railway station.
View of fields near Vihanninkangas.
Where I turned away from the paved road.
Annoyingly soft muddy road.
This is where the road became so soft that I had to stop cycling and continue on foot.
Proof of location.
Proof of date and time, unfortunately blurry but legible enough.
Stupid Grin™ in the rain.
Looking back towards the parked bicycle.
Another place on the muddy road. Almost done with it!
View of fields near Varesneva.
The monument of Lampisaari zinc mine (in operation from 1951 to 1992) which coincidentally was only a kilometre away from the hashpoint.
Arrived at Vihanti railway station well on time.
Back in Oulu.