Solo hike in the northernmost Finland vid
- Thread starter Odd Man
- Start date
Heltrekker
Section Hiker
Many aeons ago as a baby geologist, I worked for a Finnish mining company. My boss Markku used to take 3 weeks off every summer to go off to the far north on a huntin/shootin/fishin trip to stock up on Finnish food - this vid is just how he used to describe it. He used to come back with wild tales and feed the whole office for a week on smoked reindeer, sturgeon caviar and cloudberry tartlets - sounded absolutely fantastic to us poor schmoes stuck in the Wimbledon office!
Odd Man
Thru Hiker
yes, I was laughing at that. We used to fish those perch(?) in our summer house and smoke them or sometimes salt it and put it on stick over fire.
Norrland
Thru Hiker
Liked the wellies.
None of this "what inserts for my ultralight trail runner nonsense"
my question is how does one not get blazing hot feet and blisters grazing about the place in wellies ?
Davy
Thru Hiker
No idea, being a gnarly, fish boiling, son of the wild probably helps.
I get blisters in my wellies in the garden...
Odd Man
Thru Hiker
When I was young and lived in Finland, we did use wellies when hiking. Same thing when I was in the army. I used thick woolly socks inside which probably gave enough bumper and air buffer to keep cool. In the army we’d use ‘foot rags’ a large square piece of fabric similar to cotton tea towel which we then wrapped up in triangle way around feet. We were issues wellies, leather boots and dress shoes. This technique was developed during WW2. Sami people used hay in their boots to keep warm and dry.
Mole
Thru Hiker
Not all wellies are the same..
Met a guy on a 30mile LDWA challenge walk once.
He was wearing wellies. No insoles. He reckoned he only ever wore wellies (or occasionally sandals) for his long hikes.
My other half hikes in Finnish Nokian Bogtrotter wellies regularly. Inc the whole Hadrian's wall trail. I do country walks happily in mine, and occasional Dartmoor hikes.
Met a guy on a 30mile LDWA challenge walk once.
He was wearing wellies. No insoles. He reckoned he only ever wore wellies (or occasionally sandals) for his long hikes.
My other half hikes in Finnish Nokian Bogtrotter wellies regularly. Inc the whole Hadrian's wall trail. I do country walks happily in mine, and occasional Dartmoor hikes.
Odd Man
Thru Hiker
Well, yes, all my wellies and the army ones were Nokian. I had three pairs at one point. Traditional everyday ones, winter ones (Kaira) which were designed to use with skis and had a 1cm thick removable felt boot/sock inside and lightweight hiking ones which were rollable for easy packing & storage.
Have been looking at getting a pair next time I go to Finland.
cathyjc
Thru Hiker
And since the Sami started using wellies instead of their traditional foot wear they have had trouble with all sorts of foot rots and diseases ……
Once had a discussion re. this with a doctor who had worked in northern Scandi.
cathyjc
Thru Hiker
Staying with a family on the coast near Bergen some years ago - supper was a half hour at the fijord side with a rod, followed by boiling the catch. (+ boiled potatoes)
2nd night I suggested we could cook the fish a little differently - baking mackerel in the oven in milk with herbs was a complete revelation to them
Boiling fish was how it had always been done …..
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Odd Man
Thru Hiker
We do have couple of fish soup recipes. It's basically creme, potatoes, carrots, leek, fish stock, salt, pepper, dill and any fish in cleaned and in cubed. But I never heard of boiling a fish in full.
My grandma used to make pikeperch (caught with net or fish trap) baked in the oven with lots of cream, stuffed with prunes on bed of rice, garnished with boiled eggs and slices of apples. Might sound a bit odd, but it was my absolute favourite meal when visiting my grandparents' summer house.
Balagan
Thru Hiker
Adidas Kampung: when wellies meet trail runners.Liked the wellies.
None of this "what inserts for my ultralight trail runner nonsense"
Rural working shoes from Malaysia that are now very popular tropical hiking and trail running shoes. Rare as hen's teeth in sizes larger than 43 sadly...
dovidola
Thru Hiker
I don't like boiled fish. Here's how I do mine just using my standard 900ml Ti Evernew and Speedster with cone (RIP Stormin):
Catch your trout. Don't bother with the tiddlers, use barbless hooks and return large ones respectfully. One fish between half a pound and a pound is ideal.
Find a flat stone to use as a working surface. Fillet the fish and skin the fillets. You need the right knife for this, and there are plenty of lightweight options, but a simple well-sharpened Opinel Number 7 (32g) is a good place to start. I don't bother removing the pin bones, but I suppose you could if you were really picky. Cut the fillets into fry-sized pieces and season (I carry a little tube of stuff I've made up).
You don't have to skin the fish of course, but I find my coffee tastes less fishy the next morning if I do.
Light your burner and heat a layer of oil. Fry the fillets (less than a minute each side should do it) and keep them moving to prevent sticking/burning. Easier than it sounds, just be careful not to overcook. Remove and set aside (flat stone again, but not the bit where you were processing earlier).
Boil up enough water to make up some mash (Idahoan) - no need to clean/wash the pot first - and return the fish to the pot on top of the mash just to regain a bit of heat.
Retrieve the Chablis from the cool burn.
Of course if you can make a little fire none of this is necessary, but often you can't.
Catch your trout. Don't bother with the tiddlers, use barbless hooks and return large ones respectfully. One fish between half a pound and a pound is ideal.
Find a flat stone to use as a working surface. Fillet the fish and skin the fillets. You need the right knife for this, and there are plenty of lightweight options, but a simple well-sharpened Opinel Number 7 (32g) is a good place to start. I don't bother removing the pin bones, but I suppose you could if you were really picky. Cut the fillets into fry-sized pieces and season (I carry a little tube of stuff I've made up).
You don't have to skin the fish of course, but I find my coffee tastes less fishy the next morning if I do.
Light your burner and heat a layer of oil. Fry the fillets (less than a minute each side should do it) and keep them moving to prevent sticking/burning. Easier than it sounds, just be careful not to overcook. Remove and set aside (flat stone again, but not the bit where you were processing earlier).
Boil up enough water to make up some mash (Idahoan) - no need to clean/wash the pot first - and return the fish to the pot on top of the mash just to regain a bit of heat.
Retrieve the Chablis from the cool burn.
Of course if you can make a little fire none of this is necessary, but often you can't.
