Easy breezy to Lakselv
To Silfar Canyon
Our experience on the pass toward Mehamn taught us that elevation can mean a lot here. I finally got around to planning a route with Komoot instead of trying to scrape by with Google Maps (which seems increasingly hard to use lately). Komoot’s not perfect, but it is such a better experience for touring, making offline nav easy, and putting frequently-used trip stats (e.g. time/distance to destination, elevation profile) right upfront.
Anyway, Selina in Ifjord told us there were flat spots on either side of the mountain that could be good for camping, and that the mountain was the easiest of the passes in the area. Spot on, on both counts.
The ice on the lakes is thawing rapidly
The tailwind made the low-angle climbing really fun. The high country was weird and wide open and grey with babyhead rocks.
I found a super-neat dead reindeer and did not pull off its antlers for arts and crafts purposes.
When we coasted downhill past the Silfar Canyon, we found ourselves in an amazingly vibrant birch forest, with open undergrowth and lovely, soft, flat camp spots.
We did fancy ramen over a twig fire for dinner. The Firebox Nano is a solid little machine and fun to cook with, but probably underpowered for our purposes. Using a branch, quartered and arranged around a central flue for kindling brought much-needed stability and longevity to our cooking on it, but it took forever to heat the liter and a half of water we needed to boil in the steady wind we had. Its ability to maintain a fire despite that wind, though, was super impressive. The ramen was delicious.
To Lakselv
Today’s ride to Lakselv was, by all metrics, easier. After a late sleep to avoid the morning’s rain, I had a slow day despite this. Everything felt harder.
On the plus side, we got up close to the pines of the world’s northernmost pine forest, and continued to enjoy the greening of the world.
Riding west through Finnmark at this time of year is magical for the transitions you see. Eastern Finnmark is the coldest region in Norway, so heading west along the coast feels like traveling through time while moving very slowly. Spring is springing in fast forward, and the birds are ecstatic for it.
Notable sights
There were a couple of strange or lovely landforms here. Many of the bays have long shallows, with many small rocks dispersed evenly across them. Real head-scratcher, this one. Please let me know if you have any insight.
The rock type has shifted a bit, and no longer seems like the heavily layered twisted stuff we saw so much of around Tana Bru. Waterfalls are a constant here in northern Norway - there are maybe 500 meters between them at their scarcest. This one breaks the mold a bit for its low angle and fun structure.
And this crescent-shaped beach was all the more beautiful
for the green grotto below the cliffs we viewed it from.
Lakself - first impressions
Lakselv’s a bit grey, but the restaurant on the north end of town makes a very servicable veggie pizza. Green olives and pineapple is a weird combination, but if the large pie we disappeared between us is any indication, it wasn’t half bad.
Old friends
- Snow machines are everywhere here, and called Scooterløyper. I don’t love em, but I do love their name!
- Mystery Nettles? They smell like nettles, and look like nettles, but they don’t poke like nettles.
- the birch are beginning to leaf out
New Friends
- Meese. Plural of moose. Lil baby ones, across the road from camp last night.
- so many new plant friends!
- traditional Kven boats
Because I am a juvenile
Current top pick for funniest word in Norwegian
Because variety is the spice of life
I still can’t believe we spotted this house in Norway.