I like – perhaps need – a wilderness fix every few months. In May I usually go paddling here in Scotland, before the midge season takes off. That was until I discovered that you can fly to Tampere in Finland for under a hundred quid return, and from there an overnight train (130 euros return) will take you to Rovaniemi in Lapland. Another 12 euros gets you a return bus ticket to the trailhead for the Arctic Circle Hiking Area.
The snow had only melted a week or two ago, and was still melting further north, so the rivers were in full spate. You could easily hear the river half a mile away.
At the trailhead, and along the trails themselves, there are fine shelters with a fireplace.
All the shelters are provided free by the Finnish Forestry Administration, Metsahallitus. Each shelter has woodshed full of seasoned birch and pine that is free to use, although you are encouraged to use it sparingly. They even provide an axe.
I wondered what kind of axe would be provided. Perhaps a limited edition Damascus model, handcrafted by their master smith Lennart Petersson? Well, no. It was this:
It looks like a prop from Lord of the Rings but actually comes from Sweden, not Mordor. Despite the industrial steel handle it worked very well, and was glad not to have the weight of my own axe as I walked about fifty miles altogether, though some of that was in the cities.
The shelters varied but were mostly the timber lean-to laavu.
Why pay 140 euros for a hotel room when you can have aview like this and a free night’s kip?
There are bears in Finland, but this was the only one I saw.
I had an alcohol stove but did most cooking over the fire with a 600ml titanium mug/pot.
It was permanently light. The sun was below the horizon for only 3 hours a day, and it never got dark. In a week or two it won’t set at all.
There were Cranberries around and I ate my fill.
I did the usual courtesy for the next traveller, although there was no difficulty lighting the well-seasoned wood provided. That is one of the great things about Finland – everything works.
The Metsahallitus staff had warned me that some trails would be underwater with the spring floods. I went to have a look, and they were quite correct:
Apart from at the trailhead, I only met one person in three days. I guess it is busier in summer.
Shelter near the trailhead.
The country was boreal forest – Scots pine, birch, various berries, ferns…and wildlife included mergansers, Siberian jay and reindeer. I saw sign of the latter, but not the beasts themselves. I didn’t see moose, wolf or lynx.
At this time of year, I felt very much at home, as the country is remarkably similar to the boreal forest in Scotland, in places like Glen Affric and Rothiemurchus. I had the same feeling of relaxation and self-reliance as I would in Scottish boreal forest. The difference – and it is a big difference - is scale. In Scotland, you can walk to safety from almost anywhere in a day. In Lapland the forest goes on for miles and miles, even in this area, which was only half an hour from Rovaniemi. Further north, I was told it was possible to walk 200 miles without seeing anyone.
Navigation is another difference. Much of the forest is dense, with visibility of maybe 50 metres. And, of course, it all looks much the same. The trails are clearly marked, but I did deliberately go off trail on a compass bearing, and was gratified to get back to where I started on a back bearing. In the UK, a compass is mainly needed when there is fog or mist in the mountains, or on featureless terrain like Dartmoor, and the rest of the time it’s a fashionable necklace. In Finland, you need it whenever you go off trail.
The Finns are somewhat reserved, but I found them exceptionally polite, helpful and friendly. On two occasions complete strangers gave me a lift, saving me a bus fare. The language is allegedly as difficult as Korean, according to the US State dept, but I had a go at it and the courtesy was appreciated. On the flight back, I counted every Finnish word I knew, and discovered I had learned nearly 200 words. The grammar is a bit of a nightmare though. Nevertheless, I start Finnish classes this Autumn.
Back in Rovaniemi, I checked out the Marttiini knife factory museum:
And also the Arcticum museum, where I ran into our host Tony:
Overall, thoroughly recommended. I’d like to thank Finnman and the guys on the Finnish Bushcraft Forum, and Susi and PKRL here for valuable info.
I plan a future trip to Seitseminen national park, perhaps next year, it’s only a short distance from Tampere. If anyone else is interested, let me know and I’ll contact you nearer the time. It could be doable for little more than £100 from Edinburgh airport.
The snow had only melted a week or two ago, and was still melting further north, so the rivers were in full spate. You could easily hear the river half a mile away.
At the trailhead, and along the trails themselves, there are fine shelters with a fireplace.
All the shelters are provided free by the Finnish Forestry Administration, Metsahallitus. Each shelter has woodshed full of seasoned birch and pine that is free to use, although you are encouraged to use it sparingly. They even provide an axe.
I wondered what kind of axe would be provided. Perhaps a limited edition Damascus model, handcrafted by their master smith Lennart Petersson? Well, no. It was this:
It looks like a prop from Lord of the Rings but actually comes from Sweden, not Mordor. Despite the industrial steel handle it worked very well, and was glad not to have the weight of my own axe as I walked about fifty miles altogether, though some of that was in the cities.
The shelters varied but were mostly the timber lean-to laavu.
Why pay 140 euros for a hotel room when you can have aview like this and a free night’s kip?
There are bears in Finland, but this was the only one I saw.
I had an alcohol stove but did most cooking over the fire with a 600ml titanium mug/pot.
It was permanently light. The sun was below the horizon for only 3 hours a day, and it never got dark. In a week or two it won’t set at all.
There were Cranberries around and I ate my fill.
I did the usual courtesy for the next traveller, although there was no difficulty lighting the well-seasoned wood provided. That is one of the great things about Finland – everything works.
The Metsahallitus staff had warned me that some trails would be underwater with the spring floods. I went to have a look, and they were quite correct:
Apart from at the trailhead, I only met one person in three days. I guess it is busier in summer.
Shelter near the trailhead.
The country was boreal forest – Scots pine, birch, various berries, ferns…and wildlife included mergansers, Siberian jay and reindeer. I saw sign of the latter, but not the beasts themselves. I didn’t see moose, wolf or lynx.
At this time of year, I felt very much at home, as the country is remarkably similar to the boreal forest in Scotland, in places like Glen Affric and Rothiemurchus. I had the same feeling of relaxation and self-reliance as I would in Scottish boreal forest. The difference – and it is a big difference - is scale. In Scotland, you can walk to safety from almost anywhere in a day. In Lapland the forest goes on for miles and miles, even in this area, which was only half an hour from Rovaniemi. Further north, I was told it was possible to walk 200 miles without seeing anyone.
Navigation is another difference. Much of the forest is dense, with visibility of maybe 50 metres. And, of course, it all looks much the same. The trails are clearly marked, but I did deliberately go off trail on a compass bearing, and was gratified to get back to where I started on a back bearing. In the UK, a compass is mainly needed when there is fog or mist in the mountains, or on featureless terrain like Dartmoor, and the rest of the time it’s a fashionable necklace. In Finland, you need it whenever you go off trail.
The Finns are somewhat reserved, but I found them exceptionally polite, helpful and friendly. On two occasions complete strangers gave me a lift, saving me a bus fare. The language is allegedly as difficult as Korean, according to the US State dept, but I had a go at it and the courtesy was appreciated. On the flight back, I counted every Finnish word I knew, and discovered I had learned nearly 200 words. The grammar is a bit of a nightmare though. Nevertheless, I start Finnish classes this Autumn.
Back in Rovaniemi, I checked out the Marttiini knife factory museum:
And also the Arcticum museum, where I ran into our host Tony:
Overall, thoroughly recommended. I’d like to thank Finnman and the guys on the Finnish Bushcraft Forum, and Susi and PKRL here for valuable info.
I plan a future trip to Seitseminen national park, perhaps next year, it’s only a short distance from Tampere. If anyone else is interested, let me know and I’ll contact you nearer the time. It could be doable for little more than £100 from Edinburgh airport.
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