Plans for the summer, part 3: Packrafting – but where? | Korpijaakko

There’s a competition going on as I have promised a free freeze-dried meal and dessert for the first one who guesses my main trip for this summer. What I am looking for is a verb describing what I’ll be doing and the place.

It has become clear from the earlier posts (post 1 and post 2) that I’ll be packrafting. The raft is a brand new 2011 model Alpacka Denali Llama with spray deck. It should arrive in June and I just can’t wait to get my hands on it! Last autumn I had an older Denali Llama for a test on some lake paddling and class I & II white water. And it was totally awesome!

The packraft I had for a test run last autumn: Alpacka Denali Llama

But, no one has yet guessed what the route will be. The starting point was reviled in the second clue and I received a good guess about it. Me and my mate will get of the bus a bit North from the village of Kilpisjärvi on the Norwegian side of the border where river Didnujohka crosses the road. From there we will start hiking towards East, the Finnish border and later the Pitsusköngäs waterfall. But where will we continue from there?

So, here is the third and final clue: My colleague from the University is an enthusiastic fly-fisher and he will be at same area about the same and we have agreed to meet along the way at the Somasjärvi lake which is marked on the map screen shot with blue arrow:

The final clue: a place where we’ll meet friends along the way.

After meeting with the friends – and hopefully getting some fresh arctic trout for a dinner – me and Tuomas will be hopefully able to enjoy an altitude difference of about 400 meters and float and fight (and swim?) through over 130 kilometers of the wildest wilderness rivers in Finland ending our trip to the road side.

A bold plan for sure, but luckily packrafts are easy to carry. 😉

It’s time to get over with this competition so I can tell more about my plans. So, give your best shot and guess!