Day 15 – 4 Jul, Lake Radjejavri to West of Mierojavri town
(31 km, total 364 km, 11h , 0940 to 1740)
Video: Video Day 15
Wow it was a wet night but thankfully I survived with everything still dry. The rain started easing off around 0900 so I quickly had breakfast and packed.
It was very light rain as I started walking and then it stopped completely but the strong cold wind did not go away. I enjoyed the trail following stone cairns across the hills and then up onto the ridgeline climbing to a big hill at 546m where there were views 360.
From there it was a quick descent and onto a gravel road which I was to follow for the rest of the day.
I had intentionally been taking it easy today. If I rushed I would probably decide I could make it all the way into Kautokeino and thrash myself with a long day. So I took it easy I could feel the blister under my big and second toe and it was a little sore to start but then started getting worse. There was also a slight feeling like mud between your toes so I stopped and had a look. The blister was growing, though it had burst and there was no fluid build up. The flap between my toes was tight so I cut it too ease the tension. The blister on the end of my toe was still flat so that was good. The two beneath the nails were fine as well.
That done I kept walking. There was nothing much of interest, the odd lake visible through the trees, slight ups and slight downs, a Reindeer Yard, a cute sod house, a radar installation on the hill and my highlight of the day was counting dog booties on the side of the road. I finished the day with a tally of 11.
By 1200 my blister was really starting to hurt. Every time I stopped I had to go through the pain of getting used to it again. I had lunch using up the last of the Bacon Ost (cheesy spread) on the Knekkebrod. An hour later I ate the pastries I had been saving.
I was now starting to limp with the pain which is not a good thing when walking long distances. Limping puts strain on other places which can lead to other issues. My solution was to walk really fast so I did not have time to limp. That lasted ok for a while but was tiring. My next solution was to tighten up the laces of that shoe to reduce movement and move at a faster walk than I had been doing but not as fast as the last stretch. That seemed to work and despite the pain I managed to get into a bit of a zone.
When finally I had enough I decided to camp. I started looking for water and found a little stream. The trouble was the minute I stopped the mosquitos and other insects came swarming. On the last section of trail mosquito hadn’t even been bothered by me walking and were zeroing in on one spot on my shoulder. It is like they have left a target there as they all want to drink from the one spot. While I was filtering my water they seemed to be leaving my legs alone but were attacking my shoulders and behind my ears. I think a few tried my back for variety as well. I had planned to camp there but decided against it and walked another 5 minutes finding a nice spot. The mosquitos were bad as I was putting my tent up but still restricting themselves where they drank from. I wandered away from the tent to go to the toilet and the mosquitos left me alone but the insects that look like NZ sandflys were on every exposed piece of flesh they could find, getting a little intimate for a first date. However they were not biting, just sitting there – very weird but not complaining if they don’t want to bite. On the way back I prepared by shoes for quick disposal and dived into my tent as quickly as possible. I then spent the next 5 minutes killing sandflys. They haven’t bitten me yet but they look so much like the NZ Sandfly I don’t trust them and it is instinct to clear my tent of insects.
Dinner was Moroccan Lamb which was ok. I charged my phone and camera and starting transferring photos from my camera to my phone so I can start sorting them for my blog and editing my video. The transfer takes a while so doing it now saves time when I have internet.
It is exciting to think that tomorrow I will be in a real bed. Only 17km walk. I cant leave too early as nothing opens before 1000.
Down feather from my sleeping bag
Clearing the tent of insects
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