Day 1 summary: Weather nice, conditions shit.
Day 2 summary: Weather shit, conditions worse.
Day 3 summary: I'm so glad I am on my way home.
Not all backpacking trips are awesome, some suck. This trip was of the latter kind. Be prepared for some foul language, therefore this post is rated R 18. It is also a very long story with plenty of photos, so better take a cup of coffee/ tea and enjoy.
A lone star appearing at dusk of day one.
It started out nice, the 3 hour ride to
Salamajärvi NP went well, we arrived at one o'clock and despite the weather forecast's promised rain we had a blue sky and sunshine. Xavier packed his ULA Conduit and soon after we set along the short stretch of road towards the trail head. Some fishermen were ice fishing, a good indicator that the ice still carries, despite a layer of water on top. The Plan™ was to walk the 59 km Hirvaan kierros circle trail, but as so often with The Plan™, it didn't work out.
Xavier in a good mood at the trail head.
The trail was unbroken. We tried for a minute without snowshoes, but sinking in till over the knee doesn't make for good walking so the snowshoes came on. This improved the sinking in marginally, now we sunk in only till the knee, but every step was more difficult as the water soaked snow was heavy on the snowshoe surface, adding quite some weight to every step. Five minutes later I was ready to turn around, which I would have done if I wasn't with company. Easter 2009 I spent alone hiking in
Helvetinjärvi NP and that trip of potholing was still fresh in my memory, I didn't need to add a further one to it. Xavier said this would be normal snowshoe conditions for him, and that he was up for a challenge. A challenge for me would be
climbing a mountain in Japan with Chris and not potholing through a forest.
The moss was happy about the amount of wetness, from above and beneath.
Finnish spring in the forest.
Signs of previous forest fires.
We continued, missed the first turn we should have taken and hence walked an additional five kilometers in these splendid conditions. The Plan™ of walking the complete 59 km circle was already buried, and so we decided to make the best of it. Because of the missed turn we went to Pahkahongankangas and further up to Pyydyskoski, where much to my pleasure someone with snowshoes had broken the trail for some part. Then 3,1 km through unbroken snow towards Heinkinjärvi, and while the sun was shining I was seriously frustrated. As we arrived at the lake, I spotted some tracks in the snow, and while we weren't sure then I now know that they were from a
Wolverine - there are only around 150 of these in Finland, so quite a rare sight! With the lean-to in sight, my mood improved, and after a short break at the shelter I set off to explore the surroundings, while Xavier started the fire.
Xavier enjoying the broken trail.
Ants are getting ready for the summer.
Close to the lean-to shelter at Heikinjärvi, I can almost smile.
Wolverine tracks!
After my short trip I started to pitch the
Gossamer Gear SpinnTwinn, in a nice spot, which will ensure the sun shining down on me in the morning. A pair of
Whooper Swans was flying over the lake, their call echoing through the woods. With the very tasty
Trek'n Eat Vegetable Puree with chili and hemp seeds, a kuksa of redwine, the warming glow of the fire and the pretty sunset, this was about the best moment on the trip. After a
Trek'n Eat Mousse au Chocolate and a cup of tea I retired to my sleeping bag, falling asleep quickly.
Signage.
SpinnTwinn from the side.
Home is ready, the woodshed in the background.
Lifting my spirits, tasty food and red wine.
Sunset.
Boiling water for my evening tea.
The sunrise into the tarp never came. Instead, low hanging mist and rain which was falling on the spinnaker fabric of the tarp. The rain intensified the need to pee, and instead of getting into the hardshell clothes, have a pee and then getting out of them and back into the sleeping bag I decided to pack everything up and retire to the lean-to for breakfast. This was done in relative peace, I like rain but knew that this rain will make snowshoeing today utter misery. After the morning pee was taken care of, I decided to try to start the fire only with my puukko and firesteel, and after a while I had the piece of birch bark burning, and I was mighty proud of myself! The fire was burning well, and my coffee and breakfast water soon was hot.
Good morning! View from the sleeping bag.
The fire which was made only with knife & firesteel.
As Xavier still didn't appear, I gave him a little visit, and still sleepy he said he shall rise soon. By the time he came I was fed and packed up, ready for snowshoeing in the rain. An hour later we hit the trail, and yes, it were the wretched conditions I thought they would be. The high exertion with the drizzling rain and general moistness brought the eVent membrane in the
Rab Momentum jacket to its limits, and it felt like I was as wet on the inside as I was on the outside. We walked to Heikinjärvenneva, where a bird watching tower rises over the swamp, giving a great view but there was not much to see except mist, rain, snow.
The Eye of Sauron.
View from Heikinjärvenneva tower.
Markings in bark.
We continued towards Kaulus, an old smoke sauna building, and had a short rest in the cabin. A lonely skier peeked inside, said that he was on the way to Sysilampi cabin and will leave us a nice trail, and went off again. Motivated by the promise of a warm cabin, with an opportunity to dry the gear and ourselves, we continued and I managed to find a good gait and rhythm so I led for most of the time to Sysilampi. Arriving at the cabin, the lone skier was just eating his meal and chatting with his friend as we came in. Friendly talking about backpacking and trips ensued, and the misery was temporarily forgotten.
Sysilampi cottage. Previously this was a day trip hut, but now has mattresses and it is allowed to sleep in it.
The guys left, and soon after a group of three girls arrived. The cabin was big enough to house us five, but I decided to try and pitch the tarp, which thanks to the saturated ground was futile and so I told the girls that I'd retire to the room next to the woodshed while they could enjoy the cabin with the oven. The evening was spent drinking some more red wine and talking about this and that, and as the girls went off to the sauna I retired to my sleeping bag.
Boiling water on the morning of day three.
Last evening Xavier and I had decided to walk this morning to the parking lot 600 m down the trail, and follow the road back to the car at Koirasalmi. I was not willing to put myself through another 10,2 km of snowshoeing when I could just walk 12 km on a forest road at triple the speed and a kazillion times more comfort. After a breakfast of
Travellunch müsli with orange juice and a cup of coffee, kindly provided by
Mr. Macfarlane, we started walking. A mere two and half hours later we were back at the parking lot, I was happy to have put this behind me. In the car, on the way back to the main road I spotted a
Western Capercaillie but by the time I had the
Lumix GF1
out he had taken off to the top of a tree, and only aimed with the
20mm Pancake Lens
I wasn't able to get a decent photo of him. Ah well, their mating season is just starting so hopefully I will be able to see some and get a photo or two of them.
The road to Koirasalmi.
My frustration with the snowshoeing this weekend is simple: The snow didn't carry at all, and I broke in 95% of the time. Then the wet snow sat on top of the snowshoes, weighting them down and making walking a pain in the ass. What was very nerve wracking was that I never knew if the next step will carry or not, it did make a completely unpleasant experience. I asked the guys as the cabin how they fared in these conditions with the skis, and they said that on the swamp the skiing was OK while in the forest it was just as much of a pain as with snowshoes. So even with skis the whole trip would only have been around 30% better. While I am not normally someone who gives up easily, I knew I wouldn't enjoy myself plenty under this conditions and hence my readiness to turn around. I didn't turn around and while I had some good moments, I believe it would have been a better trip if either we would have had decent minus temperatures so that the snow carries, or there wouldn't have been any snow.
The national park was pretty, or at least what I saw of it - most of my concentration went towards placing the next step, so only once in a while I could take in the scenery. I plan to be back when the snow is gone, maybe in May or June, or then in autumn, that circle trail is still in my mind and I'd love to walk it. But for the moment, I will sit inside and wait till the snow is gone, as I don't need another rather not so nice experience - I go backpacking to enjoy myself, and potholing with snowshoes in the rain certainly doesn't count as enjoyment for me.
The garbage of the three days.
Day 1 summary: Weather nice, conditions shit.
Day 2 summary: Weather shit, conditions worse.
Day 3 summary: I'm so glad I am on my way home.
Not all backpacking trips are awesome, some suck. This trip was of the latter kind. Be prepared for some foul language, therefore this post is rated R 18. It is also a very long story with plenty of photos, so better take a cup of coffee/ tea and enjoy.
A lone star appearing at dusk of day one.
It started out nice, the 3 hour ride to
Salamajärvi NP went well, we arrived at one o'clock and despite the weather forecast's promised rain we had a blue sky and sunshine. Xavier packed his ULA Conduit and soon after we set along the short stretch of road towards the trail head. Some fishermen were ice fishing, a good indicator that the ice still carries, despite a layer of water on top. The Plan™ was to walk the 59 km Hirvaan kierros circle trail, but as so often with The Plan™, it didn't work out.
Xavier in a good mood at the trail head.
The trail was unbroken. We tried for a minute without snowshoes, but sinking in till over the knee doesn't make for good walking so the snowshoes came on. This improved the sinking in marginally, now we sunk in only till the knee, but every step was more difficult as the water soaked snow was heavy on the snowshoe surface, adding quite some weight to every step. Five minutes later I was ready to turn around, which I would have done if I wasn't with company. Easter 2009 I spent alone hiking in
Helvetinjärvi NP and that trip of potholing was still fresh in my memory, I didn't need to add a further one to it. Xavier said this would be normal snowshoe conditions for him, and that he was up for a challenge. A challenge for me would be
climbing a mountain in Japan with Chris and not potholing through a forest.
The moss was happy about the amount of wetness, from above and beneath.
Finnish spring in the forest.
Signs of previous forest fires.
We continued, missed the first turn we should have taken and hence walked an additional five kilometers in these splendid conditions. The Plan™ of walking the complete 59 km circle was already buried, and so we decided to make the best of it. Because of the missed turn we went to Pahkahongankangas and further up to Pyydyskoski, where much to my pleasure someone with snowshoes had broken the trail for some part. Then 3,1 km through unbroken snow towards Heinkinjärvi, and while the sun was shining I was seriously frustrated. As we arrived at the lake, I spotted some tracks in the snow, and while we weren't sure then I now know that they were from a
Wolverine - there are only around 150 of these in Finland, so quite a rare sight! With the lean-to in sight, my mood improved, and after a short break at the shelter I set off to explore the surroundings, while Xavier started the fire.
Xavier enjoying the broken trail.
Ants are getting ready for the summer.
Close to the lean-to shelter at Heikinjärvi, I can almost smile.
Wolverine tracks!
After my short trip I started to pitch the
Gossamer Gear SpinnTwinn, in a nice spot, which will ensure the sun shining down on me in the morning. A pair of
Whooper Swans was flying over the lake, their call echoing through the woods. With the very tasty
Trek'n Eat Vegetable Puree with chili and hemp seeds, a kuksa of redwine, the warming glow of the fire and the pretty sunset, this was about the best moment on the trip. After a
Trek'n Eat Mousse au Chocolate and a cup of tea I retired to my sleeping bag, falling asleep quickly.
Signage.
SpinnTwinn from the side.
Home is ready, the woodshed in the background.
Lifting my spirits, tasty food and red wine.
Sunset.
Boiling water for my evening tea.
The sunrise into the tarp never came. Instead, low hanging mist and rain which was falling on the spinnaker fabric of the tarp. The rain intensified the need to pee, and instead of getting into the hardshell clothes, have a pee and then getting out of them and back into the sleeping bag I decided to pack everything up and retire to the lean-to for breakfast. This was done in relative peace, I like rain but knew that this rain will make snowshoeing today utter misery. After the morning pee was taken care of, I decided to try to start the fire only with my puukko and firesteel, and after a while I had the piece of birch bark burning, and I was mighty proud of myself! The fire was burning well, and my coffee and breakfast water soon was hot.
Good morning! View from the sleeping bag.
The fire which was made only with knife & firesteel.
As Xavier still didn't appear, I gave him a little visit, and still sleepy he said he shall rise soon. By the time he came I was fed and packed up, ready for snowshoeing in the rain. An hour later we hit the trail, and yes, it were the wretched conditions I thought they would be. The high exertion with the drizzling rain and general moistness brought the eVent membrane in the
Rab Momentum jacket to its limits, and it felt like I was as wet on the inside as I was on the outside. We walked to Heikinjärvenneva, where a bird watching tower rises over the swamp, giving a great view but there was not much to see except mist, rain, snow.
The Eye of Sauron.
View from Heikinjärvenneva tower.
Markings in bark.
We continued towards Kaulus, an old smoke sauna building, and had a short rest in the cabin. A lonely skier peeked inside, said that he was on the way to Sysilampi cabin and will leave us a nice trail, and went off again. Motivated by the promise of a warm cabin, with an opportunity to dry the gear and ourselves, we continued and I managed to find a good gait and rhythm so I led for most of the time to Sysilampi. Arriving at the cabin, the lone skier was just eating his meal and chatting with his friend as we came in. Friendly talking about backpacking and trips ensued, and the misery was temporarily forgotten.
Sysilampi cottage. Previously this was a day trip hut, but now has mattresses and it is allowed to sleep in it.
The guys left, and soon after a group of three girls arrived. The cabin was big enough to house us five, but I decided to try and pitch the tarp, which thanks to the saturated ground was futile and so I told the girls that I'd retire to the room next to the woodshed while they could enjoy the cabin with the oven. The evening was spent drinking some more red wine and talking about this and that, and as the girls went off to the sauna I retired to my sleeping bag.
Boiling water on the morning of day three.
Last evening Xavier and I had decided to walk this morning to the parking lot 600 m down the trail, and follow the road back to the car at Koirasalmi. I was not willing to put myself through another 10,2 km of snowshoeing when I could just walk 12 km on a forest road at triple the speed and a kazillion times more comfort. After a breakfast of
Travellunch müsli with orange juice and a cup of coffee, kindly provided by
Mr. Macfarlane, we started walking. A mere two and half hours later we were back at the parking lot, I was happy to have put this behind me. In the car, on the way back to the main road I spotted a
Western Capercaillie but by the time I had the
Lumix GF1out he had taken off to the top of a tree, and only aimed with the
20mm Pancake LensI wasn't able to get a decent photo of him. Ah well, their mating season is just starting so hopefully I will be able to see some and get a photo or two of them.
The road to Koirasalmi.
My frustration with the snowshoeing this weekend is simple: The snow didn't carry at all, and I broke in 95% of the time. Then the wet snow sat on top of the snowshoes, weighting them down and making walking a pain in the ass. What was very nerve wracking was that I never knew if the next step will carry or not, it did make a completely unpleasant experience. I asked the guys as the cabin how they fared in these conditions with the skis, and they said that on the swamp the skiing was OK while in the forest it was just as much of a pain as with snowshoes. So even with skis the whole trip would only have been around 30% better. While I am not normally someone who gives up easily, I knew I wouldn't enjoy myself plenty under this conditions and hence my readiness to turn around. I didn't turn around and while I had some good moments, I believe it would have been a better trip if either we would have had decent minus temperatures so that the snow carries, or there wouldn't have been any snow.
The national park was pretty, or at least what I saw of it - most of my concentration went towards placing the next step, so only once in a while I could take in the scenery. I plan to be back when the snow is gone, maybe in May or June, or then in autumn, that circle trail is still in my mind and I'd love to walk it. But for the moment, I will sit inside and wait till the snow is gone, as I don't need another rather not so nice experience - I go backpacking to enjoy myself, and potholing with snowshoes in the rain certainly doesn't count as enjoyment for me.
The garbage of the three days.
Salamajärvi National Park Trip Report
"Think of the benefits of exercise", that's generally my tactic when surrounded by clag and miserableness, closely followed by a search of the map for the nearest hostelry.
ReplyDeleteNot such useful advice for Finland, I know...
Hi Hendrik, great report. I can relate. We did a day hike up to one of our favorite summits this weekend, which in summer or winter would be a pleasant outing, but in spring turned into a death-defying cliff walk through rotting snow and spruce traps! The heck with spring!
ReplyDeleteI started to get a reputation as being a good weather talisman a while ago, and I think I get as many crap days as I get good days now.
ReplyDeleteI don't like being wet or miserable, but I suppose it tests the gear and your resolve more.
That's no consolation at all when you're out there though.
Whatever great days I've had, it's always in my mind that the next one will be the best!
"the girls went off to the sauna I retired to my sleeping bag" - this is where you went wrong!!
ReplyDeleteWell despite your misgivings, Finland does look like an awesome place to go hiking. Sauna at the end of a hard day walking would be seriously cool. Given you spend half you life outside it's no surprise that sometimes it's less good than others. Sometimes, your head is in the wrong place and you end up in a foul mood, but the great days more than make up for it...
ReplyDeleteI does look seriously damp though, a couple of your shots look kind of moisture-on-the-lens-y...
Hendrik, it is very evident that the GF 1 provides outstanding photos, it is definitely on my list. GG Spinntwinn a great shelter, but what is the bivy you are using? It looks like Tyvek.
ReplyDeleteWell done on the Bushbuddy use, it is in the difficult situations that the skill comes through.
Even with all that dampness your photos show the beauty of the Finnish Landscape. Deep soft snow is no fun plus you end up with wet feet. At least you can have a fire and dry yourself out, plus the option of a sauna! Now that would put a smile on my face...........
ReplyDeleteHi Hendrik,
ReplyDeleteI agree that hiking should be an enjoyment. It's very good of you to report about bad experiences as well. Personally I have given up snowshoeing in the forest altogether. Skiing is infinitely more enjoyable in my view. The one exception could be when the terrain is very steep and rough and icy.
Skiing in snow that doesn't bear you is also thoroughly miserable. There is however a cure for this: Use proper skis. Unfortunately almost all skis that are sold are not proper skis for forest travel and for unbeaten paths. The skis should be long enough and/or broad enough. 210cm is definitely not long enough for normal touring skis.
This is more like what's needed:
http://www.ollinerajakalastus.fi/Jarvinen.htm
For forest and backcountry travel in general , I also find that traditional wire-bindings are also preferable so that you can choose proper footwear, instead of the often useless skiboots. In wet weather Nokian Tuura boots are not so bad, if you don't need to go so fast.
Phil, I also put it down as a lesson learned and likely won't go backpacking in the beginning of April anymore. There were a few cottages you can rent around there, though.
ReplyDeleteThanks Dan & Meenakshi! I agree, spring is as a season completely overrated, at least here in Finland!
Peter, I also usually have good weather, which is fine for me =) I don't mind the rain, just the walking was a pain in the are which I could have done without with. The next trip is always the best - until you stand in the pouring rain knee deep in the snow!
Paul, I went with my girlfriend to sauna at home, which was far better ;)
Fraser, it is an awesome place, I just was there at the wrong time! The sauna you could rent, probably something like 10€ which isn't bad. And yes, some of the pics are a bit moisture-on-the-lens-y and I enhanced the effect further in Lightroom 3 ;)
Roger, the GF1 is fantastic, light, small, compact, the pancake lens is superb, and in the hands of someone with an eye for photos it is an excellent camera. Click the link and treat yourself to one ;) The ivy is a LAUFBURSCHE tyvek prototype ivy.
James, thank you. If I wouldn't have had the need to watch my steps most of the time, I could have taken more in of the pretty landscape. Feet were merely moist, thanks to Goretex socks.
Gustav, thank you for the comment. I was thinking long if I should tell the truth - thus the above - or make it sound better than it was. But the truth is that some trips aren't enjoyable, and that people should know about that as well. I'll try skies next season, the Järvinen skis in your link are very good and commonly used here. Personally I'd love to get a pair of these: http://vilminkosukset.fi/16 Handmade in Finland, traditional bindings, and they look superb. The most people who use "Forest Skis" also use wire bindings here, and have boots. Maybe need to ask Jörgen which kind of skis he used up in Sarek.
こんにちは。
ReplyDeleteくわしいレポート。
写真から素敵な自然の様子が伝わります☆
'Kazillion' - an much under-rated unit of measurement, especially when talking about misery!
ReplyDeleteI saw a Capercaillie the other day while doing some 'Slow Living' over in the east of Norway. They are huge and look a bit tasty to me...
I can remember a particularly wet 36 hour bivy trip last winter that I 'endured' but now look back on with fondness and lessons learned, maybe with a bit of time you'll view this trip with a different perspective. No denying the miserable conditions though. There is a lot of snow and ice to thaw in Scandinavia and it's going to take time. Summer will follow though and Autumn in Finland looks sublime so plenty to look forward to.
Enjoyed the article and the pictures are just gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteI think I like your trip reports and photos better than any other blog. Nice work.
ReplyDeleteJoe, I'm glad you know that unit ;) Capercaillies are now in mating season, as noted above, and usually let humans get rather close, especially if two males are fighting. Maybe in some time this trip will not seem so miserable at all, you're right. Summer is at least four weeks away, likely a couple more - can't wait for it!
ReplyDeleteCE Webster, thanks for the comment! I think the photos and text do not correlate well, I should have put more photos of misty, rainy days in ;)
Jolly Green Giant, thank you for the great praise! Have a look at www.i-cjw.com, those photos and trip reports set the bar for me!
"The Eye of Sauron." - excellent! :)
ReplyDeleteSpotting Wolverine tracks? Wow - that's an ambition of mine. You were so lucky there.
I know very well how even eVent gets overwhelmed in conditions like that. I'd highly recommend Paramo for the winter. Just picked up the new Quito which looks excellent...
Hendrik
ReplyDeleteBack to the GF1. I am very impressed with the colour balance. Do you use it on RAW or JPEG and Photoshop ?
Can you please comment on battery life ?
Franco
futukabl, any chance you can comment in English or tell me where I could translate your Japanese into English?
ReplyDeleteRedYeti, Paramo is not available here in Finland. Maybe I can ask Phil and Steven to bring some along when they come to visit to see how it performs. And yes, with the Wolverine tracks we were very lucky indeed!
Franco, only shooting in RAW and editing in Lightroom 3 Beta 2 (currently free). I reckon I could get a week of battery life out of it, at least with this four day trip (incl. traveling there and back) it still had full power. Li-Ion batteries survive well in the cold, heat is what makes them problems. There's a article about the camera coming up this or next week =)
Hi Hendrik
ReplyDeleteIf You just look at the photos and don't read the text, it looks like you had a great trip ;o)Excellent pictures as always.
Thanks for the Fireball review.
Cheers
Steve
Thanks Hendrik. Having worked for a large camera shop for more than two decades I always had plenty of people around that could do what I asked with my pics. Alas I can't do it myself. So I use Photoshop on "auto"
ReplyDeleteFranco
Judging by the ventilation capacity of your shelter you must have needed to be glowing a dull red all night. Ow!
ReplyDeleteOr you have more hair than I do. I used to grow winter hair, but that was a while ago. I'm out of practice these days.
Winter where I am now is not when the land turns to brute force but when moss goes green and squishy, and starts looking happy. Some days you can almost hear it humming along to the rhythm of the drizzle.
Of course there is snow here, in the mountains, but I've seen winter snow. It's cold, and white, and seems to be universally inconvenient. I like staying in the lowlands where there is less chance of mountainsides sliding around. They do that sometimes. You can't reason with them.
So at least for me now, snow is a pleasure I take in summer, and that is a real joy. But thanks for the reminder about what I'm missing.
Judging by the ventilation capacity of your shelter you must have needed to be glowing a dull red all night. Ow!
ReplyDeleteOr you have more hair than I do. I used to grow winter hair, but that was a while ago. I'm out of practice these days.
Winter where I am now is not when the land turns to brute force but when moss goes green and squishy, and starts looking happy. Some days you can almost hear it humming along to the rhythm of the drizzle.
Of course there is snow here, in the mountains, but I've seen winter snow. It's cold, and white, and seems to be universally inconvenient. I like staying in the lowlands where there is less chance of mountainsides sliding around. They do that sometimes. You can't reason with them.
So at least for me now, snow is a pleasure I take in summer, and that is a real joy. But thanks for the reminder about what I'm missing.
Hi Hendrik
ReplyDeleteIf You just look at the photos and don't read the text, it looks like you had a great trip ;o)Excellent pictures as always.
Thanks for the Fireball review.
Cheers
Steve
"The Eye of Sauron." - excellent! :)
ReplyDeleteSpotting Wolverine tracks? Wow - that's an ambition of mine. You were so lucky there.
I know very well how even eVent gets overwhelmed in conditions like that. I'd highly recommend Paramo for the winter. Just picked up the new Quito which looks excellent...
こんにちは。
ReplyDeleteくわしいレポート。
写真から素敵な自然の様子が伝わります☆