This Easter saw Bare Thrills, Jacko1066 and myself Easyjetting off to the Baltic to explore the forested delights of the still frozen Estonia.
I'm very fortunate to have travelled most of Norway, Sweden and Finland over the years in summer and winter. Estonia was new territory and would have a hard time living up to Scandinavia's beauty I thought. I was wrong I'm happy to say. What it lacks in mountains, it makes up for with epic forests, lots of wildlife and flora and fauna.
As a cold lover, I was over the moon with the weather this year over there. Just like at home, Estonia and eastern Europe has seen winter hang around and everything was still well frozen. -20c was a possibilty and so plenty of kit was taken. The hire car gave us all the option to store unused kit without having to carry it and so as long as we hit the 20kg weight limit on the Easyjet allowance, all was good.
Easyjet also has no weight restriction on hand baggage and this gave much extra flexibilty.
Paul (Bare Thrills) has already done a sterling job on the trip report. Suffering with near terminal man flu, I see no reason to duplicate it or the pictures so I'll just add some more piccies
Through the round window; a still frozen Sweden.
Western Estonia with snow cover.
Bare Thrills (Paul) and Jacko1066 (Steve) next to the Veedub hire car
Late evening on the shores of the frozen Baltic;
"I have the power to freeze the sea!"
Airing gear in the sun and some baltic man love.
Bear sized wraps. These could double as Lavvu groundsheets!
Walking a frozen Peninsula. Northern most point of Estonia.
Paul revelling in Steves ginormous fart.
I love the colours in this pic.
Panorama
A typical Estonian back road.
A little snow and man flu meant the tarp and cordage came out over my hammock..
Jaan, Paul and Mikael enjoying the snow.
Estonian beavers are hungry.
Well, well well, Its Paul Wella. Drews pack list came in very handy.
My camp at Oandu
Steves Lavvu for the night.
Tarped up again. The dark patches on the tarp are Seamgrip repairs from a Scotland trip.
How an oven should look.
Well marked walking trails.
Rest shelters aplenty.
Evidence of bears everywhere. This one was looking for ants.
Primary boreal forest in the snow. Sets my spine tingling.
Traditional wolf trap
I can't help thinking a desperate wolf would chew through the wood to escape. Maybe they uses a noose to fortify the trap?
Huge Birches everywhere
Chaga!
Signs of Woody were everywhere.
Estonian Pine Resin harvesting.
Woody has taken to ballistics!
The Beavers ice hole and lodge entrance just behind. This was 20m from our camp.
Our last camp location.
Estonian main road.
All pics taken on a Fuji f660 finepix
Estonia was a cracking trip and one to remember. The company throughout was brilliant and it was an absolute pleasure to meet Jaan of this parish and Mikael.
I've come away from it with a genuine desire to return before long. Estonia for the bushcrafter really makes sense. It very much reminds me of lots of Finland and Sweden, but the food and transport are much cheaper and the country much less populated. The old growth forest is every bit as impressive as I've seen anywhere and is easier to penetrate and explore. Estonia is highly recommended.
Thanks for looking.
I'm very fortunate to have travelled most of Norway, Sweden and Finland over the years in summer and winter. Estonia was new territory and would have a hard time living up to Scandinavia's beauty I thought. I was wrong I'm happy to say. What it lacks in mountains, it makes up for with epic forests, lots of wildlife and flora and fauna.
As a cold lover, I was over the moon with the weather this year over there. Just like at home, Estonia and eastern Europe has seen winter hang around and everything was still well frozen. -20c was a possibilty and so plenty of kit was taken. The hire car gave us all the option to store unused kit without having to carry it and so as long as we hit the 20kg weight limit on the Easyjet allowance, all was good.
Easyjet also has no weight restriction on hand baggage and this gave much extra flexibilty.
Paul (Bare Thrills) has already done a sterling job on the trip report. Suffering with near terminal man flu, I see no reason to duplicate it or the pictures so I'll just add some more piccies
Through the round window; a still frozen Sweden.
Western Estonia with snow cover.
Bare Thrills (Paul) and Jacko1066 (Steve) next to the Veedub hire car
Late evening on the shores of the frozen Baltic;
"I have the power to freeze the sea!"
Airing gear in the sun and some baltic man love.
Bear sized wraps. These could double as Lavvu groundsheets!
Walking a frozen Peninsula. Northern most point of Estonia.
Paul revelling in Steves ginormous fart.
I love the colours in this pic.
Panorama
A typical Estonian back road.
A little snow and man flu meant the tarp and cordage came out over my hammock..
Jaan, Paul and Mikael enjoying the snow.
Estonian beavers are hungry.
Well, well well, Its Paul Wella. Drews pack list came in very handy.
My camp at Oandu
Steves Lavvu for the night.
Tarped up again. The dark patches on the tarp are Seamgrip repairs from a Scotland trip.
How an oven should look.
Well marked walking trails.
Rest shelters aplenty.
Evidence of bears everywhere. This one was looking for ants.
Primary boreal forest in the snow. Sets my spine tingling.
Traditional wolf trap
I can't help thinking a desperate wolf would chew through the wood to escape. Maybe they uses a noose to fortify the trap?
Huge Birches everywhere
Chaga!
Signs of Woody were everywhere.
Estonian Pine Resin harvesting.
Woody has taken to ballistics!
The Beavers ice hole and lodge entrance just behind. This was 20m from our camp.
Our last camp location.
Estonian main road.
All pics taken on a Fuji f660 finepix
Estonia was a cracking trip and one to remember. The company throughout was brilliant and it was an absolute pleasure to meet Jaan of this parish and Mikael.
I've come away from it with a genuine desire to return before long. Estonia for the bushcrafter really makes sense. It very much reminds me of lots of Finland and Sweden, but the food and transport are much cheaper and the country much less populated. The old growth forest is every bit as impressive as I've seen anywhere and is easier to penetrate and explore. Estonia is highly recommended.
Thanks for looking.
