12-Sep-2003 -- Possibly, this was one of the hardest forest trips, made by me.

The nearest point to the CP you can drive to by car is 103th kilometer of 'Kola' Federal highway from St.Petersburg to Murmansk. Then you should turn North to the cart-road, leading along fields to the high voltage power line via the vilage of Kipuja and a farm. Getting to the CP from the direction of Vegota is almost absolutely impossible due to hard swamps and forests. Near the power line the road turns West and simultaneously changes into a dirty rut, passable only by tractor, even not by any tractor. At last, this path will drive you to a forest trail, choked with wild grass and small trees.

I`ve hidden my bike in dense bushes near the crossing and walked into the forest. The GPS showed distance to the CP in about 770 meters.

The trail, obviously, was abandoned about 10-15 years ago-small trees already had grown out of wheel traces. Dense grass, mixed with rush, reached up to my belt, and it was quite dangerous to walk: sharpest branch fragments of fallen long ago trees tried to sink into my legs, and once succeeded: my pants (lucky not my skin) were torn on the way back (photo). Then I went on the big dry swamp, covered with gray and greenish moss; jumped over the narrow, but deep and fast stream with unexpectedly clear water; and entered the forest again. But for this time it was completely another forest: tall, healthy pines grew on a soft green moss with cloudberry and cranberry chrubs. About 150 meters to CP the forest again became swampy and, which had surprised me, full of mushrooms! No human footprints, I thought, nobody used to be here for many years, and the nature looked wild and unspoiled. Yellowish 'mohoviki', or moss-mushrooms, were everywhere, I could have collected lots of them, but I had no packing...

The confluence was located quite easily with 7 m accuracy due to low pine trees with light crones. All the way from highway to the CP and back was made in about 1.5 hours, and I want there back again! :))