The long way home - Day 2: The side quest

Day 10 kicked off with me waking up in a cozy cabin in Karesuando. I packed up my gear, grabbed a quick coffee, and got ready to hit the road. Today was exciting because I had a special side quest lined up—something I’d really been looking forward to explore.

Some History..

About 17-18 years ago I was a member of a Swedish offroad forum called soe.se (Svenska Offroad Enthusiasts). One of the members on the forum created a unique guest book and left it out in the wild, far up north in Sweden.

It is a guest book made of sheet copper, held together by steel wires and hidden behind a stone marked with a skull and bones. This is the northernmost motorcycle guestbook you can reach by motorcycle without going through another country. Today was the day I set out to find it.

It wasn't entirely easy to find the coordinates to the place, but after massive googling and snooping, I found a video on youtube where in one scene you could see a screenshot of the forum and the coordinates to the place!! What are the odds for that?

Offroad Challenge: Reaching the Guestbook

The weather was perfect—clear skies, warm sun, and just the right amount of breeze. After packing up, I road towards Sopporo and just a little bit before Sopporo I made a right turn and headed out into the wilderness.

The first part of the route was quite nice dirt roads without any major surprises.

As well as reindeer enclosures, the area is also used as a rocket test site, so there are signs posted with warnings and I believe it may be closed on occasion.

Eventually you come to a place where the road abruptly ends. After that, there is a narrow track that continues for the last kilometres.

Here it is much more difficult - stony, sandy and tricky. I even got stuck on a sandy uphill at one point, but I managed to push through.

Unexpected Company

When I finally got to the spot, I was surprised to find I wasn’t alone. A group of five riders from "99% Nora Gravel Adventure" had also made the trip. They’d ridden over 1500 kilometers the day before and camped nearby. It was pretty wild that we all showed up at the exact same time, coming from totally different directions. Also We were the first ones to visit the guestbook this year.

Since the guest book is made of copper sheet, you can engrave or punch your signature or message. In addition to the guest book, there is also a hammer and a set of letter punches on site.

After punching "Squeaky Adventures" into one of the pages of the guestbook and taking a few photos, I tagged along with the group as we headed back. It was nice to share the ride with fellow riders who were just as into the adventure as I was.

When we finally reached the slightly larger road again, we chatted for a while, exchanged stickers and I got a photo of the whole happy gang. They were going to stay for a while, to change the tires on their bikes, so I left them and continued back towards Sopporo. I was running low on fuel, so I pulled into the gas station.

Continuing south

While I was taking a break at the gas station, the guys from before arrived at the scene. They also needed to fill up with petrol. We talked a bit and again I decided to go with them because we were going in the same direction. We drove together to Gällivare and there we split up.

The rest of the day was all about covering ground. I needed to head south, as my bike’s front sprocket was still making that scratching noise. I stopped at a few places hoping to find a workshop that could help, but no luck. So, I kept riding, hoping the bike would hold together.

By the time I reached Arvidsjaur, I was wiped out. I found a campsite, set up my tent, and crashed for the night. I’d covered 605 kilometers that day, and despite the bike issues, it felt like a good day. The guestbook adventure was something I’d really wanted to do, and now it was checked off the list. As I drifted off to sleep, I couldn’t help but feel pretty damn satisfied. Tomorrow, the journey continues.