ScanBaltic 2022 episode 6, getting offroad in Finland

Yesterday i had a ride out with the VFROC and today i had to choose between working on Ragnarok or finishing this episode.
For me this episode contains an exciting bit so i chose finishing this episode.
So next week probably will be no new episode to catch up with Ragnarok.

This episode i exchange Norway for Finland and there the real offroad will start.
As a mater of fact, within a kilometre after crossing the border the asphalt disappeared and turned into gravel.

This is why i bought Sporherre, go far away and do this kind of roads and even more extreme but for now i’m already happy with this.

Like i said it was within a kilometre, i crossed the border which was quite traditional on a bridge over a river and took a right turn to find this after a few bends.
This continued for almost 100km and where i thought the sliding and drifting would be out of the question with the full luggage i was wrong.
You can see the nice compacted tracks but in corners the cars who create those compact lines take to much different lines and after 40 to 50km i learned the best way to take those corners. It was either slow and wobbly or the fun way.
Guess what? The luggage was not in the way after all and i wonder how long it will take from getting used to it to getting comfortable with it.

Besides the fact i’m finally hitting dirt over large distances the first day was not too exciting. Don’t get me wrong because i had a blast and even roads that are not shown as dirt/gravel did turn out to be unpaved so i did more offroad than expected that day.
It was also beautiful for me just not spectacular to share. This day was a big distance of 535km with not much variation.
It was rivers, lakes and forests with alternating asphalt and gravel with not much traffic.
Not much to write about or show.
I like meeting new people and learn about other places but i also really like being by myself.

This day ended in a somewhat bigger town, Rovaniemi.
The weather was better but still rainy and in Rovaniemi i found a cheap apartment close to the city centre where i ended up in Paha Kurki Rockhouse, some rock café after i had a bite to eat.
Had some beers and a nice conversation, another great end of an also great day.

The next day i was about to meat up with the TET and because Finland has a lot of gravel main roads most of it was accepted by Garmin in the route.
Garmin works just fine with tracks but they don’t give spoken directions and i like that so i can enjoy the views more instead of looking at the GPS to see if i’m still on course.
I so have the tracks loaded so i can choose to follow the unroutable track when i feel for it but like i said that was not really necessary in Finland.
This day i had one small bit and i was not comfortable taking that track. It was a track through the forest and it looked like it was not used for a very long time.

It was still a good 200km to get to the offroad section of this part but from there it was mostly offroad and also a bit rougher.
The point where it got too rough and i kept following the route Garmin accepted i ended up at a closed road. It turned out to be a private road what probably was the reason for the part through the forest so i had to turn around and find a different route.
Easily found with a bit offroad and then a paved road to get back at the route i planned.
At that point my road was supposed to come from the right and the TET came from straight ahead.
The TET is not officially directional but i went in the opposite direction as the TET track is marked and i might have found a possible reason the forest section looked like it was not used too much.
This is what i found a few kilometres after turning left back on to the track….

If you follow the given direction you first get to the road closing rocks so maybe most people turn around to find a way around.
I first came at the watercrossing and i really wanted to do one, it’s a bit of a thing for adventure riders i think as it is often highlighted in reports. It was for me but i was hoping for a more level one with firmer ground for my first one but you have to watch the video to see if that loose ground and height difference plus the doubtful bridge after that (i did check it out as i could see another obstacle ahead) made me turn around or not.

Not long after that point i was planning on staying the night at a lean-to (open hut) marked in the TET track. This are cabins in the forests mainly as a refuge in the harsh winters when you get lost hunting or when logging i guess.
They are free to use and there are apps available to locate them.
The one i was aiming for didn’t exist (any more), i even walked down a track that might lead to it but was not looking like it and i didn’t want to gamble riding into it what turned out to be a wise choice.
New challenge, finding another place to sleep and it is not going to be a hotel or campsite because i’m in the middle of nowhere.
My eyes where open for a good spot for a tent or another lean-to and after skipping the first one that was at a big lake with a beach that obvious was popular with the locals i also skipped some suitable places for a tent.
The surface in Finland offers more possibility’s for a tent but i just didn’t liked the spots but i did end up at a lean-to hut.

You see a smaller building on the right which is a woodshed and behind that in the middle is an outhouse.
In the lean-to is a fire-bowl and benches all around but i did sleep in the tent.
Because of the fire-bowl which is used a lot the cabin smells like a camp fire, great for making my food as the mosquito’s don’t like that and these blood suckers are big and abundanced over here but sleeping there would leave me smelling for days.
Again i’m a good chunk into the next day but a nice day it was.