Day-by-day program

Saturday

Arrival to Kuopio Airport and evening-transfer to Eräkeskus. Here you get to know your guide and get some basic information about the week, we serve dinner, later overnight in your room in the guesthouse. 

Sunday

After breakfast we fresh-up your sledding-skills with a short theory, then we move to the kennels straight to harness the dogs.  We do a longer day-ride of about 25 - 30 to make sure you get the feeling of sledding back. During afternoon you can relax in the lodge, enjoy a sauna or start packing your little bag after the guide has given the instructions. Dinner is served in the restaurant, overnight in the guesthouse. 

Monday - Tuesday

After breakfast we load our sleds and start out before noon. Besides stakeout, straw, sleeping bag, matress and dogfood, we also need to take food for us and bowls/buckets for the dogs. Everything is loaded on our sleds and on the snow-scooter with trailer, driving far in front of us, so we do not see it. After close to 40 km we reach the Aittokoski-cabin.  Here our dogs will enjoy the doghouses with warm straw inside. The cabin is already pre-heated and has electricity and a water-pipe to the house. Overnight in the wilderness with a well appreciated level of comfort.

The next morning we will wake up early. The dogs get their morning soup, we get a simple breakfast. Then we clean the stakeout place, the cabin and load our sleds again. Off we go in direction west to Kuohatti. Today we drive about 45km, divided by 1 or 2 snackbreaks. The small, cosy cabin of Kuohatti was built by the owner himself. 1 room of about 35 m2, in the middle an open fireplace, a sitting table, some shelves and on both long sides of the cabin there are simple beds. We sleep on moose-skin or thin matresses in sleeping bags. In case of very cold days, there is an additional gas-heater, which we can use if needed. Waterpump, toilet and sauna are separate buildings outside, there is no electricity. After arrival here we need to prepare the overnight-chains for the dogs and get their strawbed ready. All other cabin-tasks we divide to all of us: making fire, getting water, prepare dogfood, cook our dinner on the open fire etc. Later in the night we fall aslepp in our warm sleeping bags and next to the fire, which we will keep burning all night long.

Wednesday - Thursday

You know the morning-routine in the cabin... everything goes fast and asy, as we all know what has to be done before we re-start. Dog feeding, breakfast, dishwashing, wood cutting, cleaning cabin and strawbeds... We harness the dogs and take the overnights-chains in our sleds. Then we start out again and head back East direction of Aittokoski. Some 45 km is the day-distance and again we make 2 - 3 snackbreaks. The Aittokoski awaits us then pre-heated and with the appreciated comfort of running water, electricity, real beds for us and doghouses for our athlets for the last overnight. 

Your last day on tour brings you back to Eräkeskus. If the snow- and weather conditions allow it, we drive the Kaksinkantaja-trail and cross the Lakes of Änäkäinen or choose the technically challenging Mountain-Trail, before we arrive back in the kennels after 35 - 40 km. The dogs speed up, as they know we are going home. Back in the kennels they happily go back to their colleagues after they got the well deserved cuddles from you and a soup.

Friday

A day off for you. You can either relax the whole day, enjoy the sauna and the fireplace, join us in the kennel for a last day with your fury friends, go for a hike with snowshoes or skis. Farewell dinner in the lodge, overnight in the guesthouse. 

Saturday

Last breakfast in the lodge, then you have to say goodbye. Transfer to the airport and journey back home. 

Scooter-Escort

We plan to have a scooter-accompaniment for this tour to open the trail to Kuohatti and transport parts of the needed equipment. If the weather- and trail-conditions are perfect and we have only very experienced guests in the group, it might be possible to do it without scooter. In this case, parts of the equipment would be brought to the Kuohatti-cabin before the tour starts. 

We cannot deny it, spring is coming closer also here. Not yet in front of the door, but coming closer anyhow, we can see and feel it. Thanks to nights…

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