Ah #Finland and its uncountable lakes!
To my surprise I failed to find a wild camping spot on the northern shores of Lake #Inari. The entire stretch near the road seemed either populated -- there's people living in those forests -- or rocky or unreachable from the main road.
What a bummer. I scrapped my plan of camping out there and continued. At the next, smaller lake I immediately found a pleasant spot near a boat launching site.
Went on back to #Norway, meeting a straggler of the #NorthCape4000 race on the way. The time cutoff already elapsed but he's going to finish the route regardless, he said. That's the spirit! #grinta #ultracycling
I spent the night in #Karasjok, home to the #Sami parliament, before venturing back into #Finland on the #EuroVelo7, stopping in the town of #Hetta in #Lapland.
The bike goes south! Integrated a few gravel bits of the #ArcticPostRoad into my itinerary which led me to the spectacular peak of mount #Mustavaara. Reached #Kolari without seeing a single reindeer.
Then on to #Rovaniemi and now #Oulu, a true gem of a town on the Baltic with its extensive network of bike paths. #Finland knows how to make one feel welcome. Finally #reindeer again, despite this no longer being #Lapland.
@amble I only did a few kilometers of the gravel route and loved it. It was challenging though with rough, large pebbles, littered with puddles, and a 10+ percent gradient. Certainly not comparable to the smooth hardpack gravel I was used from Norway.
However I've met others who did a mix of both the MTB and the gravel route and they were delighted. Given more time I'd have done the same.
phg
Christof