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My summer holiday (WARNING! Picture intensive.)

5K views 14 replies 5 participants last post by  fortuneer 
#1 · (Edited)
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... :rolleyes:



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.
 
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#2 ·
Off-roading

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. :)

 
#3 ·
A view from a fell

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. :)
 
#4 ·
Kilpisjärvi

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.
 
#5 ·
Driving in Lapland



Distances in Lapland tend to be large...



We used smaller roads when possible. Made the whole road trip a bit more interesting. :)



The heat limited reindeer activity on the roads, but they nonetheless remained a constant hazard to vehicle travel. If you ever go there, do keep an eye out for crazy and/or stupid reindeer at all times!
 
#6 ·


A lake near basecamp.



A swamp at a place called volcano park. Interesting place. Different kinds of lava shown, and more importantly a sort of condensed version of Lapland - the trail through the park takes one through some swamp and right into a dense forest.



Quicksand. If you visit a swamp, do stick to the trail. Also, I recommend picking a hot day - when we were there we did not have to suffer from a single mosquito due to the heat!



Told you it was hot up there.
 
#7 ·
Norway!

One of the absolute highlights of our trip was a day trip to Tromssö. It is difficult to express what seeing real mountains felt like to someone used to flat Southern Finland.



The sea was also a fascinating shade of turquoise.









Whoa. Just... whoa.
 
#8 ·
Tromssö

The city of Tromssö appeared to me to be a strange mixture of old and very new, all crammed together between the sea and mountains. Regretfully, as this was only a day trip, we could spend little time in the city. Much remains to be seen. Perhaps next year we shall return.







 
#9 ·
And then, suddenly, autumn.

The season changed overnight. A very dramatic and sudden shift in climate. Even the leaves became yellow in just a matter of few days. One day, it's +25°C and we are having our very own little beach party at base camp. The next day, it's 15°C, cloudy, windy and rainy.





And when it rained, it POURED. I could barely see ahead of me when driving through this thunderstorm.

One of the last things I did before it was time to leave was take a few photos of an abandoned farm near basecamp:



Parked next to the road. I just thought this was a cute picture. :)





 
#10 ·
The end

12 days, just shy of 4000km, tons of pictures and some very good memories. I'd say it was worth the trip. :) And, naturally, the little Jeep drove through it all without a hiccup. (There was a rattling sound from the undercarriage, but this is probably caused by a broken anti-roll bar strut, and was there before the start of the trip. Bloody stealership and their shoddy workmanship in their service department... I complained about it when taking the Jeep to its yearly service before the trip and they said everything was fine!) Before the trip, I was curious how it'll handle the Norwegian mountainside roads. As it turned out, the cruise control works very well in controlling ones speed in steep downward slopes! The Jeep remained a road trip vehicle that pretty much drove itself, regardless of the slope. :)

I do hope you've enjoyed my insane image dump. :p And if not, well, I did warn you in the topic...
 
#12 ·
Nice tour!

I too enjoyed all the pics, especially the ones with your Patriot as part of the scenery.

Gotta get me one of those tents for the fall camping here.:2thumbsup:

Do you have a diesel or gas engine? a 2.4L diesel would be great for that vehicle with excellent range between fill ups.
 
#13 ·
Mine is actually a gasoline engine version. The lack of an automatic transmission and the extra diesel tax we have to pay in Finland made it seem better suited for me.

If you're serious about the tents, throw me a private message or something. We can discuss pros and cons of different tents. Or we can start a new topic as well, that suits me just as well. :)
 
#15 ·
Wish I could afford a nice road trip like that right now. Anyway, great pics.
 
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