Hmph. I posted this over at the other place but never got around to posting it here, every time I tried I've had network trouble. Well, here you go, at last:
Visited Lapland again with my girlfriend and our dog. This is our second time we went there - strangely enough, once I had upgraded to the Jeep road trips such as these suddenly started to seem very doable.
12 days, just shy of 4000km.
That's the short version. And now, the long version, with tons of pictures.
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As you can see, we had quite a lot of gear with us. The weather way up there can get interesting. Last year was very cold all the time. This year, as it turned out, we had the most incredible weather for all but the last two days of our trip. Very sunny and hot all day long! Still, nighttime temperatures remained rather low. So, we had to pack clothes for warm weather, cold weather, rainy weather... And of course tent, tent pole, firebox for tent, gas powered cooler, gas for the cooler, etc. etc.
And some eco-hippies in Finland say even CUV's such as this are totally unnecessary as they are much too large, nobody needs a vehicle so large...
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First evening at basecamp.
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A little Jeep ad from the basecamp, taken during dusk.
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Warm days or no, a tent with central heating is a beautiful thing in the Arctic.
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The sky, during one of our first few nights at basecamp, was the most incredible I recall ever having seen. This feeble photograph hardly does justice to it. The sky just looked so vast in a much stronger way than it normally does. Amazing. Simply amazing.
Since this IS a Jeep forum...
While we did drive on several trails, none of it was technical at all. But then again, we didn't go there looking for a technical driving challenge. The trails were merely a means to get somewhere.
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"Jeep gets you there."
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This season, the fashionable Jeep wears Sand Trail Orange.
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This climb was about the most "technical" driving we did. This is actually an ATV trail that leads to a lake, so at points it was a little small for a Patriot. Still, point the nose where you want to go and it's the pedal to the right. When you're a thousand kilometers from home and trying to relax on your summer holiday, just the right kind of off-roading for me.
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The Levi fell is merely 530 meters high, but the view from the top of it is rather nice. Also, all of us, up to and including the dog, were still having issues with some kind of injury or another, so actually hikinh up a fell was not in the cards for this summer. Levi is one of the few places where there is a public road that leads to almost to the top, making it an easy place to visit. Very much recommended to anyone who visits the area!
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There is also a walking path that circles the very top of the fell. As you can see, they have made it very easy to walk on, suitable for just about anybody. Also, as it tends to always be windy up there, this made for a nice break from the heat.
Kilpisjärvi is the most North-Western village in Finland. We visited there a couple of different times - once just to get away from the heat (as Kilpisjärvi tends to be colder than just 100km south of there) and that was also where we crossed over to Norway.
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Saana fell in the background.
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Kilpisjärvi lake itself. Yggdrasil the Viking Dachshund is seen here, plotting her upcoming conquest of Norway.
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Highest point on public roads within Finland. Located just south of Kilpisjärvi.
![Image]()
Another view of Muotkatakka. Should give some idea of what nature looks like at that height.
Visited Lapland again with my girlfriend and our dog. This is our second time we went there - strangely enough, once I had upgraded to the Jeep road trips such as these suddenly started to seem very doable.
12 days, just shy of 4000km.That's the short version. And now, the long version, with tons of pictures.
As you can see, we had quite a lot of gear with us. The weather way up there can get interesting. Last year was very cold all the time. This year, as it turned out, we had the most incredible weather for all but the last two days of our trip. Very sunny and hot all day long! Still, nighttime temperatures remained rather low. So, we had to pack clothes for warm weather, cold weather, rainy weather... And of course tent, tent pole, firebox for tent, gas powered cooler, gas for the cooler, etc. etc.
And some eco-hippies in Finland say even CUV's such as this are totally unnecessary as they are much too large, nobody needs a vehicle so large...
First evening at basecamp.
A little Jeep ad from the basecamp, taken during dusk.
Warm days or no, a tent with central heating is a beautiful thing in the Arctic.
The sky, during one of our first few nights at basecamp, was the most incredible I recall ever having seen. This feeble photograph hardly does justice to it. The sky just looked so vast in a much stronger way than it normally does. Amazing. Simply amazing.
Since this IS a Jeep forum...
While we did drive on several trails, none of it was technical at all. But then again, we didn't go there looking for a technical driving challenge. The trails were merely a means to get somewhere.
"Jeep gets you there."
This season, the fashionable Jeep wears Sand Trail Orange.
This climb was about the most "technical" driving we did. This is actually an ATV trail that leads to a lake, so at points it was a little small for a Patriot. Still, point the nose where you want to go and it's the pedal to the right. When you're a thousand kilometers from home and trying to relax on your summer holiday, just the right kind of off-roading for me.
The Levi fell is merely 530 meters high, but the view from the top of it is rather nice. Also, all of us, up to and including the dog, were still having issues with some kind of injury or another, so actually hikinh up a fell was not in the cards for this summer. Levi is one of the few places where there is a public road that leads to almost to the top, making it an easy place to visit. Very much recommended to anyone who visits the area!
There is also a walking path that circles the very top of the fell. As you can see, they have made it very easy to walk on, suitable for just about anybody. Also, as it tends to always be windy up there, this made for a nice break from the heat.
Kilpisjärvi is the most North-Western village in Finland. We visited there a couple of different times - once just to get away from the heat (as Kilpisjärvi tends to be colder than just 100km south of there) and that was also where we crossed over to Norway.
Saana fell in the background.
Kilpisjärvi lake itself. Yggdrasil the Viking Dachshund is seen here, plotting her upcoming conquest of Norway.
Highest point on public roads within Finland. Located just south of Kilpisjärvi.
Another view of Muotkatakka. Should give some idea of what nature looks like at that height.
