Jokkmokk trip report - Andy

[charliefoxtrot]

11th Feb. 2013

Herewith my report on the 'Sub Zero' 2013 Jokkmokk trip. I hope it will be of interest or use to the reader. It's rather lengthy, so I've subdivided it into sections, so you can skip my waffle and go straight to the pics ;-) I've avoided a detailed narrative of events, as I could only give a partial picture, and I expect each participant will be posting up their own account. I must apologise for the almost total lack of pictures of yours truly posing, as my weight budget precluded taking a tripod. Finally I must stress that this is purely the impressions of an arctic first-timer, so must come with the usual health warnings. YMMV etc.

Andy

Introduction
Preparation
Travel
Equipment
Narrative
Lessons Learned
Pictures

 

[charliefoxtrot]

Introduction

I arrived back home last night, after a 10-day trip to Jokkmokk, Norbotten, Sweden. It was certainly one of the most enjoyable and memorable trips I've ever made. I had the excellent company of seven fine fellows from the BCUK forum, Damian, Wayland, Dave, Riam, Pete, Lennart and Remco. I'm grateful to Wayland and Damian for making it happen.

Fortunately my travel arrangements worked very smoothly, with the exception of a slightly delayed final leg return flight. I survived intact and without undue discomfort, despite numerous hazards, with no significant injuries and only a slight tummy bug on the very last evening.

My objectives for the trip were to gain some arctic winter survival experience, and visit the Saami market in Jokkmokk and surrounding cultural events.

As I had no previous arctic experience, I took the precaution of booking a cabin at the town camping centre. Damian approved this contingency plan. This proved a wise move, as I would be challenged to sustain more than a few nights in these conditions in a lightweight portable shelter, without the possibility of cutting trees to make better shelters*. I managed two nights before sleeping bag and boots succumbed to the ice. Possibly with different equipment (eg. VBL layer) or technique this could have been extended, but I see it as part of the learning experience.

The format of the event was a 'long-distance BCUK meet'. Though group travel bookings were considered, this didn't prove feasible, with the result that several parties arrived at different times. The parties also had differing objectives and plans. The actual time during which all participants were in Jokkmokk together was two days, and the maximum number sleeping out together was four.

(* - Swedish Allemannsratten permits camping and firemaking everywhere away from settlements, but not the cutting of living trees, except by prior arrangement with the landowner.)

 

[charliefoxtrot]

Preparation

I only decided to partipate in the trip fairly late on, so had just a couple of months to ensure I'd made the necessary plans, travel arrangements, aquired all the necessary kit and so on. Having had in interest in bushcraft for some years, I felt I had a good enough grasp of basic outdoor living techniques, and I was well aware of the generally accepted approach on cold weather clothing, and survival issues, but there were some unknowns, such as what type of shelter to take, and the best means of transporting personal equipment. Factors affecting my decisions included things such as likely trekking distances, availaiblity of natural materials and fuel.

As I was planning to travel alone, and meet was 'free-form', I had no option but to carry everything I might need for personal survival, with the exception of some food and cooker fuel, which I was confident could be obtained in Jokkmokk. This meant carrying my own shelter, axe, bowsaw, snow shovel, snow-melting pot, and so on, and it was therefore critical that equipment weight be kept to a minimum.

For shelter, I decided on a 4mx4m tarp, used in 'winter' configuration. This seemed to offer the best space/flexibility vs price ratio whilst being fairly light, and offering maximum independence from local materials. I hoped it might be feasible to improvise a heated shelter of some sort, so I also took along a heat-reflective casualty blanket.

For transporting equipment to the camping-out area, I opted for just a rucksack, the reasons for this were twofold. Firstly I had the availability of the cabin as 'basecamp' avoiding the need to move very single bit of kit with me at any one time. Secondly, during the run-up to the trip, it became apparent that it was unlikely an extended trek of more than a km or two would be involved. The likely camping-out area was quite near the cabin, therefore I felt I could move all my kit in a rucksack, in two runs if necessary. This meant I was saved the extra weight of a toboggan in my luggage. A pulk or toboggan would be necessary for travel in a scenario of complete independence, and also very useful for other tasks such as firewood collection.

Resources I found useful:

BCUK forum (of course !)
Paul Kirtleys articles
Swedish* and Norwegian** Army manuals
Wintertrekking.com
SAS and Norwegian airlines online services
sj.se (Travel planner and bookings for both train and bus, Stockholm->Jokkmokk)
www.jokkmokksmarknad.se/home/
www.turism.jokkmokk.se/en.aspx

* - well illustrated, plus google translate for sections in which I was interested
** - English language versions available

 

[charliefoxtrot]

Travel

Just a few notes here in case anyone is planning a similar trip. I flew from and back to Manchester airport. Due to public transport cost and limitations, I opted to drive to the airport and pre-booked a parking place in one of the nearby longterm car parks, which worked well. I opted for a different out and return route, partly to minimise overall journey times and need for overnight stops, and partly for variety.

My luggage comprised a Berghaus Roc modified to take PLCE side pooches, a biggish nylon holdall, and a Berghaus Delta as hand baggage/day sack. For travel, the side pooches were stowed in the holdall. The outbound weights were 16kg for the Roc, 23kg for the holdall. I rearranged contents for the return and managed to get the holdall down to just below the Norwegian limit of 20kg.

Outbound journey (1 1/2 days):
Depart home ~7am Fri 1st.
Manchester->Stockholm Arlanda via SAS, booked online direct with SAS. One 23kg checked bag included in fare plus one extra.
Arlanda C -> Murjek via SJ sleeper train (~15 hrs)
Murjek -> Jokkmokk via Lanstraffiken Norbotten bus (~1hr). Bus dropped me at the camping centre entrance.
(Both above booked together via SJ website)
Arrive Jokkmokk ~11am

Return journey (1 day):
Depart 10am
Jokkmokk camping centre -> Jokkmokk bus station via taxi, 200SEK.
Jokkmokk -> Lulea bus station via LTN coach(~2 hr, should have been 228SEK but the driver failed to ask for payment !)
Lulea bus station -> Lulea Airport via LTN bus (~20min, 50SEK)
Lulea->Stockholm Arlanda->Manchester via Norwegian Airlines. Two extra 20kg checked bags paid in advance.
Arrive home ~10.30pm Sun 10th.

 

[charliefoxtrot]

Equipment

My choice of equipment was based on a self-contained trip to the northern winter forest lasting a week. For clothing, I followed the accepted principles of layered base and mid layers of wool and a wind-proof shell layer, with an extra supplementary layer for use when needed.

I actually had a choice of shell layers, to acommodate different activities, including the 'civvy' gear I used for travel. Possibly I could reduce these by a couple of pieces and save ~1kg. I would say that though not all the kit was used on this trip, as the range of activities and conditions was limited, I would not want to leave much, if any, behind on my next one.

During the trip I found that at around -10, and when active, I needed just the baselayer, one midlayer, and shell, to stay comfortable. Below around -20, I needed the extra midlayer (Norwegian sweater) to stay comfortable. Below -30, the supplementary layer was needed as well, except maybe when extremely active, which didn't occur as I wasn't digging any snowholes etc.

I brought both snow overtrousers and gaiters, but in the conditions we encountered, found the gaiters more useful in deep snow. When not in deep snow, I found the normal baselayer and shell adequate.

I carried a choice of handwear for different activities, including spare liners. All the handwear was used to some extent, though I didn't use the spare liners. The merino baselayer gloves were on virtually all the time, and they not only provided a base level of insulation, but protected against minor abrasions and cracked skin. The Swedish army leather mitts were useful as shell layer over the merino gloves when working in the camp, as were the leather finger gloves. However both these wetted out quite quickly whilst working, and needed drying out. The big snow mitts with wool pile liners were great when it was very cold, eg. -30.

My choice of headwear worked well. I found the wool headover a versatile garment as it provides several options for use. I did suffer from a cold nose at times below about -20. The headover can be pulled up over the lower face and nose to provide protection, but as I wear spectacles, this tended to cause fogging. A solution I adopted when sharp vision wasn't critical (eg. when tabbing on level ground) was simply take off my spectacles.

For footwear I chose Swedish army leather winter boots. These are plain leather, with an extra thinsulate layer, 8mm wool insole, and roomy enough for two thick pairs of loopstitch socks. They are a wide fitting and roomy at the toe, and I found they suited my foot shape very well. Being conventional boots, they are less bulky than pac boots or mukluks, and are quite general-purpose. I actually wore them all the way home on my return.

For comfort down to around -30, I found I had to add another wool insole to bring the total up to around 12mm, plus most critically, keep the boots themselves dry. At these temperatures, perspiration freezes before it leaves the boots. Though it was easy enough to have dry socks, by swapping on a fresh set if needed, it was harder to get the frozen moisture out of the boots. Though this would probably be possible with nightly drying by the fire, this would need secondary footwear which I did not bring. Next time I would bring some tent socks or similar for this purpose.

As mentioned above, I chose a 4m x 4m tarp as my default shelter. I used a DD tarp, modified with 2-way zips the full length of opposing sides, and two reinforced pull-out loops added to each side. It was supported from the ridgeline using 12" bungees to allow some adjustment of height, and the lower edges pulled right down to ground level and and secured at each tie-down loop with a simple deadman buried in the snow. The pitch of the sides was designed to be quite steep, to shed snow, which they did. Overall this solution worked very well.

The sleeping bag system provided sufficient insulation down to -30, though my knees got a bit cold so I placed my parka over my legs which sorted that. The combination of spruce boughs, folded space blanket, karrimat and thermarest proved adequate. The only problem with the sleeping bag was buildup of ice inside the outer bag. I resorted to taking it to my cabin to dry out. I think it would be very hard to get it sufficiently dry for sustained use without articfical means or possibly a hot tent. The other option is a VBL, which I've not looked at closely.

For lighting I used a Swiss Army folding candle lantern from ebay.de, and stearin candles from Clas Olson. Thanks to Bilmo for a pointer to these in an old post I came across. Unlike the Uco lanterns they use regular candles, and they do throw quite a good light.

For cooking, I opted for simplicity over performance, and used a trangia-type stove from Clas Olson based on an old Optimus design, which is used by Swedish Ranger troops. This worked fine down to -30, by the simple expedient of priming the burner with a small piece of tissue to act as a wick and provide some initial heat to the metal. It proved well up to the job of melting snow for one person for cooking and drinks. For the low price and weight, I think this is a great little stove, though I did chuck the supplied burner and used a proper Trangia one.

 

[charliefoxtrot]

Narrative

Timeline

Fri 1st.

Depart Manchester 10.05hrs​

Sat 2nd.

Arrive Jokkmokk Camping Centre ~11.00hrs.
Encounter Damian and Wayland on way to reception - result !
Walk up to Jokkmokk (~3km) in the afternoon for provisions
Stargazing in the evening and had a little bit of aurora​

Sun 3rd.

Visit town, check out Ajtte Museum
Stargazing in the evening​

Mon 4th.

Visit Historic Market @ Outdoor Settlers Museum
Lennart and Remco arrive​

Tue 5th.

Lennart and Remco head off to camp out
I set up my camp
Riam and Dave arrive and set up camp​

Wed 6th.

Camp admin
Visit dutch guys camp ~1km away
Visit town again to check out market set-up
Spend more time at Ajtte Mueseum​

Thu 7th.

Teepee arrives and sets up in the small hours at -30 or below..
Market starts - spend day in town
I cook reindeer stew for guys at camp
I bail to cabin as boots are frozen​

Fri 8th.

Riam and Dave to cabin am.
Market day - spend good chunk of day in town
Bacon rosti at cabin in evening​

Sat 9th.

Riam and Dave depart
I break camp
Final market day - final run around for gifts etc.
Wayland and Damian depart
Evening aurora watching - we get a 1/2 decent show !
Teepee, Lennart and Remco go trekking during day, and sleep out in bivvi bags by lake​

Sun 10th.

Depart Jokkmokk by bus 10.35hrs.
Lennart and Remco also depart later, leaving Teepee as the last of the party
Arrive home ~22.30hrs.​

Conditions

During my stay, the daytime temperature started off fairly mild on the first day or two at above -10, night time was -20 or below, and the temps dropped during my visit to below -30 at night, and below -20 during daytime. Wind was zero to low for the whole trip. Levels of sunshine improved during my stay after starting rather overcast. Wayland had a high-tech weather station and may be able to provide more accurate data. Useable 'daylight' hours were longer than I expected, partly due to the reflective effect of the snow I suppose.

I understand from Damian that the conditions the previous week had been mild and snowy, the result was that there was a fresh layer of fine fluffy snow. Typically the uncompressed snow layer was ~3 feet (or more) thick, and sugary to fluffy in character. This made progress across country sensible only with snowshoes, and even then, quite slow. However after compaction the snow would form a crust solid enough to walk on with just boots, and we came to rely on these tracks and areas around the camp for easy progress across the snow.

Camp

Wayland and Damian had already recce'd the area and established a pitch, so that was the obvious location to set up. As already mentioned the 'winter tarp' setup worked well, all I had to do was find two suitable trees and make a platform of compressed snow using snowshoes. While waiting for the snow to set a bit, I brought down a dead standing tree and started to part it down. I then got on with setting up the tarp, and while I was doing this Riam and Dave arrived.

The way things worked out,there was just me, and Riam and Dave setting up together. Had there been a bigger group, and maybe more natural materials available, I think we'd have been more inclined to do more of a group style camp. It would have been great to see a laavu, but it would have taken a while to find enough suitable poles.

I found the wood excellent, very easy to split, dry, and very dense (for softwood), putting out a good heat. It definitely did benefit from splitting though, if placed on the fire in rounds, it tended to be smoky/steamy.

Jokkmokk & the Market

The town must be great place to live if you could find some way to pay for it, as I think the cost of living must be quite high (to a brit). It has a modern, open feel to it. The residential areas have very few fences and gates, and gives the impression it must be a friendly and safe place to live. It has a medical centre, schools, museums, galleries, hotels, sports facilities, cinema and so on. The town population is only around 3000, so for such a small place, they seem really well catered for.

The Ajtte Museum is very good, though the exhibits are all supported by bi-lingual information, this is in Swedish and Saami in contrast with the usual default second language of English. There is however an English language guidebook the visitor can borrow.

The Market week is fantastic, with a wide range of activities available, you could be kept busy all day for the full week without repeating anything. It would not be cheap though. There's a great atmosphere, vistors come from many places, and both visitors and locals seem very friendly. However there remains a sense of some intimacy, it's not like the very big events one attends in the UK. I encountered some people several times during the week, which was nice.

The Swedish seem happy to speak English, especially the younger ones. I spent a happy couple of hours on the coach to Lulea chatting to a Swedish student named Pontus, who'd been to the market with his mates for the week. He'd spent 1000SEK on eating reindeer meat !

One thing that particularly struck me as I was walking about the town during the week, was the (to me) novel, and exciting diversity of peoples. I was also taken by the many folk who'd really made an effort to dress for the occasion, not only in traditional Saami dress, but other historic gear, or simply fine furs. I think the Sub Zero Crew did pretty well too !

 

[charliefoxtrot]

Lessons Learned

I'm probably largely stating the obvious here..

I found the advice from fellow bushcrafters and experts such as PK indispensable. Heed their advice, but don't follow it blindly and always balance it against your own particular plans and circumstances.

Proper planning prevents ****-poor performance ! I'd hate to sound smug but IMO it is worth spending that extra bit of time thinking-through what you're planning to do. Make lists, compare notes, the feedback I got before the trip was very useful.

K.I.S.S. simple solutions to a problem are generally more robust than complex ones.

Importance of teamwork, eg. sharing knowledge, workload, resources. I went on this trip alone, but for those who buddied-up I think the individual burden was lighter. If there is a next one, I think it'd be good for the participants to attend over the same time period and do a bit more sharing.

Regarding kit, what I chose largely worked for me but clearly there are other valid approaches. I was trying to keep costs down and some of my mil-surp options weren't the lightest. Next time I would take some camp boots similar to what Lennart had (MYOG if poss) so I could dry my main boots by the fire.

Sharing a campfire requires a bit of effort, as it serves multiple purposes at different times (cooking/heat/drying) and hence benefits from a bit of thought on design and management, and coordination by its users. Surviving comfortably in the Arctic really depends on getting this right.

Keeping sleeping bags dry in the cold is a real challenge !

 

[charliefoxtrot]

Pictures

 

[charliefoxtrot]

Whew, managed to get the basic structure and pics up now, thanks for your forebearance. This post can be removed for tidiness.

 

[andybysea]

some great pics there, loving the modded swedish snow smocks, looking forward to the rest of the write up.

 

[ged]

Great start to the report, thanks, looking forward to the rest of it.

My Swedish is a little rusty - is there an English translation of that manual?

 

[copper_head]

Looking good Andy, cant wait to see the finished article!

 

[sycamour]

Cannot wait to read all the installments, truly inspiring thread.

 

[Imagedude]

Great stuff,hopefully the photos will encourage some other bushcrafters to try winter camping.

 

[MartinK9]

Thanks for sharing what looks like a great trip.Look forward to reading the rest.

 

[Toddy]

Really good report Brilliant to see the photos....captions might be good ?
It's been such a grey and overcast Winter here, the brightness of the snow must have been a delight

cheers,
Toddy

 

[RonW]

Fantastic!
My envy grows with each report I see.....

 

[Seoras]

Thanks for taking the time to post this report and in such a well laid out manner. I am looking forward to reading the rest of it.

The pictures are fantastic.

Cheers

George

 

[udamiano]

Great report Andy so please you enjoyed it.. role on the next one

 

[Scots_Charles_River]

Interesting Tartan shawls. Are they traditional or adopted ?

Good write up, just shows the simple burner works best ! The meths never froze ?

Gloves - don't know if there is an answer. Winter climbing is a nightmare as if the snow on the glove melts from the heat from your hand the gloves can get wet. Then fingers can get cold. Don't know if non-absorbent synthetics are the answer.