Work had already started after the not so sunny summer holidays, but the forecast full of inspiring yellow and orange icons with temps around 23°c. It was a perfect time for a quick weekend micro adventure. Sneaked out of work a bit early and picked up Tuomas. It was only a two hour drive to Asikkala, where we lounged around in the supermarket trying to decide on the food and beverage supplies. We drove further to Pulkkilanharju to search for a launch spot. It was blowing surprisingly strong from the north so we continued a bit forward and found a perfect calm cove for the launch.
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After a few hours of relaxed paddling it was getting dark. We were already on the shore of our target the Kelvenne island, so there was no hurry. Checked out a few spots and talked to some people sitting by campfire on the shore, who pointed out a good camping spot to us. I had my sonar on the kayak with gps so it was easy to paddle to the correct location. We met a few people around the fireplace and had good chat with Jukka, who even had a small chainsaw with him and cut some trees for us from the firewood shelter. It was bliss sitting around the fire with a few cold ones and one of the best folio wrapped foods I have eaten: We bought a whole fresh baguette from the supermarket earlier. Cut it in half and filled it with chorizo, butter, parmesan, cherry tomatoes and mascarpone stuffed chilies. Try it.
The weather was so nice and the mosquitos had already pretty much vanished so we ditched the tents and set up a tarp over the kayaks directly on the beach.
There were none. We slept late, had late breakfast and took a nap. A few groups of paddlers came from the south and complained that the wind had really picked up and the waves were getting pretty big. Our camp was so calm it was hard to believe, but seeing their wet gear we decided to follow them and portaged over the island to the other side which was a bit calmer. Still the headwind was pretty good, but it wasn’t any problem.
After the small portage we headed north against the wind. We found a couple of calmer spots and did some fishing.
We rounded the northern tip of Kelvenne island and found a nice spot to set camp. There were only two boats on the perfect sand beach. After a classic tuna pasta for dinner we had some time to enjoy the sunset before hitting the sack quite early.
We had quite a large crossing open to the north scheduled for Sunday morning. The forecast said the wind would continue to blow with some force, so we woke up at 5 a.m. to assess the situation. It hadn’t really died down over night, but it was some what weaker now. So after some snoozing we got up at six and had some quick breakfast and packed camp. The crossing went smoothly without any problems. After a break beside a small island we headed south and enjoyed the wind behind our backs and the sun in our faces. We deployed various lures but didn’t manage to catch on single fish. It really didn’t matter.
A sit on top kayak is an excellent platform for fishing and camping trips.
I will definitely go to the Päijänne National Park again. We only saw 1/4 of it this time. And it’s only two hours from Helsinki.
© 2026 Erik Plankton
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