2020-06-04 62 29

Location

In a forest near the village of Savikko in former Pyhäselkä.

The point on a topographic map: [1]

Participants

Kripakko
Kripakko's friend

Expedition

Reaching this hashpoint was easy on paper: we would cycle as close to the point as we can and walk the rest. It should be rather painless to access. This would have been true had it not started to rain during the journey there. It started as a light drizzle but occasionally intensified to stronger showers, but it was nothing too severe. We were just happy that it was not too hot like it would have been if it had been sunny.

First, I cycled alone from home to Lehmo where the orienteering shop (only in Finnish: [2]) had a stand at an orienteering practice event. I went and bought a new compass but did not go orienteering this time. Instead, I cycled back to the city and met my friend at her place, after which we continued cycling together.

We had to leave our bicycles where a trail branched from the last forest road [3]. The trail went by the hashpoint, but it was too difficult to cycle on, so we continued on foot. The thing with trails like this is that one cannot tell if they are accessible by just looking at the map. Information on the map may be outdated, and in this case it looked like the trail had not been in serious use in several years.

We had to walk the final 120 or so metres through damp forest. The trail had been nearly dry, but the vegetation had already been wet by the rain. Our clothes, shoes and equipment got wet too, but we would not let it stop us. It did not feel uncomfortably wet though. And turning back was obviously not an option since we were already wet.

Finally we reached the hashpoint. It was located at the edge of a rocky hill. I took some pictures of the hashpoint and the vegetation there, and soon we left for the bicycles again. We did not feel cold, but we knew that we would if we stayed there for too long. It only rained a little on the way back but enough to keep us wet until we got inside. My total trip distance ended up being 46.4 km, of which I walked 1.1 km.

Tracklog

Photos

Bicycles parked at the beginning of the final trail. Some half a kilometre to go.
Hashpoint reached! It is nice that the GPS receiver is waterproof.
The surroundings of the hashpoint.
Same, other direction.
Me at the hashpoint.
Lily of the valley (Convallaria majalis), the national flower of Finland.
A young spruce growing on the thin layer of ground on the rock.
This young pine looks like it is flipping me off.
Bilberry plants are blossoming, and the rain really helps it.