Day 12 – 1 Jul, Bojobaeskihymtta Hut to River East of Mollesjohka Hut

(37km, total 269.5km, 9h 30 , 0810 to 1740)

Video: Video Day 12

I had a great nights sleep, only waking to go to the toilet due to how much I had to drink the previous night. I was packed away quickly and left just after 0800 after saying goodbye to the lovely Norwegian Family.

It was a lovely day with blue sky, sun and only a gentle wind. The track was on 4WD tracks all day and marked in random places, though not at some of the intersections, with wooden poles with a small sign on of two hikers. One of the hikers on the sign seems to be wearing an elf hat and I am not sure what their arms are doing.

The track started though a nice forest, past an intersection down to a stream.

Then the track alternated between open areas and small areas of forest until starting a gentle climb which was in the open.

The trail dropped off the other side of the hill, past some lakes and then I must have missed the track veering off to the right as I kept on the main track until I could see the river I was meant to cross. The track kept to the left of the river which was different to the map. I went a little further past the bend to see if the intersection was there. There was no sign of the track turning so I crossed the river and climbed onto a small plateau and saw up a bit further a large signpost. I looked back to the river and could see the cairn at where I should have crossed. I think advise to those following is at the lake just before the Giellanjohka River look to your right for a faint track heading over the small rise.

From here the track climbed steadily but gently with lakes to the left and right. There was a slightly steeper part and from the top a large lake was visible. My planned camping spot was at the bottom of this large lake, though the trail veers away for quite a while.

There was a bit of a descent then a river crossing where I had lunch.

I was surprised by how fast I had been moving. It was vehicle tracks which is faster than cross country but I also thing the easy day yesterday has paid off. I am feeling good with no aches, pains or niggles. While my calves are sensitive too touch there is no vegetation on the trail to brush against them so it is not an issue. I did bang one walking pole against my calf and there was some pain control hissing as it hurt a lot. I have been putting sunscreen on every 2 hours to protect it but I still do not think it was sunburn which caused the blisters as they are blotchy and sunburn would be red all over with blisters over the top.
From the river the trail stayed flat for a while and then started a big, though gentle, ascent. The scenery was staring to look the same when I looked behind me and was treated to a lovely view of mountains and lakes. I kept stopping to look and was disappointed when I started heading down the other side of the hill.

This side looked fairly flat but as I descended I saw an interesting little ridge and I really liked this part. The soil became sandy and the track undulated up and down as well as turning side to side. It was nice not to be able to see a couple of km ahead and the frequent corners made it feel as if there was new scenery more frequently. Down both sides were little lakes, swamps and streams.

As it was warm today I found myself taking more breaks to just sit and admire the scenery, as well as eating snacks to keep my energy up. I was also drinking significantly more today, almost 2 litres by 1600.

After a big river crossing the map was marked as green and I had been picturing a full forest however it was just sporadic trees. My initial camping spot I had picked on the map was exposed and as I was still feeling good I decided to keep going.

Along this ridge the Mollesjohka Hut was clearly visible and seemed to take a while to get closer. Just before Lake Buoizajvri a signpost indicated where to leave the vehicle track and it was now an overgrown single trail that in places looked like it may have been a vehicle track a long long time ago. The wood posts with the Hiker sign now also had a mountain bike sign. I was impressed at the level of detail on the mountain bike.

After having very few swamps there were now two deep swamps to thoroughly wet my feet with muddy water. The track crossed a river and there was a grove of trees on the other side of the river to the right that I explored and found a lovely camp site.

I set up my tent and washed my shoes and socks before hanging them in the trees for the sun to dry. I managed to boil water for my meal and my hot drink just before the mosquitos found me and I zipped up my tent. I was trying the Real Turmat meal that the nice Norwegian family had given me. It was Chicken Curry flavour and while it didn’t taste of curry it was lovely. If I was not told what it was I would have said Chicken Risotto. The serving was bigger than what I had been eating but I managed to finish it all off. I am glad it tasted good as I will need to start buying these at around the half way mark when my NZ food runs out.
I was surprised when I worked out how far I had walked today. It did no feel that long and I was not tired when I finished. I must be getting my hiking legs now.
Tonight I have the trickle of the river to sooth me to sleep.

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