Buga-buga in Siberia

Buga-buga

Banja (sauna) with traditional Russian spanking therapy

Traditional Mongolian throat singing

Big volume rivers in beautiful surroundings

Committing runs in remote canyons

Russian cartwheels

(Unintentional vertical freestyle moves performed with a creek boat)

Russian flatwater

(Usually considered as non-stop grade III wave trains)

Russian runout

(The Russian flatwater section between the rapids a.k.a. portage and the takeout)

Nights around a campfire with simple food and simple people

('Simple' meaning non-complicated and beautiful)

That is what you get when traveling with your kayak in the Altay mountains near the border between Russia and Mongolia. A story worth reading in the Paddler magazine (click the link) pages 60-82.

Poks at Gausta & Hattfjelldal

The PoksAdventure summer main trip  headed to Gausta. We were hoping to see Gausta as it had been for a few stable days: 15 cumecs. But no, it dropped into nine and below. The place where to look at the gauge is Ankarvattnet, just search the place from https://login.vattenreglering.se/vattenforing_pub.asp?screen_height=768.  Too dry now for most of places, but of course few highlights had to be run…

Just had to put this here...thanks for Aapo Halonen Photography!

Grand old man pushing the limits. Photo: Tommi Lyttinen

...And on and on. Photo: Aapo Halonen

Kayaking is such a great sport: you drive 1000+ kilometres by car, check the gauge, may be huck a few places, and by the campfire the group will have to make some hard decisions on what to do next day, and finally after well slept night the plan is perfectly clear: let`s move the camp 300 km, one river out there seems to be on fine level! 

After driving it´s good to have a dinner, and afterwards...Photo: Jyrki Kuisma

For us the river was Susna, lower, or middle.Well, anyway the leg that is printed in the guidebook. Powerful class 4.  It somehow seemed in the evening that gauge was quite near the 20, which would have been perfect level according to guidebook (link), but after we started the day at work it seemed a bit bigger (the oracle from western part of Finland was the very first person to doubt the matter…props!). And yes, after nine hours of kayaking and portaging we checked it up: almost 30. Ok, it seemed hard enough for us flatwater finns. Gauge can be checked here, find Nervoll (great website by the way!). This river really has the potential to blow your mind,  and you must not forget the upper part, which would have been too dry at these levels. Wonderful package! We paddled from the put-in to the first take out, can be seen from the very helpful guide above.

...you can find the treats of middle Susna. Photo: Aapo Halonen

Fine line. Photo: J. Luomala

Power is on! Photo: Aapo Halonen

Roughness and beauty. Susna. Photo: J. Luomala

Sometimes the river gods are favourable, sometimes not, sometimes they are bearing a  two-folded face. Stavasselva was at good level (no known gauge, but again great help from the guide), and off we went to have a real adventure, mostly read and run-style rapids but a lots of different style also... And for the brave and for those who are having a healthy young back there`s a real treat at the take out bridge. Not this time for us, bro, not this time. But yea, at what point did the rivergods let us down? Perhaps when some odd force moved one of our kayaks to the moving water while inspecting a curious spot? Beware of the mighty kayak thrower of Stavasselva!

This time not read and run. Photo: Aapo Halonen

Artistic view. Photo: J. Luomala

Sea kayaker training to boof. Photo: Aapo Halonen

One can have fun under the bridge, no matter where the bridge is. Photo: Jyrki Kuisma

Krutåga was a run that we just had to do. There were two reasons: double drop and triple drop. For some reason last time being here at this powderlike river we were in a mood of not so eager to run these gems. Well, ok, this time waterlevel was low, but we just had to…a few cumecs would have made it a bit more faster. Again, no known gauge but the guide helps you a lot! 

The first one of the triple. Photo: Aapo Halonen

The last one of the double. Photo: Aapo Halonen

Meanwhile, under the bridge. Photo: J. Luomala

And, finally, the second one of the triple. Photo: Janne Varonen

Trollforsen & Vouvosjokk

The first days of summer holiday, Trollforsen, a bunch of kayak hippies - that's all you need for happiness really. Pite river in northern Sweden offered four days of sun, campfire, sunburned noses, intimidating horizon lines, good lines, exciting lines, rope work and staring animals.

Thank you Mark Hirst and Lapin Koskikoulu for WRT courses! River safety and rescue skills needed on this trip!

This is where it all starts. PoksAdventure team doctor running "The Pillow" on the left channel of Creecking delta. Creecking delta is about two kms long section of class III-IV creecking in a beautiful open bedrock surroundings. The water is crystal clear and drinkable.

 

Downstream view to the only portage on the left channel of Creecking delta. The president of the Jyväskylä kayak club in the red kayak did an amazing job leading the group and bringing new people to see the miracles of Trollforsen!

The right channel of Creecking delta is slightly more demanding - a carnival of class IV slides and holes. Poks master of Jyväskylä styling the last hole of the first rapid.

 

Not everywhere can you see horizon lines like this! Not super steep, but the open landscape creates an unreal view when staring the treetops down there... Approaching the "Number two" on the right channel of Creecking delta.

 

Fätnafallet a.k.a. "The Autoboof"

Sometimes the autoboof button might be hidden, but the hair didn't get wet anyway... (because of the kayaker being bold...?) In this rapid going too far right might turn your good line into a more exciting one!

Millions of lines to choose between on the Creecking delta. The grand old man from Jyväskylä running a smooth line on "The Double drop".

 

The final slide of the Creecking delta

The Zik-zak slide. Only grand masters of kayaking are able to perform a combat roll on this line. Never seen one, but heard stories...

Lines like this lead to...

 

...swims like this lead to...

...rope work like this lead to...

...nights like this...

...start the spark in my bonfire heart.

White water kayaking is all about spending hour after hour in the car, day after day on the road... But the campfire pics are simply more fun to watch!

Always sunny, always dry kit at Trollforsen. Just beware of the mosquitos if trying later in the summer...

A nice little side creeck to avoid "Labyrinten", a rapid where you don't want to get lost.

Boofing for the first time ever!

The final hole on the Creecking delta. You'd better have a loooooong rope to catch a swimmer in this one.

Vouvosjokk is a five kms long class IV creeck, two hours drive from Trollforsen. Nowadays it's a hike in destination, in the picture you can see why.

Carrying the kayaks on the night before turned out to be a good idea. Five kms walk with the rest of the kit was a good warm up in the morning.

15 cumecs on Vouvosjokk offered a few really exciting slides and two portages.

The final rapid on Vouvosjokk makes you stay alert until the very last strokes.

In Finland we have this thing called staring animals.

In Sweden they have this thing called staring wooden animals.

Endurotykitystä ja ehjät etuhampaat

Jos tykittää liian kovaa, niin tulos saattaa olla tämä.

#otb

#fullfacehelmet