winter scenes

A bikepacking overnighter

By Erik Plankton

January 14^th, 2019

welcome winter

We finally have some snow on the ground and temps below freezing. This made for a nice weekend get away. Mikko and Mika were going to try out the wood burning stove of our co-owned Helsport Varanger Camp tent in Sipoonkorpi National Park. So I packed my stuff on the Big Honzo and headed out to find them.

on track

The first part of the route was really icy in some spots, but when I got a bit further inland it was mostly hard packed snow. The roads were partly some what icy and the going was slow. Maybe I shall have a look at studded tires at some point.

into the darkness

The sun set about half way and I turned on the lights. No problems finding the camp site, since the route was very familiar. The guys were adding the finishing touches to the tent when I arrived. We grilled some sausages outside and then made ourselves comfortable inside and lit the stove.

Varanger camp

We bought the tent a few years ago as a group of five for a very reasonable price. The tent had hardly been used before that. This was the first time I even saw the tent pitched. With a footprint of roughly 4 by 4 meters it is suitable for four persons to sleep comfortably. On this trip we were three big guys and two dogs. The stove is such a luxury in the winter. As the temperature dropped to around -10°C for the night we took our jackets off and enjoyed the warm. The top of the stove is very handy for making coffee or cooking.

good morning

Once you get the fire going again the tent is warm within fifteen minutes. Good times!

trail dogs

Our canine companions Venla and Ruuti seemed to enjoy the tent as much as playing around in the snow.

packing up

We enjoyed the warmth of the tent until noon and packed our gear. Mika and Mikko walked back to the car and hopped on my awesome bikepacking rig for the return trip. The Blackburn Design Outpost Elite series bags worked well in the sub zero conditions and I'm happy that my winter gear fits into them without and hassle.