scricfinia | Finnish Way of Hiking
Hiking, trekking, backpacking in Finland. In depth.
Thoughts about the Finnish way of hiking. Everyman’s Rights, wilderness huts, unsupported hiking style, making a fire, freezing temperatures and deep snow in winter, aurora borealis, midnight sun, endless forests, thousands of lakes and so on.
There are hundreds of wilderness huts in Finland. Free to use, no lock in the door. How can a system like that work? There is a simple code that makes it work very well. Let's see the code step by step.
Right now there's plenty of snow in Northern Finland and I've been writing about skiing much, so it's time to see how the hiking conditions look on the opposite side of the year. Autumn is a magnificent time for hiking! The 12 km loop Pieni Karhunkierros (Little Bear's Trail) in Oulanka National Park is one of the, or maybe the most popular day hiking trail in Finland. Here you'll find three hikes around this trail.
The typical rule and advice is: Do not hike alone. Still many of us go out there all alone. Which is correct, or could it be that both are?
A tale of a 165 km unsupported solo skiing expedition off tracks. Isn't it dangerous to solo hike? Especially in winter, and in a large uninhabited wilderness? Well, yes it may be, but when you know what you are doing, not much.
Do you like Google Maps? Or do you find them annoyingly imprecise when you are heading out to the wilds? I love topographic maps, and they are available free on-line.
In Finland we have this thing called 'Skiing holiday'. Of course you may do whatever you wish during your winter holiday, but personally I think the best option is to ski. 🙂 But - the ski track has to be beautiful! I'm not skiing for exercise, at least not only for that. I want to get a feeling of hiking.
Come to Finland on your holiday! Day hiking is is great activity, but you get even more when you head out for a multi-day hike. Tips for a week long backpacking expedition, on trail or off trails, as you wish.
