When a one-week winter ski tour starts with heavy wind-driven rain you have to remind yourself why you like that stuff. This far I’ve always managed to convince myself that I’m doing what I really like and, fortunately, this time wasn’t an exception. In early March I was in Sarek National Park guiding the Advanced […]
Seems that way too many of my posts start with the words ”it’s been silent here lately”. But… Well, it’s the truth. During the last two months I haven’t had motivation for bloggin, instead I’ve been working a bit and foraging quite a lot but haven’t done any hiking or similar outdoor activities (goes hand […]
Part 2 – March through moraines and bone-freezing packrafting If you haven’t done it yet, you can read the first part of the trip report and background for the trip from previous posts! Falling into sleep in the sound of cold wind we woke up to a calm and sunny day at the mouth of […]
Less words, more photos. Packrafting the Reisaelva in Reisadalen. The last day of the one-week tour. The last week I was guiding a one-week packrafting tour from Kilpisjärvi (Finland) to Reisadalen (Norway). Unlike the last time I was there, we had good luck with really good weather, nice autumnal colours (ruska) and auroras almost every […]
The winter is finally over on the Northern hemisphere. To celebrate the winter gone and to make-up some of the quiet time in the blog, I will publish a three-part wrap up of my outdoor activities over the last winter. All the posts will be somewhat photo-heavy and lengthy (this one seems to be around […]
In June me and N traversed Kebnekaise (2100m or so), the highest peak of Sweden. It’s a classic hike with parts following the wide path from Nikkaluokta to Kebnekaise Fjällstation and parts following the hugely popular Kungsleden trail. The marked trails and well equipped huts can make a nice hike in spectacular Alpine scenery. But […]
Less words, more photos. Packrafting the Reisaelva in Reisadalen. The last day of the one-week tour. The last week I was guiding a one-week packrafting tour from Kilpisjärvi (Finland) to Reisadalen (Norway). Unlike the last time I was there, we had good luck with really good weather, nice autumnal colours (ruska) and auroras almost every […]
SPOT is probably the most widely used satellite messaging device in recreational outdoor sports. It was the first of its kind and something the market needed. It has helped a lot of people during the years but one should know that it also has limitations and in my opinion, is unreliable. Warning! The SPOT is […]
In brief My name is Jaakko “Korpi-Jaakko” Heikka. I am a professional wilderness guide and a diehard outdoor enthusiast from Finland. I’ve always been passionate about the outdoors and for the last few years I’ve spent annually close to 100 nights in the outdoors from overnight trips in the backwoods to one-month expedition across the […]
The first trip is now done! On last Friday night we started a 45km walk-in from Didnujohka river. We walked some 15km for the first evening/night and on Saturday we walked the remaining 30km and tried some short packraft runs in a dry and rocky rapids of Urttasjohka. We spent Sunday eating and resting on an open wilderness hut […]
In mid June I was on an overnight packrafting trip at Ruunaa Hiking area known for its rapids. In my trip report I promised there would be a video later when my friend has time to put it together… And as Thomas unfortunately damaged his hand on our recent trip around Kebnekaise (more about that […]
Sorry folks but the trip report from the packrafting trip is still under construction as I have been busy with things like life and will be starting my wilderness guide school in about 8 hours… Instead of a real trip report, here is a bunch of pictures from the second trip. The trip included hiking […]
I’m spending the week enjoying the summer in the country side and preparing for the upcoming year in the wilderness guide school (which starts next Monday), but at the mean time I’m also writing trip reports about the last two trips in the Lapland. The writing will take some time as there is so much […]
(For Finnish text, see below!) Packraft rentals There’s been more cobwebs than content in this blog lately but I’m still alive and in the outdoors things are moving. I’ve had a fleet of packrafts for a few years that I’ve been using in my guiding work and also renting “under the counter” – but now […]