Paddling the Ivalojoki river

Luxury camping with a canoe

By Erik Plankton

October 20^th, 2021

The way

We paddled the beautiful Ivalojoki river in 2013 with kayaks. It was time to do it again. This time with a rented canoe as a duo with Tuomas. The night train took us and our Land Rover to Rovaniemi. The next day we drove to Saariselkä and picked up the canoe and did some serious shopping. We spent the first night by the road to Kuttura, which would be our launch position. We had arranged for the rental company to pick us up downstream five days later. Good old car camping and living the wolf t-shirt lifestyle.

Cheese snacks aboard the Penobscot

Our rental ride was an Old Town Penobscot 174 canoe. Probably not the most agile vessel to tackle over 30 rapids of the Ivalojoki river. We had never paddled a canoe before, just kayaks and packrafts. But the rapids are fairly easy ranging from class 1 to 3. The water level was very low, so we figured that most of the challenges would be from getting stuck onto rocks - which turned out to be the case. Anyway, we dressed up in our cheese snacks drysuit costumes and packed the boat full of fresh foods and beverages.

Launch from Kuttura

The river runs smaller in the upper parts and Kuttura village is a popular starting point. We left the car there and hopped on our mighty vessel in brilliant weather. It hadn't rained for a while and the river was running really low. After about 200 meters we got stuck on the rocks for the first time. But it was a not a problem with the drysuits to hop in and give good push.

You can find a detailed description of the paddling route here: https://www.nationalparks.fi/hammastunturi/trails/descriptionofthecanoeingroutekutturaivalo70km

Saarnaköngäs rapids

The river starts out really mellow with small rapids here and there. The perfect way to get into the groove. Especially nice since this was our first time on a canoe - and a long one in this case. Soon we got the hang of it and our paddling and steering technique got better with every rapid. The first one you really have to scout from the shore beforehand is Saarnaköngäs. There are plenty of rocks to avoid and the best line has a diagonal drop you have to turn into to make it. In 2013 I capsized with my kayak because I took the incorrect line and hit a rock on the drop. This time we made it through perfectly.

Appisjoki camp

We paddled about 16 km on the first day and reached Appisjoki river that pours into Ivalojoki. A perfect camp spot with a fireplace and an outhouse. Reindeer pasta was on the menu.

Bluebird

After a good nights sleep we woke up to perfect weather and clear skies. We decided to hang around in this spot for another night and concentrate on fishing and just lounging around.

Summers end

August was soon to turn into September. This is a premium time to be in Lapland since most of the mosquitos are gone, but you can still score a warm and sunny day. We took full advantage of this and walked down the river casting into the various pools. Tuomas started to catch grayling with the fly, but my spinning rod with a Lotto spinner was not so giving. Catching fish on a day like this was not important. But a nap on the river bank and the second round of coffee was essential. I have been reluctant to try fly fishing because I know what a rabbit hole it will be once I give it a go. Later on in the evening, I surrendered and five minutes later landed my first tiny grayling with the fly. I was pretty much hooked on the spot.

Dinner time

The good and bad thing with a large canoe is that you can carry copious amounts of gear and food. On the second day, we made some vegetarian döner tortillas with rice, hummus, curry mayo, and salad. No need to save weight and space with freeze-dried just add boiling water meals. Later in the evening, two couples with heavy pack backs showed up. They were on a quite arduous hike with a lot of miles to go. Many stories were told over the campfire with these fine people and perhaps a round of wine was shared.

The journey continues

Ivalojoki is pretty much perfect for paddling. Numerous rapids bring excitement to the journey giving way to calmer sections where you have time to enjoy the view of the canyon. Unfortunately, we don't have pictures of the rapids, since both hands were needed on the paddle and we didn't have a GoPro with us this time. We passed Kultala, the old gold mining outpost without stopping and had lunch after about 9 kilometers at the mouth of the Sotajoki river. Great place to stop with a fireplace. There is a deep hole in the river at this point, which is known as a resting place for big trout. Unfortunately, it was Monday, which is a no-fishing day on the river. So we carried on past Ritakoski to Palsinoja, which has a sandy bank on the right-hand side, which turned out to be a great spot for camp.

Palsinoja camp

We enjoyed a tasty chorizo pasta by a proper camp fire.

End of the canyon

Next morning we started paddling after a lazy breakfast and some fishing from the bank. Got some small graylings. The character of the river changes at this point. The steep rocky canyon walls are left behind and the river meanders between sandy banks. We were hit by a couple of showers, which meant nothing to our high spirits since we were wearing drysuits. A great piece of kit for paddling and surprisingly comfortable. We got stuck on rocks multiple times on the rapids and had to push our way forward. There was no need to rush our progress, but we ended up going all the way to Toloskoski rapids, which is last and most demanding set on the river. We made camp above them and walked down to inspect our line for the next day.

Toloskoski rapids

We enjoyed a beautiful sunset and some brief showers from our camp spot high on the bank of the river. The next morning we tackled the most difficult rapids on the river, which are rated to class 3. The water level was so low, that the challenge was mediocre and we made it down almost flawlessly. Now it was time to call the rental company and arrange our pick up a few hours later. The last 5 kilometers to Lappispola is flatwater paddling. Peter from Lapin Luontolomat was waiting for us and we hoisted the canoe on top of his car. He then took us back to Kuttura where we had left our car. Great service and nice people. Check out their website for more information: https://www.lapinluontolomat.fi/en/

Enjoying Saariselkä

We had a day to spend in Saariselkä before heading back to Rovaniemi for the train home. After a plunge into the spa and a nice dinner at Teerenpesä it was time the hit the sack and get ready for the next day drive south to Rovaniemi. The autumn foliage was just about to begin and we got an early glimpse of the beautiful colors that would be at their peak a couple of weeks later.