Day 41 – to Vadsø, Varanger National Park, Norway

11 am. It’s 4C outside, with a gentle drizzle, but 19C in van. I’ve a second coffee, laid up in the favourite chair reading Monbiot’s Regenesis *. Could be that late Jamesons while watching The Red Headed League had enhanced my lethargy.

But it is no longer reasonable to ignore the dog’s eyes, or is rubbing of his nose in the back of my neck. He watches me every turn of the page… that’s your allocation his expression says…and so eventually shoes on, jacket on, and we head outside.

What had seemed a less appealing hike turned out to be right up there as one of the best. I had chosen a section of the Utsjoki trail, which is actually a long distance remote path, and making it a loop with the use of another linking path / reindeer trod.

Having gained some height everything was different, the autumn colours in the beech trees and ground coverage gave the place its own identity, it was magnificent. Autumn is more advanced here than in Inari. And there’s that feeling of wilderness, which it really isn’t hard to find up here.

Having said that, I actually met other hikers today, perhaps as it was Saturday.

Going in the opposite direction were two 17 year old girls, all loaded up for a night out camping. Their English wasn’t good, but we managed to communicate and they told me they were headed for a long remote lake, which they showed me on the map, another 10 kilometres walking or so. They said they were at College locally, between school and university, and lived in the town. They clearly had decent outdoor skills and gear. What a great way to spend the weekend.

There were a couple of tarns up high. Next to the second of them was a quite a new hut, for a rest place on a cold day like today, or perfect for a night over. I heard a bark from inside, and we soon met it’s owner, an 18 month old female retriever and her owner, and soon we were sat by the fire which the girls I had just passed had lit, sharing coffee.

The dog owner was accompanying her husband while he was working in the area, and making the most of her own time with some hiking. She cooked sausages for her lunch on the fire. Her husband was teaching Remote First Aid to the employees of the local Holiday Village, which offers several outdoor activities. We actually had plenty in common. I’ve taken that course myself every couple of years while I was working.

The route back took in some higher ground, and tremendous views of the village, the bridge to Norway, and the Tana river. The river, known as ‘Great River’ by the Sámi, is reputedly the best salmon river in Europe.

above – Looking down at the Tana River, the greatest salmon river in Europe, and north east into Norway.

It was another 50 or so kilometres around the coast to my destination for the day, Vadsø. I was tempted to stay on the coast, the views were so impressive, but in the end I headed to my planned stopover, a few kilometres inland, the trailhead for hiking into the National Park, which we will take on tomorrow.

By this time it was 4 pm, I’d got an hour back after crossing the border. I listened to some sport, and took a sample hike before dog’s dinner time, then settled in on a cold evening. I may break a vow I made and watch the Hundred final, though the games are not really cricket as we know it.. Certainly a movie later on.. I’ll report back tomorrow.

Roja – never keen on bridges.. would much rather make his own way across..

*George Monbiot’s Regenesis is shortlisted for the Wainwright Conservation Prize. It’s the sixth of the seven books on the list I have read, and it’s about the future of farming and food production. His first book, Feral, about rewilding, won several awards.

I’ll finish it tomorrow, the winner of the Wainwright Prize is announced on Monday, and I’ll review it on Goodreads.