Going Forward

As you likely have noticed, the amount of posts has gone down a bit in the last months. Reason is simply that my business takes a lot of time at the moment, and with upcoming life changes in August time will be even more limited. Time to sit back, and outline what will happen here over the next months.



First and foremost, I will start an education to become a wilderness guide in mid-August. It is a ten months, full-time education and besides learning in the classroom expeditions are part of the curriculum. A two week autumn expedition to north-eastern Russia, a two week solo skiing expedition in Lapland in winter, a canoe expedition and other trips will certainly teach me new skills and make a superb basis to show how far ultralight gear can go. I aim to use UL gear for this education, and show that one doesn't need 80l backpacks and bombproof gear. Also, I will be running my company at the same time, so I will be very busy and might not always find the time to write interesting and exciting posts. The aim with this course is to have the skills, knowledge and legal requirements to offer [UL] courses in the future - but that is so far off that I will tell about this at another time!

Ultralight from A - Z is a new video series I am working on. In this 26 part series I am going to explain Ultralight backpacking from A to Z in a video for each letter, from skills to gear and philosophy I am hoping to explain ultralight backpacking it in an easy and understandable manner. It will start in the autumn, so stay tuned!

In the Gear Reviews department I have a steady pipeline of new and exciting gear to test and tell you about. I hope to be able to write a gear article a week, it is just about finding the time.

Trip Reports are still what I love best, and I aim to tell and show you more about the beautiful Finnish landscapes which I enjoy so much. The expeditions will be covered as well, so there should be a few very interesting reports coming up.

Advertising. You might have seen the box on the right, this is an experiment I am trying at the moment - I saw it on sectionhiker's blog and decided to try it out myself. It helps to pay for trips & running the website, but will have no influence on the content. If I find it doesn't work or is not worth the trouble, I will remove it. Also the Donate button on the About page is there for the same idea - content will remain free, but for those who would like to give there is now the opportunity.

Interviews. With already 23 interviews on this site one might think I ran out of interesting people to talk to. Well, that is not the case and I have over half a dozen interviews in the pipeline at the moment, so that is a good reason to become a Follower or subscribe to the RSS feed to stay tuned and up-to-date!



That are my plans for the near future. I would like to thank you all for reading and commenting, it is very rewarding to see that so much people enjoy the site, it keeps me motivated to produce top-notch content. I am looking forward to you questions, comments and observations =)


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22 Questions, comments, observations:

  1. So is this a step toward a career change or are you going to split your time between guiding and consulting?

    Sounds like some pretty serious expeditions coming up...
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  2. I will be mainly consulting and planning to do a couple of courses a year. Mind, the whole course thing is far off and not set into stone, so it is very speculative at the moment. I like my work, but I am now young and have the opportunity, so I decided to use it - it gives me the opportunity to pursue another career in the future, should I want to.
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  3. Fabulous development Hendrik. Wish you all the best with your new education and am looking forwards to reading all about it (especialy the winter expedition in lapland!). Seem to remember Chris Townsend writing that he quit a mountain skills (instructors?) course in Scotland because they kept insisting on him using heavy gear (boots?). Am looking forwards to reading how your instructors and classmates react to your kit lists!
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  4. Best of luck. You've made this one of the best blogs on lightweight backpacking. Look forward to reading about your new ventures.
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  5. That's great about the wilderness guide course! I assume it's the course in Tampere - I found out about it a couple of months ago and am planning to apply next year! I, unfortunately, am not young, and am already at that career change stage!

    Hopefully you will be able to evangelise the UL way so if/when I get on it they'll be cool with tarps!

    Great news though. Looking forward to hearing all about it.
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  6. I am also interested about which school/course you chose for wilderness guide course, because there are nowadays quite many places, which offer it as part of their course catalog. It will also be interested to hear about your experiences about courses and tasks.
    Even though this is all fascinating, I am guessing that it is not going to be your main source of income, even though it might turn out to be nice addition to it. Based on all finnish discussion boards about wilderness guides life in Finland, the typical attitude (even in hiking forums) seems to be that wilderness guides job is highly seasonal, hard work and the pay is not very competitive, when compared to other career options that young people might choose.

    In last winter, I was in organized snowshoe hike in Hossa and it was interesting to see what kind of tasks were part of wilderness guides routine in comparison to places like Tanzania and Peru, where they have cooks, porters, cooks assistants, etc. in addition to guides that go along with the customers.
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  7. Looking forward to all of it, Hendrik. Thank you.
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  8. Hi Hendrik,

    Thirty years ago and going some I spent most summers in the Western parts of the USA (Montana, Idaho, Wyoming) and Canada, fly fishing in wild and remote places. My pals were fishing guides in the main and some did rafting guiding and climbing too.

    The pay for my pals was piss poor and of course seasonal, winters were spent as skiing instructors and any job that would get them through to the following summer. The thing is that pay does not matter much for fellows that really love the outdoors.

    All were university graduates, but after Veitnam, many could not settle in “conventional jobs”. Their lives I think were richer for their work in the outdoors, their company certainly enriched mine. All but one is now dead.

    You are only young once, and I can tell you youth soon passes, one moment you are in your late teens and early twenties with infinite energy and enthusiasm. The enthusiasm still lasts, the spark of energy is still there, it is just that things get a tad slower!

    My son started guiding hiking parties when he was seventeen and worked in the outdoors for many years before deciding it was time to quit and go to college. You have your “back up” company, so go for it Henrik, enjoy it while you can, and keep up your excellent blog when you get the time.

    Best wishes and every success,

    Rob fae Craigellachie
    ReplyDelete
  9. A man with a plan. Good luck with all the work and learning. I hope it all goes well and the outdoor trips are spectacular.
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  10. That's great Hendrik, good luck! We can't wait to read about your adventures, you've made us interested in exploring your neck of the woods some day!
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  11. Good luck Hendrik. Hope it goes well, it will be very interesting to hear about your training. What sort of groups would you like to lead? Small experienced groups, shorter intro courses, kids.
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  12. Lightening up...Jul 15, 2010 02:41 PM
    This is some interesting news! A good (hiking) friend of mine is also starting the quide training at the end of the summer. In which school will you be studying?

    Unofrtunately it seems that if you don't want to do seasonal snow scooter (or maybe dog sleding if you are lucky) quiding jobs there is not much to do. Well, some snow shoeing and skiing trips near the big resorts but that is mostly it. It is sad that in Finland we don't have a real quiding culture for outdoors. On the other hand, it means that people have decent basic skills on their own.

    But UL is new and there might be market for couple of courses a year. I have been actually thinking about this kind of thing knowing that one older quide will retire within a few years and he has a really interesting business running! But it would be really hard task to step in his boots and would require a huge amount of time and money within next years to get the experience needed...
    ReplyDelete
  13. Thanks Dave! On the interview I was asked if I am able to carry a 26 kg backpack. My reply was: "Sure, but I won't!" I explained a bit about lightweight backpacking, they didn't seem convinced but we will see in a couple of weeks.

    Thank you Robin!

    Mark, the education is in Kuru, 50km from Tampere. Here the link to the program. If you have more questions, drop me an email =)

    Juha, it is the Erä- ja luonto-opas, International Wilderness Guide program in Kuru (link above). I am not going to take the course to make it may main income source, my company pays well and there is no reason to let that drop and pursue a guiding career at the moment - I like my work! It is really just the opportunity to lead courses in the future and to have the legal requirements fulfilled. I will keep the you and the readers up-to-date about the program and courses =)

    Sam, kiitos!

    Hei Robert, always nice to read your comments! It is indeed not the pay that lures me into this, it is more the ability to spend less time in offices and once in a while guide people and teach them something about something I am very enthusiastic about (I'm very passionate about my current work as well, mind!). So for now it is just using an opportunity that might help me in the future!

    Thanks Martin! It is going to though for a few months, but very rewarding. I got a windshirt, btw ;)

    Dan & Meena, thanks for the good luck wishes! Maybe I will be able to guide you even some time in the future :D

    Ben, small & experienced groups sounds like a good way. That is so far off though, that I will have some time to think and ponder about it!

    Lightening up, I will be in Kuru (link above). There is a two week snow scooter expedition as well, though I am not very keen on it. I guess it is right that many Finns have good basic skills in the outdoor and thus guiding is not very much needed for them, but tourists are another case. At the moment I don't plan a career change yet, but who knows?
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  14. As always Hendrik, I'll be following your travels, reviews, interviews with the same committed enthusiasm. Thanks for representing UL backpacking in the fresh and well thought out manner in which you do. cheers.
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  15. Good luck with the wilderness guide training, what an amazing opportunity! Hope it goes well and we get to read about it.
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  16. Ever since we walked past the place in Kuru and you mentioned the course I've been hoping you were going to go for it! I'm of course a willing volunteer (again) if you need to practice your guiding on anyone ;-)

    Really interesting developments, I'm looking forward to following them.
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  17. A two week autumn expedition to north-eastern Russia...

    Wow. Do you already know the place where you'll go? I've done some hiking in Russia while still living there, from Kolsky peninsula to Baikal lake. The longest one was, I believe, 18 days of full autonomy in Polar Ural mountains in 2007. Did not dare to go ultralight by that time. Well, on most part of the route, there was neither cellular coverage nor any services or even human beings reachable in 5 day trip 8-]

    In case you'll need any advice on trip logistics, feel free to ask. I'd trade my answers for your articles about UL gear ;-)

    Konstantin [following hikinginfinland.com from Helsinki for quite some time]
    ReplyDelete
  18. Thanks Eugene, James, Phil & Konstantin!

    Konstantin, we're likely going to be hiking north of Paanajärvi National Park. The whole trip is supervised by the school, who will let us plan and organize it afaik, but I might get back in touch if I need help =) Keep on enjoying the blog, I hope, and maybe we meet some day in Hki (I'm there for example next week, I think.
    ReplyDelete
  19. A two week autumn expedition to north-eastern Russia...

    Wow. Do you already know the place where you'll go? I've done some hiking in Russia while still living there, from Kolsky peninsula to Baikal lake. The longest one was, I believe, 18 days of full autonomy in Polar Ural mountains in 2007. Did not dare to go ultralight by that time. Well, on most part of the route, there was neither cellular coverage nor any services or even human beings reachable in 5 day trip 8-]

    In case you'll need any advice on trip logistics, feel free to ask. I'd trade my answers for your articles about UL gear ;-)

    Konstantin [following hikinginfinland.com from Helsinki for quite some time]
    ReplyDelete
  20. Good luck with the wilderness guide training, what an amazing opportunity! Hope it goes well and we get to read about it.
    ReplyDelete
  21. Lightening up...Mar 16, 2011 05:10 AM
    This is some interesting news! A good (hiking) friend of mine is also starting the quide training at the end of the summer. In which school will you be studying?

    Unofrtunately it seems that if you don't want to do seasonal snow scooter (or maybe dog sleding if you are lucky) quiding jobs there is not much to do. Well, some snow shoeing and skiing trips near the big resorts but that is mostly it. It is sad that in Finland we don't have a real quiding culture for outdoors. On the other hand, it means that people have decent basic skills on their own.

    But UL is new and there might be market for couple of courses a year. I have been actually thinking about this kind of thing knowing that one older quide will retire within a few years and he has a really interesting business running! But it would be really hard task to step in his boots and would require a huge amount of time and money within next years to get the experience needed...
    ReplyDelete
  22. Hi Hendrik,

    Thirty years ago and going some I spent most summers in the Western parts of the USA (Montana, Idaho, Wyoming) and Canada, fly fishing in wild and remote places. My pals were fishing guides in the main and some did rafting guiding and climbing too.

    The pay for my pals was piss poor and of course seasonal, winters were spent as skiing instructors and any job that would get them through to the following summer. The thing is that pay does not matter much for fellows that really love the outdoors.

    All were university graduates, but after Veitnam, many could not settle in “conventional jobs”. Their lives I think were richer for their work in the outdoors, their company certainly enriched mine. All but one is now dead.

    You are only young once, and I can tell you youth soon passes, one moment you are in your late teens and early twenties with infinite energy and enthusiasm. The enthusiasm still lasts, the spark of energy is still there, it is just that things get a tad slower!

    My son started guiding hiking parties when he was seventeen and worked in the outdoors for many years before deciding it was time to quit and go to college. You have your “back up” company, so go for it Henrik, enjoy it while you can, and keep up your excellent blog when you get the time.

    Best wishes and every success,

    Rob fae Craigellachie
    ReplyDelete

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