Hey guys,
greetings from Finnish Lapland
Today is 5th of March
we´ll be heading out on a winter hiking trip
Behind my back you can see the Saariselkä highland
so we´re at Urho Kekkonen National Park again
In my ahkio I have food for a week or so
but I don´t have a real plan for this hike
The coming days will determine our stay here
What I am sure of is that
a wintery mountain- and forest wilderness will show us great scenery
At Finnish Lapland in winter 2018 brutal cold weather, warm wilderness cabins
I arrived to the north via train and bus
A long, 12 hour drive up here isn´t compelling
I´ll rather hop on the night train in my home town
I´ll sleep nicely in a train cabin
I´ll wake up at Rovaniemi and change to a bus
The bus comes straight to Kiilopää mountain centre
a UKK wilderness access point
So traveling here with public transportation is super easy
I head out through the familiar gate, towards the wilderness
I happened to see a rescue mission
Someone was being rescued from the wilderness
First I saw a helicopter in the distance
Looking for a landing site
The two snowmobiles passed me full throttle
They came back after some time
They were going slowly, so I assume someone was being transported
Lets hope that nothing too bad had happened
and the person being rescued would make it just fine
Around there I noticed
that the snow on the mountain carried my weight very well
I turned away from the track
and continued over Niilanpää top
and headed towards Rautulampi lake
We´re here at Rautulampi day cabin
the time of sunset is just here
I´ll continue towards Lankojärvi lake nontheless
This is only a day cabin, not meant for staying overnight unless
there´s some sort of exigency, and that´s not the case
This is the highlands, only small birch grows here
making a tarp camp here is not convenient at all
the wind is quite strong here too
I´ll just continue on to Lankojärvi lake and cabin
It´s 8 kilometres (5 miles) from here
Some tracks seem to lead that way
that makes traveling in the snow a lot easier
The terrain becomes a lot easier here
I came over the mountains to Rautulampi
going up and down on the hills
from here on towards Suomujoki river and Lankojärvi
the whole distance is one long way down
There´s a snowmobile track here
hiking on the track is easy and relaxed
Siberian Jay, kuukkeli in Finnish
Lankojärvi open wilderness cabin
Our second day begins at Lankojärvi cabin on Suomujoki river
I arrived yesterday evening with the very last daylight
a group of four were already here
next door at the reserve cabin were four people too
the cabin was cosy warm
coming from the cold, a warm cabin was great!
The upper level was free so I laid out my sleeping gear there
after having some food I slept around the clock
from 8pm to 8am, that was a good night´s sleep
I got a flu just before this trip
so I´ve felt somewhat half-conditioned
now I feel great and the flu isn´t slowing me down
The other guys continued to Luirojärvi lake
we won´t be heading out today
we´ll stay at the cabin and look around
I want to spend some time in this nice scenery
tomorrow we´ll be heading onwards
Lankojärvi lake is actually a backwater in Suomujoki river
the river flow here gets weaker and
the river freezes very well here
Up there is the open cabin
this is a great place
Suomujoki river flow continues that way
The cabin has an open side and reserved side
that´s how the wilderness cabins usually are
Behind the cabin the forest
is not dense at all, and
a lot of room for shelters
one time I was here with like 20-30 highschool students
so a lot of hikers fit here if need be
Here´s the firewood shed and outhouse of course,
located behind the cabin itself
Speaking of shelters, last night´s lowest temp was at -28C (-18.4F)
I must admit, it´s pretty brutal for sleeping outside
I was happy to be in the cabin
You could spend the night out in -28C (-18.4F) too, but
but it requires a lot from the sleeping gear
in the morning there´s gonna be a frozen lump of ice
on the sleeping bag, from your breath
I don´t really enjoy sleeping in extreme cold but,
we´ll see if we´ll sleep outside on this hike, or
stay at the cabins for the nights
Earlier I said there´s not a plan for this hike,
but I thought to stay along Suomujoki river,
and not go further into the wilderness
I could not know that there is a lot of
snowmobile tracks in many directions here
traveling along the tracks is child´s play, and
we could easily go anywhere along the tracks
But I already had been thinking that
we´ll have some easy days here, and
go on day hikes at the cabin surroundings
I want to relax, not hike all day long
I´ve been in the UKK National Park several times
and I also plan to return many times,
so I don´t need to go on the lookouts for example every time I´m here,
because I know I will be returning here,
and I´ve visited the highest point Sokosti a couple of times already
That´s a nice view on Karunaslaavu hill
Behind it is Taimenlampi lake,
where we camped one night on my first Lapland video,
it´s called "Lapland hike in early summer 2016" I think
It´s awesome here
so peaceful too
the amount of space impresses me every time,
even though I´ve been here a few times,
it always strikes me that
the wild nature goes on as far as you can see
You can´t experience this anywhere else in Finland
I´d rather not be anywhere else right now!
Good morning!
our third day begins
It´s minus 30C outside (minus 22 Fahrenheit)
You could say the air is crisp indeed
My traditional hiking oatmeal breakfast
the small bag has apple-cinnamon powder
I´ll mix it into the boiling water first,
and after that, put some oats in
It´s a good habit to save gas while cooking
my oatmeal is boiling somewhat, and
I´ll turn off the stove, and let the oatmeal stew under the lid
Oatmeal is even better when stewed, compared to just cooking on the stove
You lose nothing
just wait a little longer before getting to eat
Sometimes I meet interesting people here
last night a Spanish adventurer stayed here along myself
not a young man by any means, almost white beard
past midlife I´m sure
he told me he´s doing a skiing challenge
it´s called "Lapland Extreme Challenge"
the challenge is 1000 kilometres (620 miles)
you have 30 days to complete it
you have to go through certain checkpoints
The route starts at Rovaniemi town, and
goes on to the north from there,
it goes unto Inarijärvi lake,
then turns towards south, goes to Ivalo town,
and through the UKK National Park here,
and eventually back to Rovaniemi town
he told me he has covered 600km (373 miles),
and will finish the remaining 400km in a week,
It was interesting to meet him, get a
look at his gear and hear the story
I used to have an interest in adventure like that too
I must say now that I got a glimpse of it,
I certainly didn´t feel like I wanna do that too
too much stress,
and athleticism involved
Quite far from my thing, just wandering around,
taking my time always and,
always changing plans by just how I feel
That is what my style has come into
Maybe it could be fun for a change sometime,
and do some kind of outdoor challenge,
but there´s no way it could be my preferred style of hiking
He had his food rations very strict of course,
4000cal per day, packed in separate bags per day
That was something.
He also told me he has paddled across the Atlantic
I asked him what´s next
he laughed at my question, but
he probably didn´t want to think of coming challenges yet
but after a while he did say, that
he´s going to paddle from
Costa Rica to Hawaii, on the Pacific Ocean
"yeah, okay!"
You never know who you´ll meet on these trips,
I sure would not thought when I saw an older man,
parking his ahkio (sled) in the front,
I never would´ve thought he´s a 1000km skier
and also, his pace is crazy
what´s most intriguing to me, is the motivation factor
you can train your physique to insane levels, but
but what´s the end motivation that drives you,
it must be something very personal,
even though he has sponsors,
a blog, a web site, he´s being interviewed on Spanish radio and,
he gets his food for free, sponsored,
but he must have a special inner motivation,
you just don´t spend nights in a tent at -30C (-22F) casually
you certainly need something to drive you
but very interesting still,
I also felt very comfortable about my own thing,
I like my own way best
and that´s most important of course,
to develop a way of life that works for you
Next we´ll pack up and head to Porttikoski,
it´s around 5-6km from here (3.1 to 3.7 miles)
There´s an open cabin too, and Porttikoski is
a rapid in Suomujoki river,
let´s go and see how it looks in winter time,
I would think it´s part frozen and part running water,
there´s quite a flow of water, and I want to see what´s it like in mid-winter
I packed my snowshoes and poles on the ahkio too,
because we´re continuing on a snowmobile track
I can just walk on the track, no problem
the temp is now at -17C (1.4 F)
quite crisp, but the sunshine is nice
It´s great to be out here, on the move
The scenery is awesome
My face is cold, yet my back is sweaty
That´s winter hiking!
I haven´t hiked in Lapland before in the winter,
but I´m of course very familiar with winter in Southern Finland
This is my first winter hike in very cold temps, and I want to play it safe
We could´ve gone further out to the wilderness, but
let´s do this trip a little safer, and
next time we´ll venture further into the big woods
There it is, behind the trees
Porttikoski open wilderness cabin
So we arrived at Porttikoski cabin site
It´s a great surrounding and
the woods are not dense here by any means
Very nice place
There´s the usual firewood shed and outhouse
a lot of great camping grounds here, but
I think I´m going into the cabin´s warmth
for the coming night too
here´s a fire ring but it´s covered in snow
The temperature is now at -15C (5F), but
the air is pinchy and it feels colder
Suomujoki river flows right by the cabin
there current is strong enough to keep it from freezing
The actual Porttikoski rapids is further up the river
we´ll go and see in a while, after having a bite to eat
Again, a snowmobile track seems to go that way
so it´ll be easy to reach the rapids
I´m taking my snowshoes and poles anyway
we´ll be going off the track for a view on the rapids
The Border Guard came to say hello (Russian border is close by)
Two guys came on snowmobiles riding fast
they stopped by me,
perhaps wondering why I have no gear with me out here
It also turned out I´ve come too far
the track is far from the river bank
I missed the rapids and passed them
I can´t hear any running water though,
I should hear the rapids from here
There it is Porttikoski bridge over the rapids
that´s a summer trail and bridge
this is often used to cross the river when coming from Lankojärvi
well, so much for the rapids, barely any current here
it´s frozen, and I sure wouldn´t think that
In the summer it´s a loud, roaring rapid here
I assumed it would be running now too
It´s completely covered in ice
The power of frost is crazy
This is so weird
as if the world somehow halted here
I expected a fierce, steaming current
but it´s halted completely
only a tiny sound of water running can be heard
The power of winter is great, it´ll quiet down even a place like this
So the Border Guard didn´t mention anything,
I told them I wanted to film the rapids
and I asked for a direction here
from where I met them
I guess they thought, that
another fool from the south here
I thought the rapids would be running loud
Maybe they let me discover
the facts myself
There´s nothing roaring over there!
only a tiny, funny bubbling water sound
I produced some good material for their christmas party or such
they can think back how that guy wanted to film rapids in the winter
the roaring rapids of Porttikoski!
Our trip to Porttikoski turned out a little tame, but
nice evening still
very good to be out with nothing to carry
Look at the awesome colors of the sunset
This trip provides a lot of good learning lessons
when it comes to hiking in harsh winter
One of the foremost being about snowshoes
about using them here
I´ve gotten snowshoes, because
they are small and light, easy to transport
on the bus, train, trunk of a car,
or a bike´s rack
with a piece of string, tie them unto a backpack
and easily have them where you want
you can´t transport long forest skis like that, no way
that´s why I don´t even own skis
it also comes down to
the fact that where I live,
winters can be mild and messed up
two years before this, you didn´t need skis or snowshoes at all
I´m reluctant to getting expensive gear for scarce use only
I have to think about it
what´s the smartest solution, if I want to do trips like these more
Snowshoes are just fine here, if
you mostly stay on the snowmobile tracks
but there´s a problem with the tracks
Three different type of people can use snowmobiles here -
the park rangers, the border guard and the reindeer herders
If I see a tracks that go out
I can´t possibly know where the tracks lead to
Not very smart to follow them and not know
I might find out by asking around, but
there´s just too many things to consider there
Anyways, the 75cm (30inches) of powder snow
is too much for snowshoes to handle
it doesn´t work with longer distance
My main concern now is, that
I won´t be able to get to the mountain tops,
because it´s too burdensome
to push through the snow
with the snowshoes
So this is what I´ve been thinking now
don´t know the best answer yet
Kiilopää ski center does rent skis
long forest skis too
so I might head out with rented skis next time
But there´s another con there
I´ve grown to think that I must know my gear very well
with rented gear I can´t really know them
not any first hand experience anyway
I´ve been quite strict about it,
that when I´m out there,
I´m carrying gear, that
I really know how they function
what pros and cons they have
Shelters are another thing I´ve been pondering
-30C (-22F) is pretty brutal for open shelters like hammock and a tarp
Of course I know that hammock are used in all weather,
even in colder temps than -30C,
but you need huge (down) insulation
a huge investment in gear
but I do want to be comfortable out here,
I wouldn´t want to suffer through the night
and just barely make it
I like being comfortable on hiking trips
these open cabins are great of course, but
these can be very crowded
I´m surprised how many people are here in winter too
Germans, French etc.
Small groups and individual hikers
Obviously, I can´t assume to have a cabin to myself,
but in the end I hope to get some peace and quiet here
A heated shelter could be awesome here,
a tipi or a hot tent perhaps
in a tipi I could make a small fire in a stove
that might be good over here
Here´s the sleeping gear that I have with me now
A Savotta tarp with reflectics (and a DD Tarp too)
This is a four season sleeping pad
I use this in a hammock or on the ground too
it´s a Thermarest Xtherm
it´s a very good ground pad
comfortable and warm
The sleeping bag is my trusty old Marmot 3-season bag
It´s meant for -9C only (15F)
not enough for these temps by any means
I also have my hammock and underquilt,
and I thought if I´ll sleep outside, I´ll
I´ll sleep on the pad, either in the hammock or on the ground,
and I thought I´ll use the down underquilt as a blanket on the sleeping bag
it would pretty much double the down loft
and hopefully be enough for the cold
I also have a merino wool liner bag
it´s good for protecting the sleeping bag from getting dirty
don´t have to wash or clean the sleeping bag itself
the wool is extra insulation too, of course
As a last resort, I´d have to wear more layers
it might get too tight inside the sleeping bag, but
this wool blend jacket is
what I have for an extra layer
the jacket and my wool trousers are a last resort
if the sleeping gear itself isn´t enough
Inside the cabins I haven´t had any problems
I´ve been sleeping very comfortably on the pad
and sleeping bag, even when the temp drops during the night
The day has gotten clearer, and it´s sunny now
a lot of light
I´m going to stay here for another night, and
start heading back tomorrow
Now that I have good time, I´ll get the axe and
open up the hole in the river ice, used for taking water
Someone has made the hole earlier, but it freezes again when not used frequently
On my fifth day here, I started to head back, and I was out for six days in total
It´s been a very different Lapland trip, compared to the previous ones
not least because it´s the first trip in winter time
and in quite harsh conditions too
For a solo hiker especially, it´s important to have respect
for the power of nature in the winter
With cold like this, it´s truly dangerous in case
something happened, that would leave you helpless outside
Usually I´m in my own shelter for the nights, but
this time I´ve been very grateful for the open cabins
It is really something, out there in the wilderness,
to have a cabin and a heating stove
with brutally cold weather outside
The open cabin tradition is a very Finnish thing,
it was started in late 16th century
open cabins can be found in other countries too, but
in Finland it´s on another level
in northern Finland alone, there are hundreds of open cabins
Going over the Raututunturi highland turned out a lot harder on the way back
Going in, it was very different situation
It was sunny and a clear blue sky
almost no wind at all
Now it´s snowing horizontally
Temperature is better now though, at around -12C (10F)
Quite harsh still
Ahead of me is probably the fifth climb
Now it´s good to have snowshoes,
almost perfect traction for going up
My face and hands are numb from the cold,
while my back and head are soaked from sweat
that´s just crazy
I´m getting cold so I should move on
My ahkio track gets covered in snow immediately
we´re coming somewhere from that white mess!
It´s been a very instructive trip overall
from here it´s good to start planning for future winter trips
Our journey ends here,
I want to thank all viewers,
we´ll see in the next one. Bye now!
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