2021-06-01 63 30

Location

Next to a tractor track near Kuora, Lieksa.

The point on a topographic map: [1]

Participants

Kripakko

Expedition

This location was quite convenient to cycle to and in a new graticule for me. I planned my schedule so that I could cycle to the hashpoint and get back to Uimaharju by 17:00, where I would be able to catch a train to Joensuu at 17:08. The weather would be perfect: partly cloudy and about 20 °C, warm but not too hot.

I started from my home at about 10:50 and cycled towards the hashpoint, stopping at a few geocaches and a few beautiful places that I wanted to photograph. I felt good enough and confident that I could cycle all the way back home, so I ended up spending excessive time at some points. I saw many beautiful landscapes along the way: fields, the Pielisjoki river, streams, ponds, hills, forests and open logging areas. The roads got progressively smaller from the main road 73 to a narrower connecting road, an unpaved gravel road, a single-track forest road and finally a tractor track. I also had to climb from 80 metres above sea level in Joensuu to 100 m in Uimaharju and 235 m at the geohash. The last climbs on the forest road were especially steep and tiring, but I made it.

I reached the hashpoint at about 15:45. It was almost at the top of a hill that had been cleared recently, probably during the past year. After taking a some photos, I began the return trip. I would have some significant descent ahead of me and enough time to get back to Uimaharju before the train departure, but again I decided that I could spend some time photographing and geocaching and did not need to use the train. So then, I made my way to Uimaharju, had a large Finnish meat pie with sausage and an ice cream at the summer café, and cycled back home at a calm pace.

I was back at home at about 20:50, ten hours after leaving. According to my GPS receiver, the length of my trip was 143.2 kilometres long, of which I cycled 142.7 km and walked 0.5 km. This was my yet longest Bicycle Geohash and just barely longer than the distance I cycled on 2020-06-26 62 28. My skin was surprisingly not burned despite spending ten hours in more or less direct sunshine.

Tracklog

I visited a Wherigo cache and two multicaches on the way, and in order to not reveal the final locations, I removed small parts of the tracklog.

Photos

A field of dandelions near Jakokoski.
A view to the Pielisjoki river near Louhioja.
A view to Rahkeenvesi near Uimaharju.
This does not spark joy... Rasputitsa for the next 34 km. It was not so bad though this late in the summer.
On the border of Lieksa and Ilomantsi.
A view from an unnamed hill on the way to the hashpoint.
Proof of location.
Proof of date and time.
Selfie at the hashpoint.
A view from the top of the geohash hill.
The bog-based Pieni-Hoikka pond.
Blossoming cloudberry (Rubus chamaemorus).
Blossoming bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus).
A pair of whooper swans (Cygnus cygnus), the national bird of Finland.
A small marsh near the road.
The summer café in Uimaharju and the surroundings.
The delicious cone of ice cream.
The Kuusoja stream.

Video

I filmed a part of my way back to Uimaharju and uploaded the video. The audio consists mostly of bicycle sounds and the noise of the wind and nothing interesting – you can mute it if you do not want to listen to it.