Merry Christmas

Shimoda Explore 40 - The ultimate adventure camera backpack?

Ok, the headline is a bit of a clickbait, though I do think this is the best adventure camera backpack I've ever had. More about it below.

Over the hills and far again

On the way home from the bikepacking trip in Vindelfjällen two years ago we started planning the next similar outing. Fairly quickly Jämtland came up and the idea was to go last year. However, last September I was personally forbidden to be away from work due to an important audit and we were unable to reschedule it and the trip was postponed with a year. It isn't easy to find common time when everyone is middle aged and have lots of other responsibilites. Last week it we finally managed to go there, though.

Söderskär trip

I participated in a kayak club tour to Söderskär south of Borgå/Porvoo as assistant guide. The target of the trip was the Söderskär lighthouse.

Kallan

The area north of Mikkelsörarna is pretty much mare incognita for me, so a trip there was to be expected. I even got a native friend to join me for a weekend trip.

Spelharu daymark

The Spelharu daymark is situated in Gullkrona Bay in the Archipelago Sea. I visited it in 2018.

Lyökki daymark

The Lyökki daymark is Finlands oldest still standing daymark and possibly the oldest still standing sea mark. I visited it in June 2018.

Ensten daymark

I finally visited the Ensten daymark in July 2019, long overdue.

Kristinestad / Kristiinankaupunki lighthouse

The Kristinestad / Kristiinankaupunki lighthouse is situated on open water around 7 km away from the outermost archipelago. I visited it on a July evening.

Another small one

The 14-year old is now definitely big enough for one of my kayaks, being over 180 cm tall. On vacation there is a lot to do and not to do, and I've held back a little in order to have time to just be lazy and do nothing for a few days. A small overnighter almost falls into that category.

Kökar-Mörskär-Utö-Jurmo

In the beginning of July it was time for a kayaking trip in the outermost archipelago in southwest, which I've had in mind for several years now.

Achipelago Sea All Night Long

Sometimes you get assignments that you simply cannot refuse. I do sea kayak guiding for Benjamin Donner's company Aavameri Sea Kayaking, and got a question if I would be interested in something a little more unusual.

Trek Full Stache Ten Month Review

Is the Trek Full Stache 29+ full suspension bike still as good as I thought it was in the beginning?

Storklyndan

Storklyndan is the northernmost point of Åland, situated about 7 km SSW of the Enskär/Isokari lighthouse. This weekend we made an overnighter and visited Storklyndan on the way.

A warm April kayaking weekend

The fourth spring kayaking trip of the Saaristomeren Melojat kayaking club took place in unusually warm April weather.

From m43 to full frame

Now that I've sold the last of my m43 photo gear, I'll take a look at the advantages and disadvantages of the different formats for me. Non-photographers might be more interested in cooking a cup of coffee and read something else than the photo geekery below.

The kayaking season has started

The kayaking season started in March, with a few days to spare.

Oura daymark

The Oura daymark is situated in the very stony archipelago outside Merikarvia.

Merikarvia lighthouse

I visited the Merikarvia lighthouse on a kayaking trip from Merikarvia to Kristinestad/Kristiinankaupunki.

Yttergrund lighthouse

The Yttergrund lighthouse is the second highest lighthouse in Finland.

Sälgrund lighthouse

I visited the Sälgrund lighthouse by kayak in June 2017.

Rövargrund fishing lighthouse

As a part of my project to visit the lighthouses and daymarks of the Finnish coast by kayak I visited the fishing lighthouse at Rövargrund in June 2017.

Winter's last?

The winter that started so well with 40 cm of snow was beginning to melt already in the middle of February.

Three days of skiing in the Evo hiking area

What do kayakers do during the winter? Some desperately go further away to find open water and others like to take advantage of the winter and do some winter activities. In this case three kayakers from Saaristomeren Melojat started three hour car drive from Turku on Friday morning to spend three days skiing in the Evo hiking area.

Another ski overnighter

The winter in Turku is fantastic. A good amount of snow, in fact as much as in Oulanka and Riisitunturi in Lapland, where I was last weekend. This of course have to be taken advantage of, especially since there might be some rain soon, and a short overnighter on skis was quickly planned.

Ski paradise

This weekend the intention was to go to Jurmo in the outer archipelago with a bunch of friends for the weekend. The idea was to do some real winter kayaking. The weather forecast decided otherwise, though.

The beginning of the winter

The beginning of the winter has some hopes for a really nice winter.