Tri-Border hike post expanded

Yesterday we hiked to the Tri-Border area, and posted a short entry about the day.  Here's an expanded version.

The Tri-Border area is the place in Northeastern Norway where the border meets the borders of Russia and Finland.  Another heavily guarded place with warnings all over about making the mistake of crossing into Russia.

The place is about a 75 mile drive from Sollia Guesthouse to the entry of Pasvik National Park.  Along the way we saw more reindeer than people or cars. At the end of the 75 mile drive, the road goes in 3 directions, all unpaved roads.  Basically, we had to flip a coin to choose a road, not knowing which one was correct.  We took the middle road, and driving was an adventure in itself, with large ruts and moose gates that you had to open and close yourself.

Basically, the middle road is a road to nowhere, and although we stayed in Norway (we think), you can never really be sure.  After driving for about 30 minutes into the forest, and after seeing some Norwegian military signs, we decided it was time to head back and choose one of the other roads.

After exiting the middle road, we thought we'd try the road to the right.  We finally did notice a small sign with what appeared to be the Norwegian prefix for 'three' and figured that this must be the proper road.  The road is about 12 mikes long and took one hour to drive.  At the end of the road is the trailhead and a military outpost.  Amazingly, this also happens to be the most remote location we ever stood in that had excellent 3G cell phone reception, way better than in our house!

The trail to the border markers is 3 miles long.  The trail is clearly marked over the entire course.  100 yards in, we were met by a border guard who reviewed the rules with us.  The trail itself alternates between easy going dry gravel, wood ATV tracks, some dry small boulder scrambles, and what amounts to carpeting made of decaying peat over an underground creek bed.

We finally made it to the border after crossing through another moose gate and hiking the steepest uphill portion of the trail.  The border is marked by a pyramid shaped white rock that is about 100 years old and may not be touched.  Further, it is illegal to walk around the stone marker and essentially visit all 3 countries.  This is one of the few places in the world where the borders of 3 countries meet.  Also, this point marks the intersection of 3 different time zones.  If you have your cell phone set to automatically update time, the 3-way collision of different cell signals at this point will drive your phone clock crazy!  The border is heavily guarded on all sides at this point, although the border guards from Finland and Russia kept a completely hidden profile.  We didn't stay long, only long enough to take a few photos.

After an hour's hike back, we made it to the car at dusk and were greeted by this bird, a sort of cross between an eagle, turkey, and giant pheasant.  Anyone know what this is?