For the last two weeks or so it has been a full on summer here in Finland. Temperatures have been close to +30C, there hasn’t been much rain (at least in the South-East) and everything is green and blooming. Well, mosquitoes are not green but they seem to be booming as well… This all means […]
Win a Basic Course on Arctic Ski Expeditions! To celebrate Christmas and holiday season I’m happy to announce a special reader competion in collaboration with UlkoilunMaailma.fi! The prize in the raffle is a free participation on The Basic Course on Arctic Ski Expeditions on Lake Saimaa near Lappeenranta in 25.-27.1.2013! All readers are free to […]
I’m sorry for the few weeks of down time but now I’m back with the blog and there should be a lot of things coming up. Or at least I have a pile of drafts waiting to be finished… But let’s start with a trip report about the trip I mentioned in my latest quick […]
The last weekend N and I had a rare overlapping weekend without other projects and an overnighter was soon planned… I wanted to do some more packrafting and found the Ruokolahden melontareitti, a 110km paddling route with some shelters and fireplaces along the way. As is the case in South-East Finland the route is mostly […]
This post is all about headwear and about (nearly) all the headwear I own. And especially on headwear for winter as the winter has finally arrived also to the Southern parts of Finland! The post is a follow-up for the old Gloves for winter post and inspired by Dave Chenault’s post who seems to have […]
Shoulder seasons are interesting time for outdoor activities. An unusual mix of seasonal activities is possible, many things are little more challenging than during “normal seasons” and even popular destinations are usually quiet so you can have the wilderness for yourself. Shoulder season packrafting trails… Super-cute little furballs! N had holiday on the last week […]
Only a week ago I wrote a short “Heads up” post about the new Altai Hok short skis, or fast shoes. (My initial impression about the original Hok 125s can be found from here.) The last weekend I was at the annual meeting of the Arctic Club of Finland speaking about the Vatnajökull 2012 expedition […]
Lately I’ve spent quite a lot of time trying to get a hold of all the different satellite communication options available for outdoor adventurers and I though it would be nice to share my findings with you. This is a sort of state of the market report limited to the devices that may interest outdoor […]
You might have noticed that lately I’ve mentioned tyres quite often in my tweets. Tyres? Yes, tyres. Why? Well, let me explain… Who can read the runes? Most who are serious about their outdoor ventures like to be fit. Maybe the greatest way for outdoors enthusiast to stay fit is to spend a lot of […]
“Monthly highlights” is a series of post concentrating on a 10-month wilderness guide course I am taking this year at Niittylahden opisto near Joensuu in Eastern Finland. These posts try to summarize the best parts of each month and are naturally published at the end of each month (or few weeks after…) Hopefully you enjoy […]
The title states the obvious facts about last Wednesday’s micro adventure I did with classmates from the wilderness guide school but apparently there is more to say about the trip than the numbers as this turned out to be quite a long post. The Niittylahden opisto has also many other courses and classes than the […]
I’m confident enough to say that all backpackers dislike bugs. Acutally, hate bugs. Well, not all bugs but the kind bugs that bite and sting you while you’re trying to enjoy the outdoors. We protect ourselves with clothing, shelters and chemicals and maybe even avoid outings on certain areas during the worst bug season. So […]
Here are some photos and words from an overnight trip with N the last weekend. When this post magically appears online I’ll be on my way guiding a one-week packrafting tour from Kilpisjärvi (Finland) to Reisadalen (Norway). You can follow our tour over Social Hiking. The tracking is based on SPOT 2, of which I […]
“Monthly highlights” is a series of post concentrating on a 10-month wilderness guide course I am taking this year at Niittylahden opisto near Joensuu in Eastern Finland. These posts try to summarize the best parts of each month and are naturally published at the end of each month (or few weeks after…) Hopefully you enjoy […]