Long distance hiking: 5 weeks

Jouni Laaksonen 28.9.2020

I just returned from a five week hike in Finnish Lapland. I’m 50 years this autumn, and this was a birthday present from myself. And also a big present from my wife, who had to take care of all the domestic routines, what with harvest time and school starting and all.

And was it a nice present? The best possible, I’d say! I had planned a route, mostly off trails, that took me to less known gorges, viewpoints etc., and I enjoyed every moment.

This is me in the beginning of the hike, in Kemihaara, in Urho Kekkonen National Park, near Korvatunturi fell.

And this is me in the end of the hike, in Paistunturi Wilderness Area, near Utsjoki.

Of course I missed my loved ones, my wife and daughters. It was way easier to go for a multi-week hike when I was younger and single. But hiking means living in the very now, not worrying about past or future, not remembering work problems; it means concentrating on navigating, walking, scenery, filling water bottle, preparing food, pitching tent, drying tent and so on. Or if there’s something to worry over, it is about that dark cloud coming towards me, is it going to rain? There are no more complex worries – unless something untoward happens. I was careful and met no hazards. – Occasional text messages and once a week video calls helped a lot with missing. 

The first 25 days I walked alone, and the last seven days with my two friends.

Here are some pics from this hike as a slideshow, one per day. I’ll tell more in my next post (also a map there). The first pic is this = day 1:

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