Easter Hike 2016: Kárašjohka, Muotka- and Paistunturi wilderness areas and Kevo nature reserve, 22-29.3.

This year SOOPA’s (University of Oulu Scout Troop) traditional Easter Hike will be heading to the arctic areas around Teno river valley in Northern Finland and Norway. We are looking forward to an unforgettable adventure and awesome nature experiences! We are leaving for the hike on Tuesday morning, March 22nd, and will return to Oulu a week later, on Tuesday evening, March 29th. The last day to sign up for the hike is 22.2.2016. You are welcome to join the hike even if you are not a Scout or have no previous hiking experience.
On Easter Hike the participants are divided in to groups of 4-6 people. Each group will contain experienced hikers who are happy to advice beginners. The groups hike independently and each group is free to choose their own hiking area and route according to their wishes. The possible hiking areas are the Kárašjohka region in Norway, the vast Muotka- and Paistunturi wilderness areas and the famous Kevo nature reserve. There is something for everybody in this regions, whether you were a beginner or an experienced wilderness adventurer. A typical hike includes 50-100 kilometres of skiing. On Eastern Hike the hikers have typically spent their nights in tents. This time, the region also contains a few wilderness huts, so it is possible to enjoy a little warming fire and the unique atmosphere of wilderness huts during the hike. On the other hand, the harsh wildernesses of Muotka- and Paistunturi provide challenges for the experienced hikers.

General guidelines and testing your fitness

Before leaving for Easter Hike you should read through general guidelines for SOOPA’s hikes, especially if you haven’t been on a hike before. The guidelines may also give useful ideas for more experienced hikers to make the hikes even more pleasant.
Hiking requires at least moderate physical fitness. If you don’t have any clue of your fitness level, you can test your fitness for the hike by doing a fitness test (there are plenty online, for example google ’walking test’). Testing your fitness is not necessary, but hiking with the group will be much more pleasant when the members have about the same capability and attitude for hiking. If you do a test, mark down the name and result of the test and submit the information in the ”Physical Fitness” section of the registration form.

There will be an info event about the practical arrangements of the hike on Tuesday 9.2. at 4.00pm at Kolo (TE317). In this event one will also get useful advice on what to do before the hike and on the hike itself. In this event you can ask the organizers and experienced hikers all the mind bugging questions about the hike that you can come up with.

Groups, food and gear

When arranging the groups, we will do our best to take into account the fitness level of the hikers as well as their personal wishes. There will also be some more experienced hikers in each group. Each group will also have a group leader who is usually a more experienced hiker. The most important tasks of the group leader is to make sure the group has got all the necessary group gear and inform SOOPA if there are any obstacles before the hike.
Food will be prepared in small cooking groups, usually consisting of 2 people. Breakfast, lunch and dinner will be needed for each hiking day, and the cooking groups can decide themselves what they would like to take. Read more about hiking food.
Easter Hike can be challenging so it is important to have suitable gear for arctic weather conditions. Especially first-time hikers should take their time to prepare themselves and check their equipment carefully – especially the sleeping bag and the mattress must be suitable for sleeping in a tent. The gear list for a winter hike gives you an overview of the most important equipment, both personal and group gear. It is not necessary to own all the group gear mentioned in the list because the group members can agree together on how to get the equipment needed. During the hike we will be sleeping mostly in tents. Tents suitable for camping can be borrowed from SOOPA free of charge. There are also other places where you can ask to borrow hiking gear such as www.kuinoma.fi or emailing other SOOPA members: soopa(at)lists.oulu.fi. For some rentable gear such as skis, boots or down jackets you can ask the SOOPA storage-keeper: erno.saukko(a)gmail.com.
It is important to be active in the planning phase! Your group needs to know your wishes, the gear you have and overall situation concerning the hike. How else are you going to solve any of the problems you might come across?

Pre-trip meeting for the hikers

A pre-trip meeting will be held before the hike for all the participants. It is an opportunity for you to get to know your fellow group members before the hike, and think about the route you want to take. Moreover, the groups can check that they have all the needed group gear, and assign cooking groups for the hike. The meeting is also an excellent place for new hikers to get more information about the hiking area as well as some basics about the gear and safety on hikes. There will be experienced hikers who are happy to answer any questions you may have.
If the group does not agree on the above-mentioned things in the pre-meeting, it is the group leader’s responsibility to make sure their arrangements are done. If you cannot make it to the meeting, please contact your group and group leader to get all the necessary information. The meeting will take place on 2.3., starting at 17:00, in the Aulakahvila cafe at the Linnanmaa campus.

Schedule for the trip

We will most likely travel to the hiking area by bus. Pick-up places are at the central bus station in the city center, in Tuira (Merikoskenkatu) or at Linnanmaa (bus station in front of door T2). When we return to Oulu, you can be dropped off at the above mentioned places. We will depart from Oulu early in the morning of Tuesday 22nd of March and be back in Oulu on Tuesday evening 29th of March. The departure and arrival times will be arranged according to the arrival/departure times of the trains from southern Finland. The exact schedule for the hike will be announced later in the instructions sent to the hikers after the sign-up period has ended.
Before returning back home we will have sauna and lunch which are included in the price. Please note that you should take along towels, shampoo and fresh clothes in a separate bag for the after-hike sauna. Those things can stay on the bus during the hike so you do not have to carry them for a week.

Price and payment

The price for the hike is 80 euros. The price includes transportation from Oulu to the hiking area and back, sauna and a buffet lunch on the way back, and a map of the hiking area. The price does not include any insurance, thus everyone is responsible for that individually. The participants must also pay SOOPA’s member or supporting member fee for the year 2016 to take part in the hike. Please follow the instructions for becoming a SOOPA member and paying the membership fee.
All payments have to be made to SOOPA’s bank account:

IBAN: FI72 574136 20057718
SWIFT/BIC: OKOYFIHH
Reference number: 11565
Sum: 80 euros + SOOPA’s member or supporting member fee for the year 2016.

The payments for the hike have to be paid to SOOPA’s bank account by 22nd of February at the latest, so we recommend that you can pay it right after signing up. Those who have not paid the participation fee for the hike or SOOPA’s membership fee by the deadline will not be considered as participating on the hike. If they still want to join the hike, they must follow the instructions for late sign-up.
If SOOPA must cancel the hike for some reason, all payments will be reimbursed, and you can also ask the membership fee back if you do not plan to attend any other SOOPA events.
If you get ill before the hike, you can ask about the reimbursement of the payments with a written message from the persons in charge of the hike (soopa.vaeltaa(at)gmail.com) and they will forward your message to SOOPA board.

Signing up

Sign up for the hike with online form. The last day for signing up is 22th of February 2016, before midnight. This is also when all the payments for the hike are due.
The first 40 hikers to sign up will get on the hike. Preference is given to SOOPA members that are currently studying at the university but usually there has been room for everybody.
If there is still space left on the bus, you can try to get on the hike after the sign-up period has ended by contacting the persons in charge of the hike (soopa.vaeltaa(at)gmail.com). However, we will charge an extra 15 euros fee in case of late sign-up.
SOOPA has the right to deny access to the hike from a person who is seen as dangerous to himself or the group. This might occur due to, for example, fitness level, lack of skiing skills or health condition. In such a case, all the payments will be reimbursed to the person.
All SOOPA’s events are alcohol-free.

Contact information

If you have more questions about the hike, please contact soopa.vaeltaa(at)gmail.com

Welcome to the Easter Hike!

Easter Hike committee