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Update on the #twonights Challenge
Posted by on 26/01/2015
Some time ago I challenged everyone (who dares) to try to spend two nights out every month through the year 2015. As the challenge was published in mid-January some people are/were not able to get their #twonights done in January so I decided it would be fair to offer also a February start for the challenge. After all, the idea is just to encourage more people (myself included) to get out more regularly.
So, one less excuse to get out and sleep under the nylon/stars/snow/whateveryoufancy. You can start getting your two nights each month on February and continue to the end of January 2016. Total of 24 nights at the minimum and two nights each month.
Also to be clear, it’s okay to spent the night in tent, in lean-to or even in an open wilderness log cabin. The idea is just to get our more regularly through the year. No strict rules as long as you get out in the nature and spent two nights out each month.
If you want to participate take a look at the original challenge here. And if you want me to share your online content about your two nights of each month, follow the directions and notify me and I’ll share your nights through the whole year!
I also noticed that the father of microadventure, Alistair Humpreys, is running a similar challenge in 2015. It’s little easier as it requires only one night a month but you should be bivying (as it’s a microadventure, not just any overnighter) so no tents or cabins. If you can’t make two nights a month, at least try one night a month!
To repeat myself: Now you have one less excuse! Start planning and make the 2015 one of the best outdoor years you’ve had!
That’s what I’ll be doing!
Outdoor Challenge for 2015: #twonights
Posted by on 15/01/2015
Here’s a nice little challenge for you to give you some extra motivation to get outdoors also this year! 
What?
The challenge is pretty simple:
1) Get out, do something “outdoorsy” and sleep outside. (Just sleeping on the backyard doesn’t really count.)
2) Do it twice a month through the whole year 2015. *
The idea is by no means original and I found it originally on Finnish outdoor forum Vaellusnet back in 2013.
I thought this would a nice idea and I’m sure all but the most enthusiastic outdoor folks usually have at least month or two each year when they don’t reach this target. For example I’ve been sleeping outdoors 60 or more nights a year over the past half a decade but still I have a month or two each year when I don’t sleep outdoors at all. There are the depressing shoulder season months, months busy with mundane responsibilities, the too cold winter months and many other excuses not to go out. But I’m sure that a public challenge and some peer pressure would fix this, so here we go! 
Why?
The main motivation is naturally going outdoors and getting more nights under the canvas or stars. Also when “having to go” around the year you will hopefully experience new seasons and conditions and while squeezing in a night or two during the busy times you’ll find new ways and places to go for an overnighter trip. This should be already interesting on its own but to motivate you further… 
If you are blogging or otherwise sharing your outdoor activities online I’ll promise to share your posts thru the whole year 2015! I hope this will motivate you and others to get outdoors more regularly and will probably get some extra attention and traffic for your online content.
There are no prizes set for participating but if this turns out to be popular I’ll arrange a nice prize and it’ll be raffled between those who make it through the whole year, all the way from January to December. Two nights a month. 
How?
Rules are that you should get a minimum of two nights outdoors every month through the whole year, from January to December. * Edit: Due to several requests I added a February start option, so 12 months from February 2015 to January 2016 counts too.
So, a minimum of 24 nights out during the year. It’s far from impossible but will hopefully provide a nice challenge and plenty of great experiences. As said, only sleeping outside (backyard, camping area, parking area, etc.) is not enough but you should do something “outdoorsy” in addition. Walking or cycling to your camping spot or preparing dinner on a fire is enough for me. But maybe you could try something new? Go for a swimhike? The trip can be anything from a five-to-nine microadventure to a multi-month expedition, as long as you’ll get your two nights out every month through the whole year. 
If you share your outings online and want me to help sharing them:
1) Comment on this post sharing the link to your blog or other online platform. I’ll include a list of participants with every post.
2) Post reports/proof of your two nights a month by the 7th day of the following month. If you are lucky to get more outdoor time in a month, choose any two nights you want.
3) Post links to the reports/proofs you’d like to share by commenting this or any of the #twonights posts in my blog. I hope to be in the outdoors enough not to have the time to go through all of the great content, so this will make sure your posts/reports will be shared.
4) At some point during each month I’ll gather and publish all the posts from the previous month into a single blog post linking to your trip reports. If you don’t blog or otherwise share your trips you can also comment directly on the summary post of each months, sharing the trips you did the past month.
Any language or media. Anywhere in the world. No limits for creativity. The outdoor experience is a universal thing.
Feel free to share the idea! It’s great to go out in the wild and sleep under the stars. I firmly believe more people should do it so the more “noise” there is online, the better. You can use hashtag #twonights for you reports. 
I challenge you, and myself, to get outdoors more regularly,
starting with two nights a month through the whole year 2015!
Do you pick up the gauntlet?
Four Holy Days of Shivering
Posted by on 02/10/2014
What drives a sane person to shiver non-stop for four days and four nights, while not eating or sleeping and call it a holiday?
Editors note: I’m privilege to have extra-ordinary friends who do amazing things. One of them is Huck, a fellow wilderness guide and founder of NordicByNature. He has earlier written quest posts to my blog and as I heard he had just returned from a four-day solo trip with no food and minimal equipment having witnessed the rather early first snow on the way, I again asked for a trip report to share. And as he is a nice guy, he wrote one. here you go! Huck didn’t carry a camera so all the photos are taken and added by me just to make the layout little lighter. All text by Huck. Also feel free to comment or ask, I’m sure Huck will drop by to answer any questions.
Conditions
Location: Hiidenportti National Park
Time: 20.- 24.9.2014
Duration of Solo: 4 days and 4 nights
Weather: rain, snow, wind, temperatures above and below freezing
Distance covered on one meal: 27km
Rules
– same location all time (10m radius)
– avoid sleeping
– no food
– little water (1-2L)
– minimal gear
(isolation mattress, wool blanket, woolen hat, anorak made of old wool blanket, rain poncho, canteen cup. No other cloth.)
Backup
For safety reasons I took with me:
– shelter (tarp, sleeping bag, extra clothing)
– water (an additional two liters plus the potential to melt snow & collect rainwater)
– food (energy rich food)
– stove & tinder (Picogrill wood stove, plenty of fuel, also fatwood found at the location)
– 1st Aid kit
– fully charged phone, map
Background/ motivation
As a wilderness guide and founder of NordicByNature I am offering nature education and nature awareness programs. In cooperation with the Metsäkartano youth center, I am working on the “Natural transition” project, which is aimed to provide an initiation-opportunity to youngsters on the step to adulthood.
In today’s society, social and biological adulthood are not reached at the same age, as it originally should be the case according to human nature. In addition, we do not experience proper initiation into adulthood anymore and have thus often insufficient understanding of our responsibilities, opportunities and roles as members of the global community.
In many indigenous societies, the importance of initiation is better acknowledged and rituals like solos and other challenges mark the transitional phase in this rite of passage.
As I am very interested in initiation rituals and as an intended facilitator/ guide for initiation, I felt obliged to have experienced more than what I would like to provide to young adults.
Preparations
While the opportunity came unexpected, I had been planning to go for a longer solo ever since my solo in 2013.
A few facts played a role in terms of mental and physical preparation.
Having realized the benefits and logic of barefoot walking, I was basically barefoot ever since the last snow in April this year. I also like to dress just a bit colder than cozy and I usually fast for a few days every month. In general I try to live strictly in “need to have” terms instead of “nice to have”. This considers consumption of energy and resources.
Another part of my preparation is a lifelong interest in survival training and survival skills. I am also interested in the physical and mental aspects of initiation rituals such as solos as well as other challenging situations.
Being trained by Wildmed in Wilderness advanced 1st Aid, I was aware of the potential danger that I was going to put myself in. Hypothermia, Dehydration, other cold-related problems and physical injuries were on the list of anticipated problems. For this reason I asked a friend, who is trained to the higher level of “Wilderness First Responder” to walk me out on the last day, bringing with her more energy rich food and also rubberboots.
Another taken precaution was to choose a location for the solo with phone coverage (up on a hill), even though it meant colder temperatures, more snow and more wind. I also shared my position upon arrival and had agreed to report via sms every morning.
From the medical perspective it was good to have a checklist, with pre-set limits for when I would start using the back-up plan or parts of it. With the list I monitored my mood (level of awareness), urine output, skin colour, dexterity of fingers and toes, pulse, and respiratory rate.
Chronology of events
As I spend most of the time sitting or laying, dreaming and thinking, this journey was truly eventful from a psychological point of view. I learned a lot about myself and the rest of nature and had many thoughts and ideas, which let me recommend such an experience to you.
However, in this post I am not going to write about any of this, as the intention is to focus on the physical challenges.
Saturday, 20.9.
Müesli in Joensuu is the last meal for the next days. After breakfast I pack up my stuff and cycle to the end of town, where I leave my bike locked to a tree, hide the key nearby and start hitchhiking towards Nurmes. I had assumed that hitchhiking in my forest cloth, wearing a sarong and no shoes would be difficult and I was right. On the upside I got more rides by single women, as I probably looked very harmless.
In the evening I arrived in Valtimo and started walking towards Peurajärvi, at the southern end of Hiidenportti Nationalpark. After walking about 16 kilometers into the dark without getting any more rides, I went to sleep in my sleeping bag under a little spruce tree.
The weather of the day was nice and sunny but it was getting cold.
Sunday, 21.9.
For the last bit I got a ride from Thai-berrypickers. The interior of the car was super-heated and the guys inside were wearing balaclavas. They didn’t look happy but seemed amused by my leg-wear.
I had looked up a potential area for the solo on my map and started my hike towards it, which took about 4.5 km. On the way I ate half a “Boletus edulis” and a few berries. Near “Pitkä-Portti” I boiled some water, made some chaga tea and went for a swim, to clean myself for the solo.
Temperatures went further down and the air became more moist.
On the last bit of the journey up the near hill I found more tracks and signs of bears and started to become curious if I would have a chance to see some.
At the lake I had made a strong cup of chaga tea in my canteen cup, which I had carried up the hill, drinking small sips and keeping them in my mouth for hours.
I was now almost naked, only wearing a simple anorak that I had made from an old blanket. The night I spend sitting against a tree (I really know her well now).
Shivering had started shortly after my arrival (must have been around noon) and it continued through the night. It was raining all night long. I sat on my isolation mattress, the ends in front and behind me tucked up under the rain poncho. The wool blanket I had folded double to achieve more isolation at the cost of having to make myself really small to fit under.
By the morning some water had leaked in and I sat in a little puddle on my mattress. There was a lot of condensation and the woolen blanket was moist.
Monday, 22.9.
The rain continued the whole day. I went for three little walks around my area and built up my tarp just in case.
The rain stopped in the afternoon and the wind picked up. I estimated the range of a few dead trees in the area in case they would fall in the wind.
After dark it started to snow. The night was colder and it snowed all night. Again I was at the same spot, but had opened the poncho and used it tucked under the mattress, providing a bit more loose cover.
I had hoped for less condensation due to increase ventilation, but the colder temperatures did not help. The blanket was now more moist but still warm. I use the term “warm” very carefully as I was still shivering. In addition to the cold I was getting very tired at night. The nights were very slow.
Tuesday, 23.9.
Snow everywhere. On Monday I had topped up the tea in my canteen cup with rain water.
To allow my blanket to dry a bit, I sat some time under the tarp. Condensation was a real issue in the night and I consider spending the next night under the tarp, which will be less warm but dryer. I have less motivation to move and I am smelling very different as I am now (I guess) the second day in ketosis.
Night sitting and laying under the tarp. Hipbones painful and I have to choose between pain or being cold, as I can make myself small enough to just fit under the doubled blanket when laying on the side.
Wednesday, 24.9.
I likely have slept a bit since the night went faster than the day or the previous nights. No recollection of sleeping, falling asleep or waking up. In the early morning hours I heard wolves to the east.
It’s still snowing wet and the wind is blowing under the tarp. Worried about the dead trees. The night was colder as expected but less condensation.
When getting up I feel very low on energy. Still peeing about three times per day. Very yellow. So far I have used less than a liter since leaving from the lake.
Happy thoughts let me feel warmer and I decide to be happy. In general I feel in good mood and enjoy the experience. More joy than suffering for sure so far.
In the afternoon my friend comes to check on me. We change a few words and she leaves me a pair of rubber boots for the next day. She will camp 1km away from my location on the way out.
Thursday, 25.9.
Night spend under tarp. Coldest night so far. Frost and cold wind from the north. Hips very painful.
Slush-drizzle in the morning. Drinking the last tea, 2L of backup water still untouched. Feeling cold, weak and tired. I allow myself to write down some notes about the last days. When sitting I feel very clear in my head.
Around midday I am slowly getting ready to leave. After standing up I feel very dizzy and have to sit down again. Packing up is slow but I am taking my time to pack properly. The rubberboots seem too heavy and I decide to walk in my backup-shoes. Studying the map I choose a direct route and try to memorize it.
Walking is very slow. I have to look at the ground (I usually use splatter vision) and even when moving slow breathing through my nose is not enough. Moving through the icy snow hurts my legs. I fall a couple of times and feel frequent need to rest. Somehow I walk down a wrong slope and end up in a wrong place. After realizing my navigation mistake (the first in over ten years), I have to walk one kilometer more to get to my friends camp.
When I arrive at the camp I am pale and dizzy. I drink 2L of warm honey water. My toes are white and without feeling. After melting my toes and resting for about an hour or so and having hydrated, I feel better. Also the sun is coming up for the first time of the solo.
My heart rate at departure from the fireplace while standing stationary: 155 bpm.
The last 3km to my friend’s car are better. Breathing through the nose is again possible and no snow is on the ground.
End of Solo
After a quick shop-stop in Valtimo we continue by car to Puukarin Pysäkki, where I clean myself in the sauna. Exhausting.
The food at Puukarin Pysäkki is known to be the best in North Karelia and I couldn’t think of a better place to be. “Feels like heaven” is humming through my head when I sat down at the table, where locally grown organic food has been skillfully prepared for me. Holiday. I take knife and fork in my hands and immediately get cramps in my fingers. Eating is slow and I wished my appetite were bigger. I somehow manage to eat a fair amount but my thirst is overwhelming. I am drinking liters of water, juice, tea, kotikalja.
Night spend at Puukarin Pysäkki. Next day breakfast and hitchhiking back to Joensuu.
On the journey home I ponder about the effects of the solo and about my symptoms from the previous day:
– Compensated volume shock due to dehydration.
– Mild hypothermia.
– Frostnip on toes and parts of both feet.
I am aware that I came close to some limits and wonder how one more day would have affected me.
Conclusion
I can recommend this experience. Being aware of the medical impact such an experience can have is important, as these weather conditions and the set rules can make some people “sail pretty close to the wind”.
Solo’s can, but do not have to be challenging. If you are looking for a physical and mental challenge, I recommend seeking the advice, preparations and assistance of a trained professional.
Solo’s and “vision quests” have a purpose and it’s not a sport. They have great potential to teach you about yourself, your limits, your strength and your role in life. And in my experience this is exactly what they do.
And this is what drives me.
Packrafting at Kymijoki
Posted by on 09/09/2014
A couple of weeks ago I was guiding a packrafting course at Kymijoki and had great time first alone and then with a nice group. Packrafting seems to be almost always great fun.
I went to the river a day ahead to check the water level and scout the rapids I’d been paddling only with considerably higher water level. I got at Kuovinkallio shelter, my starting point and shelter for the night, little late but was on the waters in 15 minutes after parking the car. I paddled around the area wondering the low water level and polishing plans for the days to come. Except for the roar of the water it was silent and even the roar was somehow soothing.
During the hasty start I had forgotten to take my headlamp and had decided I should stop after the sunset to have enough light for the short walk back to the shelter and to set the camp. Paddling alone in the maze of islands was so fun I ended up getting out an hour after the sunset and took an adventurous shortcut back to the shelter through the dark forest without my headlamp…
I met a local fishing supervisor and outdoors man at the shelter and had a great chat with him about the life by the river, local hunting and fishing and so on. After he left I started preparing late dinner and enjoyed the dark and silent surroundings under the stars. I fell asleep on my packraft thinking I should probably do solo trips more often…
The next morning I met the group on a breakfast at Aholan Lomalaidun and soon we were on the shore getting to know the tools for the weekend. The plan was to paddle to the nearby lake for starters but the headwind made our upstream paddling efforts useless. But as everybody had some previous paddling experience we changed the course and headed downstream for some swifter water. The day was spent learning basic techniques for moving water and at the end of the day we walked and paddled upstream back to Ahola for dinner and some self-rescue training with sauna as a reward.
The next day we paddled and floated again down the river, doing some training on the way towards bigger rapids. Despite the very low water level (it apparently hit the all time record low on Sunday) there was still plenty of waves and excitement on the Martinkoski rapids. There is sort of a “water guarantee” on Kymijoki, there’s always something for almost everyone, even enough to cause an involuntary swim…
On the way back we had the wind on our back and one of the group got a chance to try his Windpaddle Cruiser sail. Even with very light wind he was as fast as I was paddling an Explorer 42 as a solo boat with quite some effort. Sails do make sense and Packrafting-Store is now stocking them as well! After the hard paddle against the current it was time for good-byes.
It was a good course with a nice group. And at least one new packrafter was born on the currents of Kymijoki which makes me super happy. You can find Erkki’s blog post (in Finnish) here and some videos here and here. There will be more courses in 2015 for sure.
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As usual, some more photos in my gallery.
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PS. Remember the First Finnish Packraft Gathering!
It’s turning into an international event with participants coming also from abroad. It’s turning out to be quite popular event and if you have even slightest interest in packrafting I think it’ll be a blast! So, if you have the time on 3.-5.10.2014 and have or can get a raft, make sure to be there! With only one portage the route we’re planning is doable even with a PVC pool toy but for th best experience I’d recommend a real packraft. If you don’t have one, you can rent one from Backpacking North or Packrafting Store.
Shoulder Season Chill Out
Posted by on 04/11/2013
Shoulder seasons are interesting time for outdoor activities. An unusual mix of seasonal activities is possible, many things are little more challenging than during “normal seasons” and even popular destinations are usually quiet so you can have the wilderness for yourself.
Shoulder season packrafting trails…
Super-cute little furballs!
N had holiday on the last week of October but as I had some work to do a normal one-week hiking trip wasn’t an option. So instead we did something else. It was rainy and grey with temperature around +6C in the South-East Finland so North sounded like a better option. As we both wanted to visit Husky Center Kolmiloukko (we both had been working there the previous two winters) the North-East* was the way to go. (* In Finnish the are called Koillismaa meaning North-East land even though it’s still far from the most North-East parts of Finland…)
The owner of Kolmiloukko had said we should take skis instead of mountain bikes and we believed him and left the bikes at home but took packrafts instead of skis. Once we arrived at the snowy North-East we started to think if we should’ve taken the skis after all… The first days were spent at the Kolmiloukko catching up, reconnecting with the dogs training for the upcoming season and of course playing with the adorable husky puppies!
Packrafting at Savinajoki
The main trip of the week was to be a packrafting trip at Oulanka National Park. There are plenty of interesting rivers at the area ranging from small streams to roaring class V drops. As N isn’t that familiar with white water packrafting we chose Savinajoki, a 15km long class I-II river, as our destination. We got the starting point little late and from the bridge it looked like there would be little water and plenty of ice, especially as there were some lake sections in the beginning. Well, it’s shoulder season so ice is part of the game. As are short days. The two combined lead to quick decision of not boating all the way but hiking at an open wilderness hut near the mouth of the river and doing a day trip from there. The hike in turned to be some 6km longer than expected as the last bit of road was not accessible with our car.
With badly packed packs we hiked to the hut arriving in the dark around 17 pm. Short days also mean long evenings so a hut or comfortable shelter is welcome. And so is good slow cooking food and loads of hot beverages. And we had both. Perfect relaxed time in the backcountry. There had been a group of four hikers from the UK at the hut the previous day but during our stay we didn’t see anyone else and had the hut for ourselves.
The next day we started to hike upstream the Savinajoki river scouting on the way when possible from the trail. The 80-kilometer Karhunkierros trail follows the river before reaching its Northern terminus at Hautajärvi and crossing the Arctic Circle. The Savilampi lake at the mouth of the river was mostly frozen but the river was mostly free of ice. The water level was very low, even lower than on average in the late summer or autumn but it still looked quite packraftable.
We didn’t walk all the way up the river but pushed to the river through the snow and forest maybe one-third of the way from the lake. We had some hot tea from Thermos bottle and energy from bars to keep us warm as we inflate the packrafts and put on the secret weapons: Ursuk drysuits. I have no desire to go white water paddling on shoulder seasons without a proper dry suit. N was using my prototype packrafting specific suit which is two or three sizes too big for her so it was little bulky and the neck didn’t seal properly but it was still a way better than only wearing hard-shell clothing.
After breaking few meters of ice we were in the nice flow going down stream with decent speed. We got stuck on rocks every now and then but mostly it was good going maneuvering around rocks and occasional bigger wave. Typical rocky class I-II river with low water but enough water to keep it enjoyable.
The paddling went fast and soon we were at the Savilampi lake and reached the edge of the ice. The ice wasn’t strong enough to support a packraft for pushing ourselves over it but was weak enough to be break under the bow of the packraft when paddling vigorously. This was hard work but I was quite happy as it warmed up my fingers that had gotten very cold during the downstream part. 3mm neoprene gloves are not enough for me with aluminium paddle and temps (water and air) near 0C.
First we tried to break our way straight across the lake towards the hut but that didn’t work. There was just too much ice. After a while we turned towards the Northern shore and were soon walking on top of an esker back to the trail and hut. More real food was cooked, hot beverages were consumed and pancakes were enjoyed. Good time. A top tip for spending long shoulder season evenings at huts is to bring candles! And a book. N had one, I didn’t but would’ve liked to have one.
The next day was the walk back. We planned to go along a different route following first a 6-kilometer Kanjonin Kurkkaus trail along the canyon of the upper Oulankajoki river and then head to a forest road back to the main road and our car (parked at a local farm with the kind permission of the owners). There had been a proper autumn storm on the area and several fallen trees blocked the trail giving a bit of extra wilderness feeling to the otherwise well-marked and established trail. The river looked awesome and the big rocky cliffs were very impressive. I’ll be definitely back – when there is more water! But I’ll be down in the canyon in a packraft…
Once at the road we had learned our lesson from the first day’s walk-in with the heavyish packs and utilized a packraft as a sled pulling the loads instead of carrying. A great option on easy terrain (like a snow-covered forest road).
Day trip along the Pieni Karhunkierros trail
After the packrafting trip we spent some time at a cottage at Ruka (a fjell with a skiing center) and did a day trip to one of the most famous and frequently visited trails in Finland: the 12-kilometer Pieni Karhunkierros trail. It’s a nice trail following the scenic riverside of Kitkajoki river and crossing the old-grown spruce forests of the area. As it’s very popular trail it’s very well-marked and established and even eroded and worn. Going there during the shoulder seasons has advantages: fewer visitors and the snow covers parts of the infrastructure and erosion so it feels more wild – and you also probably smaller impact as you walk on snow!
We were again on the trail little late and had to hurry a bit to get out before the dark but it was a nice day walk. For me the Kitkajoki river was naturally the most interesting part. As the water level was low the class III Myllykoski and class IV Aallokkokoski didn’t seem too bad. If I would’ve had a dry suit in the car I would’ve been very tempted to drop the walk and paddle the rapids with my packraft. But as I said: no dry suit = no shoulder season white water paddling. And my suit was drying at the cottage.
The next rapid dowstream, Jyrävä, was about as scary as I thought it would be. A rocky nine meter drop with water squeezing between rocky river banks. With low water it didn’t look much easier, only more rocky. Not for me. At least not yet and probably not with a packraft. The rest of the trail was more in the woods with occasional glimpse at the river until the trail crossed the river and ascended up to the forests to return back to Myllykoski rapid.
On the trail I was missing two things: proper gaiters and walking poles. As plan was to spent most of the time in dry suit I didn’t take proper gaiters to accompany my Merrel Proterra goretex mids (goretex mids are great for the shoulder seasons). And as I don’t usually take poles for packrafting trip I didn’t have them with me at all. Both would’ve helped a lot in the snow.
As a conclusion the week was quite succesful: peaceful and relaxed with nice views even though the weather was mostly grey and uninspiring. The little packrafting we did was good and I’ll be definitely returning to the area in summer when the temperatures are warmer and there is more water in the rivers. It’s a great destination for packrafting!
Korpijaakko 