Ristiina ja viimeinen yö

13.9 km of paddling PLUS the shopping. Set off early: at 2.1 km is the Löydönranta ramp and from there starts the only reliable resupply of the crossing. If you do the shopping on foot it takes 3 h; by bus, a tight 45 min. Plan it before wetting the blade.

From the ramp, the K-Market is 5.2 km BY ROAD: 10.4 there and back, a good 3 h with the shopping on your back. By water you only get there by GOING ROUND via Yövesi (18.3 km): so no. Go up by bus: the Löytö stop is 200 m from the road (Mikkeli-Ristiina-Pellos line) and drops you at Ristiina Matkahuolto. On weekdays 6 runs there and 7 back; SATURDAY AND SUNDAY a single run in (~13:35) and two back, 14:20 and 18:10. Mind how the village is laid out: FOOD is 50-320 m from that station (kebab-pizzeria, Wanha Martta, pub Groove, Kahvila-ravintola Saimaa); the SHOPS are 1.1-1.4 km further up — K-Market, S-market, Alko, pharmacy and the ONLY HEALTH CENTRE in the 80.5 km; the hours for all of that are on the data sheet. At the weekend, with the 14:20 return you get a tight 45 minutes of shopping; with the 18:10 it is 4 h 35 and there is time for a sit-down meal — but you lose the afternoon's paddling. After that there is only Mikkeli.

Public sandy uimapaikka 107 m from the track, sheltered bay: good landing and water. It is NOT a camp site — a municipal beach and someone else's piha, with houses alongside —: it is where you leave the boat while you go up to Ristiina. The Löydönranta ramp, 40 m further on, has the Löytö stop (200 m) nearby, which is how you get to and from the village — but it is NOT an escape-plan exit: this stage's exits are S10 (km 64.4) and S11 (km 72.0).

Laavu on an island 124 m from the track, with latrine and jetty and the nearest house 405 m away: the last clean site before Mikkeli. It is not in LIPAS, but a paddler who was there in 2019 describes it — sandy island, sloping ground, a few tent spots. If the shopping has eaten the morning, the day ends here, no argument.

Northern edge of the ringed seal's range: from here to the end its presence is marginal, but the duty not to disturb applies all year round and on the whole lake. Keep a lookout without obsessing.

The Siikasalmi strait and, inside it, a DREDGED CHANNEL: 300 m long by 11.8 wide and 2.4 draught, opened in 1833 and deepened in 1851 and 1874-75. The Mikkeli EXCURSION BOATS pass through here, coming down the western channel and joining the corridor right here — although their early-autumn cruises were UNCONFIRMED for 2026, and the passenger traffic that is actually dated in September is the fast boat of the Toijola channels, two stages back. And you don't cross it: you run alongside it for 1.2 km (km 70.1-71.3), 15-60 m away. Keep close to the shore and look behind. In your favour, MEASURED: that whole kilometre and a bit is a 9 km/h zone with a no-wash rule, so the excursion boat comes slowly and without a wake. Ramp to starboard: exit to the road if you have to abort.

778 m on foot from the beach, the Kyyhkylän kartano: 32-room hotel, lakeside sauna and two restaurants (Ravintola Armas, kotiruokaa on weekdays). 343 m away, a STOP on the Mikkeli line. It is the best-served night of the trip and the easiest exit: details in Stage 7.

MUNICIPAL beach, free to use according to LIPAS (it belongs to the Town Council), 1.1 km W of the track. That is 600 m more detour than the neighbouring laavu, and you do it on purpose: the laavu belongs to a company in INSOLVENCY since January 2026 and there may be nobody to ask. Here you don't need anyone's permission. Sand for landing with the loaded boat. Pitch late, pack up early, leave no trace. Fire only with a stove.

78.4 km. 7.2 to go: tomorrow you enter Mikkeli. The roofed shelters on this section are all private (company, club or track with a barrier), which is why you sleep on the municipal beach. Count the 1.1 km detour when you set off tomorrow. And decide tonight what time you want to be at the ramp: the train and the shower have timetables, and the shower has a calendar trap.