Finland 2012, Inari – Hiking, Packrafting, Trailrunning, Hitch-Hiking the Northern Hemisphere

11/11/2012

Well, this trip is already some weeks old, however I still need to find time to sort out all pictures and write down a brief report about it – let’s start with this one:

In the end of September, I went off to Inari, Finland, with two old friends in order to do a canoe trip combined with some hiking. In total, we spent 2 weeks there and experienced the end of summer and the early beginning of the winter – amazing. The nights were fresh with almost 0 degrees and some days quite cloudy. However, it didn’t rain a lot during the days.

At this time, the huts are abandoned and you have the lake of Inari for you alone. The same counts for the trails around Inari, Ivalo and upper north.

Here are some tips I want to share:

Inari and Ivalo are small towns, don’t expect something extraordinary here but there are at least places to get some food and basic gear.
Near the airport of Ivalo (3 km), on the way downtown, there is a place called “Riverside Camping”. You get a hut for 4 persons for about 35 Euros / night. They have also a small shop and a bar where on the weekends some locals drop by. Can recommend that place.
Obviously there is no direct bus to Ivalo downtown from the airport – try hitch-hiking instead or walk (1 – 1.5 hours)
End of September/beginning of October: There are only a few busses / day which you can take to get from Ivalo to Inari –> try hitch-hiking instead. Cross the bridge in Ivalo towards Inari and start hitch-hiking at the bus stop 100 meters behind the bridge.
If you want to do a canoe trip out of season, book your canoe in advance.
The museum in Inari is worth visiting – spend 2-3 hours there. The people there are also very helpful in terms of trip preparation.
Renting a car: Do it via the Internet instead of booking it locally – it’s much cheaper. You can even go to the North Cape as we did – buy all food / beverages in Finland since Norway is much more expensive.
The trail to the wooden church near Inari is awesome – ask in the museum for the trail and further information.
The North Cape is just a place you have to go in order to tick the checkbox: “Have been there” – nothing special there.