Sunday-Monday night forecast looked good, at least -10°C temperature. But due to some other life circumstances I decided for a rather small, short overnighter closer to home. In the winter of 2010/2011 I tried to find the lean-to of Hevonpää where I haven't been yet. I did two overnighters but strangely I didn't find it, even though the location should be easy to find. Third time's the charm?
I have found a somewhat nicer route to Hevonpää, as there is a smaller country that also takes a shortcut. The night looked good indeed, there was a nice crescent moon.
The temperature was only -8°C, but the wind made it feel a lot colder. I didn't have my facemask with me. I should have, it felt suprisingly brutal.
The good thing is that there are hikers who visits the lean-to, but their tracks can lead to other places too. The start of the trail was very narrow but otherwise rideable with a fatbike.
There was again a false track, but this time I paid closer attention to the yellow bands that have been used to mark the trail.
As I progressed (both riding and pushing) it started to look promising.
There it is.
The clock was already past midnight, so I prepared my sleeping system immediately.
The sky was clear with stars.
The night temperature dropped to close -12°C. Not really cold, but I made a mistake here. I took only one sleeping pad, the Halti Airlite, but it wasn't enough. My feet were cold again, and I didn't sleep too well.
To my suprise, I woke to sounds of some hiker/hikers in the night, but they turned back.
This place is in the middle of a forest, so the morning wasn't visually super stunning. But still nice.
The usual morning chores.
The new Kupilka kuksa is very nice. Only thing that was missing was true strong coffee.
The campsite.
The bike packed again.
Glorious blue sky and sunshine on my way home.
A nice, cold overnighter. The weather forecast looks promising for snowcrust, keeping fingers crossed...