Border to Border Ski - Day 6 - Nearing the End
The night of Day 5 was spent in a communal sleeping arrangement in a community building in the tiny farming community of Rovastinaho. A local official answered questions about it during our nightly informational session. The once more populous place had declined to 50 residents. Amazingly, in this communal arrangement with snoring in multiple languages, I would get my best night of sleep so far!
The next day would pick up where we left off in Hosio. Here I am with Steve, a corporate attorney from British Columbia, before heading out to the drop off point.
Here is Hannah from Sweden with her two passengers. Hannah is the one who bailed me out with her spare poles after my second basket fell off my brand new Rossignol poles from Down Wind Sports.
It was a cold, but sunny start to the day. The trail was marginally groomed which did not facilitate easy double poling. In the defence of the groomer, there were clearly places where the snow had drifted which had to have been a factor. It would be 22k to the first aid station of the day where lunch would be served. Though the trail was rough, there was plenty of beauty to be taken in along the way.
The 22k went by quickly enough at which point we enjoyed sausage sandwiches for lunch!
My plan had been to quit for the day upon completing the 22k, but I would learn that no busses would be going to Kemi until late afternoon. Rather than sit on a bus all afternoon, I decided to ski the last 9k segment.
The first couple of miles I was breaking trail on a narrow, undulating pathway, but then a snowmobile came through laying down tracks which my leg greatly appreciated.
We finished the day at this warming place in Honkamaa where we enjoyed warm drinks and nisu.
I had a really nice conversation with Ellen who is a real estate broker in McCall, Idaho. We talked about our respective regions housing challenges and opportunities.
Here is the map and Strava takes on my two skis on Day 6:
From Honkamaa the bus took us to Kemi where we would stay at the Hotel Merihovi. More about Kemi in a bonus post about Day 6