Kautokeino or bust! Well, we bust. Battered by Arctic storms, struggling after a skier/river interface and lacking some crucial local knowledge we were forced to change our plans and our attempt at a north/south traverse turned more into a circular escapade around the northern tip of the Finnmark plateau. Those of you following on SPOT must have been laughing your asses off!
A failure? Never. We experienced and learnt more about the terrain and ourselves than we would ever have on a sunny, effortless traverse. Nothing worth learning comes easy. So as we sit back and reflect on the lessons learnt and experiences endured, upload photos and write-up diaries I leave you with some trip numbers:
Blisters - 1 (Joe)
Stuff-sacks lost to the wind - 2 (Jorgen)
Tent poles snapped - 1 (Joe)
Rivers fallen in - 1 (Jorgen)
Lake over-flow floundered in - 1 (Joe)
Trees crashed into on skis - 1 (Jorgen)
Trees crashed into while sliding down a mountainside towards certain possible death - 2 (one each)
Times we were lost - 0
Times we were not 100% certain of our exact location - the first three days...
Languages spoken - 4 (English, Norwegian, Swedish and Anglo-Saxon)
Pee-bags sat on whilst inside the tent - 1
Rocks ran over on borrowed skis - lots (sorry Steve!)
Pairs of socks worn or carried - 4 (2 each)
Tent pegs carried - 0
Compasses that crapped out - 1
Trolls seen - 1
Times I got really scared - 2
Memories that will last all my life - countless
