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To the Wild
Itäkaira 2009
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Kaldoaivi 2009
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Paistunturit 2009
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Ounastunturi 2009
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Saariselkä elokuussa 2008
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Muotka elokuussa 2008
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Muotka heinäkuussa 2008
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Kaldoaivi 2007
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Cuvgesjohka 2006
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Tarvantovaara 2005
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Kaldoaivi 2004
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Kaldoaivi 2003
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Pöyrisjärvi 2002
Katso kuvat
Captured Mind - the Madness of lapland
The Motivation
First of all, I have to say what these pages are not about. They are not about extreme experiences or hard time in the wild. They are about enjoying the nature , silence and spending time free of normal routines, that clutter our daily life. They are also not about mystic experiences, since I am a dull realist and a skeptic.
I am not politically inclined and I do not have answers to the problems of the planet. My motivation is only this: to understand and tell about the last wild areas on the planet. We do not have much of them left. Maybe knowing more about what we can lose forever can help to preserve it. I do not know, I can only hope.
The Maddness of Lapland
They say, that is is possible to catch a fatal condition, the Madness of Lapland. It is fatal in the sense, that you will not get rid of it during your lifetime. Furthermore, every dose of the medicine makes the condition worse. There is no known cure. Only thing I can say about this, is that it is true.
I got the fever when i was a child during my first trip to Lapland. We did not hike then, but the magic captured be at the age of ten. When I did my first true wilderness trips to Lapland couple of year earlier, I was finally lost.
The first trips were not hikes, but rather fishing trip. Sack of potatoes, salt, butter, bread and fishing gear. And the camping equipment with tents and sleeping sacks of course, that was pretty much what we took with us. The typical walking distance was one day from the car, maybe 20 kilometers, to a suitable river where we set up a camp.
We did not talk about hiking then, the concept of just wandering around without a purpose or destination was unknown to me at that time.
The Gold Fever
Fishing only could entertain me for so time only and very soon my friend lured me into gold panning. That was a lot of fun, though we did not find much gold.
Palsi Gold Company sign at the beginning of 1980's
These guys don't know anything about digging gold.
Red sand of the Palsi river.
The long walk
Around 10 years after the fatal contamination I realized, that I don't really have to do anything special to enjoy the nature. Just being there was enough. At the same time when I started my hiking, I developed my currently philosophy, that I must leave no marks of my camping. When I leave, no one should be able to tell I was there half an hour earlier.
This finalized the condition to what it is now: an almost uncontrollable urge to go to Lapland and see the fells again.
Winter trips
Recently, I haven't been able to wait for next summer, so I have started winter trips also. Camping in snow is another kind of madness altogether.
Incurable
Now days, my favorite way of enjoying the wild are solo hikes. I do enjoy company, but there is something deeply unique in the feeling of being just on your own.
