...for our annual trip to Lapland above the Arctic Circle. This time we headed to the very northwest tip of Finland to explore some rivers with packrafts. My ingenious plan involved very little hiking and three rivers connecting into a loop that would take us almost right back to the starting point. Route available at the end of this post. We loaded the Land Rover on the train that took us to Kolari. From there we headed northwest towards Kilpisjärvi and a bit of off roading.
The road to Kalkkoaivi was built by the Germans in WWII. When heading up towards Kilpisjärvi take a right turn 33km after Karesuvanto. The road is 24 km long and takes about 3,5 hours at a relaxed and safe pace for your car. It gets rocky towards the end and a 4x4 is required unless you are a local who are known to drive up there with a Toyota Hiace van. Our train was almost 3 hours late at Kolari so we decided to spend the first night car camping by a lake on the side of the Kalkkoaivi road. Beautiful sunset and good food from the grill. We woke up to a misty morning and continued towards the Kalkkoaivi hut which is located at the end of the road.
The wilderness hut at the end of the road is a nice place to start and end your adventure. We only used it to get our gear in order. A little chain of lakes start right from the hut so we inflated our rafts and took to the water. Our goal was to reach the Kutukoski hut.
The place was empty so we took the hut to ourselves and cracked open a part of the essential survival kit in Finnish Lapland: Jaloviina. One should never travel in the wilderness areas without a bottle of it. In emergency situations the exchange rate of Jaloviina is way higher than toilet paper. The lake turned into a river behind the hut and we took our fishing gear out. When I saw the place I was sure to get a hit on the first cast, and it happened - a nice 500 g perch made it's way towards the bank. I let that one go, because we were confident that there would be some trout for dinner. We ate freeze dried food in the evening.
The river from the Kutukoski hut is very tight and shallow in some parts. Luckily the water level was above average and we were able to paddle most of it. Lots of dragging on rocks and a few hairy spots though. After a few hours we reached the lower part of lake Vuontisjärvi. The wind was blowing about 10 meters per second (20 knots) which caused a bit of concern crossing the larger openings. Luckily it was from behind and pushed us towards our desired direction.
Vuontisjoki river starts after the lower Vuontisjärvi lake section. It is quite shallow and we were constantly stuck on rocks. At the end of August 2020 (after a rainy week) it was barely passable with a packraft. During the summer with lower water levels this section would require a lot more carrying and walking.
We made camp where Toriseno meets Kaskasjoki river. After this point the flow almost doubles and the paddling is easier and faster. We headed upstream with Antti and he caught a nice grayling for dinner.
Toriseno is one of the bigger rivers in the Käsivarsi Wilderness Area. It flows down to Lätäseno, which is a tributary to Muonionjoki, which is connected to Tornionjoki that drains to the Gulf of Bothnia. Therefore it is possible to catch a salmon that has travelled well over 450 kilometres upstream from the sea.
We made good progress aided by the flow and occasional rapids and occasional rain showers. After completing the full circle I realised this part of the route is the most interesting. If I would go again, I would spend more time on this Toriseno section and try to catch some fish from the various pools and bends.
As we approached a bend in the river a salmon launched into the air claiming it's territory. We made camp about 500 meters downstream at a beautiful spot on the sandy bank with great views. We sourced for firewood both sides of the river in the rain. The weather cleared up in the evening and we all took our fishing gear back to the turn in the river where we spotted the fish earlier. After about 5 minutes of casting Jakke hooked and landed it. First we thought it was a trout but then we realised it was a 64 cm salmon!
The next day we continued on making good progress towards our next waypoint: Lätäseno river. It had rained some everyday so the water levels were above the average. Some of the class 1 rapids were more like class 2 and provided great fun and aided our journey. We decided to carry the last rapids before Lätäseno because we did not have helmets or other safety gear with us.
Joining Lätäseno was pretty much an anticlimax. At this part the Lätäseno is really wide and more like a lake with a flow of only 1 km / hour. Still the 7 km paddle to Hirvasvuopio hut was very enjoyable.
We reached the hut one day ahead of our planned schedule so it was time to wind down and relax. Late night fishing and perhaps a dab into the remaining reserves of Jallu.
Lätäseno is a big wide river with a slow current. But once you get to the rapids they might be serious business ranging from class 1 to 3, even 4 depending on water levels. During our visit the water levels were way above average. After scouting Pinniskoski rapids, we decided to carry it. It is over a 1 km long set with limited / no possibility to exit mid way when the flow is high. Totally doable with a loaded packraft, but I would highly recommend a helmet and other safety gear.
We took our raft to shore at the trailhead that would lead us back to the Kalkkoaivi wilderness hut. The bend in the river makes for a nice camping spot and good opportunities to fish. A giant salmon splashed and jumped behind a big rock all evening. We tried everything we had and got a lure many times in the right spot, but it was just not interested.
We deflated our rafts and packed our gear for the walk towards the car at the Kalkkoaivi hut. Luckily we had premium weather with only a slight breeze so going over the fjell was not very eventfull except for the nice scenery.
We put our gear into the car and took off immediately. This end of the road is riddled with sharp rocks that can kill your tires if you are not aware. We made camp close by to the place where we had been on the way in.
Camping with the car after 7 days in the wilderness felt quite glamorous since we had some snacks, premium fire wood, and a few dozen beers waiting for us. After depressurising some empty gas canisters we hit the sack and woke up to a sunny morning. A few more hours of bouncing over the rocks we were back on tarmac and making progress towards Kolari and the train that took us back home.
© 2026 Erik Plankton
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