Words: Antti Vettenranta
Photos: Antti Vettenranta
& Martin Trahan
Bio
Antti is a photographer by profession and he has also written and photographed for Finnish magazines about camping and canoeing.
Antti Vettenranta
Finnish Lakeland with Martin Trahan
In February 2023, I encountered a man on Instagram who had paddled across Canada, the USA, the Yukon River, and France. (These trips total of 19,000km) I sent him ‘fan mail’ because I am also interested in long-distance canoeing. As the discussions progressed, Martin Trahan (Canada) said his dream would be to paddle in Finland one day. I told him that he could contact me if he ever decided to come here. And he did. Our trip came true in September 2023.
Finnish Lakeland
Martin and I went canoeing through Kolovesi and Linnansaari National Parks and Joutenvesi Nature Reserve in eastern Finland. The area is part of the so-called ‘Finnish Lakeland’ for a good reason. It’s often said that Finland is ‘the land of thousands of lakes’, and there are more than 60,000 lakes with an area of more than one hectare. If we count all the lakes over 500 square metres, there are about 168,000 of them in the country. Lakes cover about 10% of Finland’s total area, but Finnish Lakeland is even more magnificent: more than half of its area consists of lakes. It’s fair to say that the Finnish Lakeland is a paradise for paddlers. Our paddling trip lasted eight days, during which we paddled about 150 kilometres.
Labyrinth of beauty
Our journey continued through waters where you rarely see summer cottages or motorboats. You cannot even drive a motorised boat in Kolovesi National Park. Martin said the area resembles the Canadian wilderness, but there is one difference between the Finnish and Canadian lakes. Here, canoes do not need to be portaged to move from one lake to another – they are connected. Martin called the area a ‘labyrinth of beauty’.
It’s not straightforward to navigate the area with thousands of islands and narrow channels. Personally, it would be too challenging for me to use just a compass and a paper map, and we navigated by using a Garmin GPS device. Anyway, I always take a paper map on canoeing trips because it is good to see the big picture and plan daily activities. It’s also good to challenge yourself occasionally and use just a paper map, even if you occasionally use a GPS device for safety.
I’m a 99% solo paddler, and It was new to me to go canoeing with another person in the same canoe. When paddling alone, I have complete control over my boat; if it swings, I always know why. Tandem canoeing is all about cooperation between two paddlers, and I was eager to learn something new from Martin about this. From the start, it became clear that Martin’s canoeing pace was faster than mine.
At first, I struggled to keep up with Martin as he paddled in the front seat of the canoe. However, as the trip progressed, I got into a rhythm and felt like I learned a lot about paddling on this trip. You probably noticed when I said Martin was paddling in the front seat of my canoe. Usually, a more experienced person usually paddles in stern, but on this trip, we paddled this way for eight days. An experienced canoeist can be recognised because they insist on being in the stern seat. After all, the canoe is steered there, and the most important decisions are made. A truly experienced paddler can be recognised by giving this opportunity to another paddler and leaving their ego in the background.
I appreciate this kind of trait in a person in general, and I found myself dealing with an empathetic, caring and polite adventurer. I had been told beforehand that Martin was a good guy, and I got to see it myself on this trip. One of the most essential things about expeditions involving other people is that the individual does the tasks that need to be done and does not compare their work input with others.
By setting an example, the whole expedition stays in a good mood, and the trip succeeds. In this sense, I have never met such a great teammate as Martin. There was also one practical reason for me paddling in the stern: I shot a video of our trip on my YouTube channel, and from the back seat of the canoe, it was easier for me to operate with my camera gear. My YouTube channel is ‘Kanootti & Tomaatti’, and there are almost 200 canoe camping-related videos. The videos are in Finnish, but most are subtitled in English.
Windbound on an unnamed island
On the fourth day of our canoeing trip, we left Linnansaari National Park, and the wind had not yet reached the strong readings predicted later that day. It was a calm morning, and the sun was shining. We ate our breakfast on the top of a little hill and, at the same time, admired the beautiful scenery. We left our beautiful island, and after just a few kilometres, we arrived at an open section of the lake, and the wind started blowing hard.
We made the decision portaging the canoe over to the other side of a long stretch of land. On the other side, we could paddle again, sheltered from the wind. At this point, we knew that we had to spend two nights at the next camping spot because there was a forecast of strong storm winds for the next day. I thought we could paddle to Kuusisaari Island because I had found that island to be a nice camping spot on my previous trips. When we got there, the scenery didn’t look familiar, and I couldn’t understand what was happening. Our island didn’t look good at all. There was barely room for even one tent.
However, we found another island nearby with no name, which turned out to be a great place to be wind-bound for two days. Because of the strong wind, we had to think carefully about where to pitch our tents on the island. The ground on the island was rocky and mossy, which is not an ideal base for the roots of large trees. The trees swayed and creaked in the strong winds, so we had to be careful if they fell. We tied the tents down properly and ensured we weren’t caught under any possibly falling trees.
Later in the evening, I studied the map again and realised my mistake: a few kilometres away was an island called Kuusisaari Island. It is not uncommon for larger lakes in Finland to have many islands with the same name. It can sometimes confuse paddlers and boaters. We had a great time on the island and found some chanterelles, which we fried in butter and added to our freeze-dried camping meals.
Regarding these meals, this trip was also a test: I wanted to see if I could ‘survive’ eight days eating freeze-dried camping food only. Usually, on my canoeing trips, I also have fresh food with me for every dinner, and I have eaten freeze-dried meals, mainly if I wanted to eat a quick lunch during the paddling day. The test went well. I didn’t get any stomach symptoms, although the taste of the food started to get boring.
Lake Saimaa and the Saimaa seal
The lakes where we paddled are part of a larger Saimaa body of water. At approximately 4,279 square kilometres (1,652 sq miles), Finland’s largest lake and the fourth-largest natural freshwater lake in Europe. It was formed by glacial melting at the end of the ice age. The Saimaa region is also home to one extraordinary endangered animal species, the Saimaa seal, which used to be close to extinction. However, the species has recovered in recent years, with a population of approximately 400 individuals.
For a long time, it was thought that the Saimaa seal had been blockaded after the last ice age due to land uplift about 8,000 years ago and that the Saimaa seal was related to the Lake Ladoga (RUS) and Baltic Sea ringed seals. However, according to very recent studies, it has been calculated that the Saimaa seals family branch has been separated for 95,000 years, and its lineage leads to North America. How the species got here in one of our inland lakes is still a mystery. We were lucky and saw one Saimaa seal from the canoe at a relatively short distance. But when I dug my camera out of my waterproof camera bag and got it ready to shoot, the seal quietly dived under the dark water surface of the lake.
Video: https://youtu.be/wGFyXdG9Glo?si=56wnsfm0VVgLeXIU
One more summer in Finland?
I have a personal dream to paddle a long trip in Canada someday. I’m planning to go there in 2025. The only thing that slows down the realisation of my dream is my deep love for my home country. Finland is a true paddler’s paradise, with something for everyone: wilderness white water rivers, countless large and small lakes, sea shores, and beautiful archipelagos. Finland also has so-called everyman’s rights, which enable camping without the landowner’s permission.
If you don’t do it near other people’s buildings and follow the ‘leave no trace’ principle, you’re always free to choose your camping spots. I still have a lot of paddling ahead to get some idea of what Finland has to offer me as a canoeist. Every spring, I tell myself that maybe I will paddle in Finland this summer and then think about Canada for next year.
Last night in paradise
There are endless great campsites where we paddled, and you can plan them in a timely manner. But it should be noted that you are not allowed to camp everywhere in Finnish national parks, but only in designated camping spots. We paddled against a strong headwind towards our last night’s campsite, Syväniemi Island in Kolovesi National Park. Along the way, we met a man paddling with his dog, planning the same place for the night as us. We set up our tents on the island, went swimming and spent the evening with our new friends at the campfire. Martin told stories from his trips across Canada and the USA. The evening passed comfortably by chatting and sipping a little whiskey, and the bonfire created an atmosphere in the darkening evening.
The internet brought me and Martin together. Without Instagram, I would never have met him, and now I can say we are friends. The internet and social media have a lot of downsides, but they’re also a great way to meet like-minded people worldwide. We have kept in touch with Martin and plan our next canoeing trip in the summer of 2024. It will be a great trip, and I’ll tell you a story about it later.
