Camp at Vassajavri
I woke up just after 7 feeling not really rested, had some weird dreams during the night and woke up quite a few times. If I had to rate myself it would be between 6 and 7 on a scale from 1-10, checking my Oura readings confirmed this feeling, giving me a readiness score of 68 out of 100. Even before checking the app, I made the decision to stop at Vassajavri and do the pass over to Mårma the following day. Turns out to be a great decision as it dawned on me that I forgot my key to the Norwegian cabins at home and needed to find a spot with coverage so I could call my flatmate for help. Knowing it would be a short hike I was in no hurry, and I had some condensation on the tent after a pretty warm and windless night to take care of. Just after 10:30 everything was dry and packed so I left with the intention of doing the climb slow and steady. So I did, and most of it without a shirt to let the wind help keep me cool.
The sun was shining and I have the tendency to get serious warm during longer ascents. I spent about two hours reaching the top of the first ascent and from there I continued to the summit of the most eastern peak south of Vassaloamijavri to make the call. Leaving the pack behind I made it there and back in about an hour and, grabbing the gear, I aimed for the first stream along the trail where I stopped for a midday snack overlooking the lake and one of my favorite campsites in the area.
Weather was amazing and I spent about 1.5h enjoying the sunshine and a slight breeze! Getting back into the trail for the last climb of the day, I suddenly start running into a ton of people (ok, in this case, it means a total of 10) after seeing so few other hikers earlier days. It seems like the pass over Mårma is totally gaining popularity, something it absolutely deserves and hopefully leads to some renovations of the cabin that has been neglected for ages. Stopping and chatting with the people, answering a couple of questions of the type everyone asks when they meet someone coming from the direction they’re heading made the afternoon a lot longer, and more social than expected. On the higher part of the uphill slope, there was connection once more and I heard back from Matz, unfortunately, the key wasn’t to be found where I thought it should be and so I just have to change my plans. Not a big deal as Norway will most probably be there next year still! It was already 18:00 (6 PM) when I had my camp set up and started dinner.
Now after a good meal, I hear some raindrops falling on the tent. Nothing serious, just enough to make me appreciate the coziness of my tent and the cup of peppermint tea just so much more! Looking forward to an early evening and hopefully some good and restful sleep, getting me ready for some action tomorrow!
