130 km hiking trip in Finland with my dog (European long distance path E10 and more!)

Join me and my dog, Rokka the Alaskan Malamute, on over 130 km hiking adventure through South-Eastern Finland. We start our six-day journey on European long distance path E10 near Rautjärvi, and continue north via Rajojen Reitti and Pyhät Polut trail networks. We spend our nights in traditional Finnish lean-to shelters or under a tarp, and even get to do some fishing on the way. Check out more information and useful links below.
0:00:00 Haukkavuori
0:00:51 Introducing the E10 trail and the plan
0:03:31 Rajojen reitti / Pöröpeikon polku and lean-to shelter
0:07:21 Tactical Foodpack partnership (check the link in the description for a discount!)
0:10:13 Second day begins
0:14:05 Historical border stones
0:15:15 Suur-Varpasen laavu lean-to shelter and the hike continues
0:18:25 Lunch at Soininmäen kota
0:21:30 Back on the trail
0:22:11 Pyhät Polut trail begins
0:24:58 Great campsite by a lake! Finland's Everyman's Rights
0:30:47 Fishing
0:31:19 Third day begins
0:32:43 Footcare
0:34:13 Hiking through Punkaharju
0:38:32 Found a private place for outdoor lunch
0:40:34 Awesome nature trail to end the day's hike
0:42:42 Tarp camp by a lake
0:47:53 A cold night, but a beautiful morning. Day 4 begins.
0:49:45 Wolf warning 🐺
0:51:59 Kerimäki - lunch & world's largest wooden church
0:54:58 Savonlahti lean-to shelter
1:01:10 Fifth day begins with a grass fire warning
1:02:55 Säker Ascension Dog Pack preview
1:04:10 Morning coffee and off we go
1:07:03 Found an interesting campfire site that was not on my map
1:09:35 Why I'm doing this hike
1:11:40 Polvikoski lean-to shelter
1:16:36 Keeping up with wilderness medical skills
1:17:36 Sixth day and the final countdown
1:19:41 Found a mystery lean-to shelter that's (again) not on any maps
1:22:24 Review: Rajojen Reitti / E10 hiking trail
1:24:23 Review: Pyhät polut hiking trail - better for bikepacking?
1:27:18 Enonkoski and closing thoughts
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DISCLOSURES: At the time of this video, I was working with
🥩 Rough Cut Beef Jerky roughcutbeefjerky.com/ The best jerky ever, worldwide shipping!
🍴 Tactical Foodpack tacticalfoodpack.com/ref/taival/ Use code "TAIVAL10" for a 10% discount!
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Additional information:
Rajojen reitti Hiking Trail, Rautjärvi (E10) www.outdooractive.com/en/rout...
Rajojen reitti Hiking Trail, Parikkala (E10) www.outdooractive.com/en/rout...
Pyhät Polut (in Finnish) www.pyhatpolut.fi/
Pyhät polut trail gpx file lipas.fi/liikuntapaikat/600854
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Taival Outdoors is a channel about the great outdoors: everything from multi-day wilderness backpacking to day hikes and overnight adventures. I also make outdoor gear reviews based on extensive testing and experiences from camping all year round. On many of my videos you'll also see my dog, Rokka the Alaskan Malamute, who has proven to be a great companion in the backcountry. Thanks for watching!

[@TaivalOutdoors]

Thanks for watching! There's only automatic subtitles available at the moment, but I'll let you know once I've fixed those.

[@thescaring8229]

on the off chance you see this! What pack do you use for Rokko? Looks like a great size and I'm looking for one for my pup! Kiitos!

[@TaivalOutdoors]

@@thescaring8229 Hi, it's from a Kickstarter campaign from a company called Säker. Looks like they don't sell that model anymore: sakercanine.com/collections/dog-packs

[@teddyedward100]

Really enjoyed this video. Thanks for taking us with you. Been to Finland twice & have fallen in love with the place. Going back next year too.

[@irfanahmed9112]

Great place❤

[@boladito]

I am doing my first solo hike for 2-3 days with my 11 year old still some energetic husky. Now I can see I need to buy a waist leash for my dog. I am between Repovesi and Päijanne. Anyway, your video got me more and more excited. I watched it all. I will learn about cooking on Trangia. I have done camping on tent but never liked this. I hope I can do it well and enjoy with my dog.

[@TaivalOutdoors]

Sounds great! Yeah going "hands-free" with the leash attached to your waist belt is definitely the best way to hike with a dog.

[@Penguin428]

Great video, many thanks for sharing. I didn't know about the E10 trail, now I have a new plan for summer 2024! Greetings from Keski-Suomi 👍

[@TaivalOutdoors]

Enjoy!

[@archibaldstokes]

What a great video! Now I really want to try this route out in the summer. Been in Finland few times in 90's, loved it. Uutta Vuotta!

[@TaivalOutdoors]

All I can say is: welcome back then! :)

[@archibaldstokes]

Kiitos! :)@@TaivalOutdoors

[@ervinslens]

Brilliant shots my friend, this was filmed and narrated truly stunningly! Bravo 🔥🔥🥾

[@TaivalOutdoors]

Don’t know what to say, thanks a lot 🙇‍♂️

[@hepateukka]

Hyvä video! Vähän erilaista settiä johonkin kansallispuistoreitteihin verraten, oli mielenkiintoista päästä hyppämään "mukaan reissuun". Ja Rokka on aivan valloittava 😍

[@TaivalOutdoors]

Mahtavaa että tykkäsit!

[@Flo_]

I think you can make a hike out of most of Finland’s forest road network for similar results. Nice refreshing kind of trip, even though the National Parks are usually amazing, this is a cool challenge and change of scenery. Thanks for the video, it was great following you along!

[@TaivalOutdoors]

You’re absolutely right, if one doesn’t mind walking on roads every now and then, it is possible to combine a lot of different proper hiking trails that way.

[@snowcelt]

Oh, I enjoyed this. Watched from start to finish. My wife's family are from near Parikkala and Simpelejärvi. I have driven several times via Punkaharju to Savonlinna. Lovely part of the world. So far I have just being doing single night hikes but this inspires me to maybe extend the hike to a couple or three to get the full experience.

[@TaivalOutdoors]

Great to hear that. I definitely recommend doing the E10 from Ruokolahti to Oronmylly. Plenty of lean-tos along the way and some nice views.

[@snowcelt]

Great! Thanks for the tip!

[@DeepTheta]

We watched the whole way through (separate viewings)! Thanks for taking us along with you. Very inspirational content that motivates us to improve our situation and go on adventures too. Rokka seems like such a nice bloke. Best wishes - Team Theta

[@TaivalOutdoors]

Thanks so much

[@MortarWombat]

Rokka on kyl kontsakuningas😍

[@pershaju]

Hyvää settiä, kiitos videosta.

[@moosick7066]

Thanks for sharing your journey. I have done some minimal backpacking here in America, and am looking to start doing some longer trips, so your thorough documentation is inspiring. : ) Plus, my son is currently a student studying in Finland (Kuopio), and is planning to stay there permanently after school is done. It was great to see an in-depth view of the natural beauty he talks about often. I am planning on visiting next summer to see some of it for myself, so thanks again for the great preview. (And also, love your pup!)

[@TaivalOutdoors]

Awesome, nice to hear he likes our country and nature. There's plenty of lean-to shelters around Kuopio as well.

[@reindeerbeats6312]

Very beautiful video all the way until the end. Relaxing video to watch before work week.

[@TaivalOutdoors]

Thank you very much!

[@tonimakinen4723]

No nyt oli komea video👍 helposti meni yhteen menoon koko video kerralla. Olen ennenkin ihmetellyt Rokan rauhallisuutta, mahtava kaveri.

[@TaivalOutdoors]

Kyllä se koira rauhoittuu kun kävelyttää reppuselässä parikytä kilometriä monta päivää putkeen 😁👍

[@journeyman7189]

Awesome hike in a beautiful place. Nate

[@irfanahmed9112]

There z proper permanent ur 1st camp setup😮

[@liisaholm6790]

Kiitos hienosta, positiivisesta ja vähän erilaisesta videosta. Kiinnostavaa nähdä muutakin Suomea kuin kansallispuistoja. Noista reiteistä en ole koskaan kuullutkaan, joten viisastuin samalla. Surettaa nähdä miten vähän reittisi varrella (ja tietysti muullakin Suomessa) oli "oikeaa" metsää ja miten paljon oli hakkuuaukeita. Rokalle täydet sympatiapisteet 😍. Siinä on täydellinen retkikaveri!

[@TaivalOutdoors]

Olet ihan oikeassa, paljon on meillä talousmetsää hakattuna ja kasvamassa, ikävä kyllä. Mutta hienojakin paikkoja etsivä löytää!

[@HUMBURGUR.]

Mukava video kattella myöhään yöllä!

[@thebeardprevails5246]

On the topic of blisters I recently got my hands on some hiking socks with two layers built in, the inner layer slides a bit within the outer and I found it helped a lot in avoiding hot spots over longer hikes, and no risk of a dedicated liner sock getting bunched up. They did great on the VRMM

[@TaivalOutdoors]

Sounds interesting, as I’m always using double socks. Care to share what the brand was?

[@thebeardprevails5246]

@@TaivalOutdoors Norfolk - double layer multi-sport, the ones I have are synthetic recycled yarn but they do make a wool model as well.

[@DrGreysides]

Time to rename the channel "Rokka Outdoors". 😅 He's grown into a lovely dog and seems to be a very suitable travelling companion. Thanks for the video, it's interesting to see the undeveloped/unspoilt areas of a different country.

[@jaanaviilo9264]

Kiitos, upeasti kuvattu. Jälleen oppi uutta; retkeilevälle tyttärellekin vinkkasin tästä E10:stä. Rokka on mahtava 🧡 Koirakuumetta on! Seuraavaksi suuntaamme kylläkin Parkanon Erämessuille🏕️🙂🙂 Kiitos & hyvää eräilykesää👍👍

[@TaivalOutdoors]

@@thebeardprevails5246 Thanks, I’ll check them out 👍

[@somebody-rf4or]

Hi. Liked this little hike. I am curious what time of year was this done? Thinking of starting in very north of Finnish E10 and hiking south as far as I can over 80-90 days. Would beginning of May or so be appropriate to start? From what you are saying there are not always trails, but there does seem to be a large network of logging roads throughout country. Not lots of information on (complete) trail and assuming good maps would get you there? Suggestions?

[@TaivalOutdoors]

I believe this was the first week of May. I'd start a hike like that as soon as most of the snow is cleared from the trails, or what's probably even better is to start sometime during fall so you end the hike in October.

[@evilkevbot]

Great video! I enjoyed the whole thing. It makes me want to try a long distance hike in Canada where I live. Do you worry about bears in Finland? This is one thing I think about =D

[@MrCastleJohnny]

i only worry about capercaillies here in Finland. For some reason I often bump into them and they are really aggressive :D

[@TaivalOutdoors]

Cheers! I’ve only seen bears twice in my life: once from a photography hideout, and next time the following day as we were driving away from there, mama bear and cubs crossed the road in front of us. So not worried. Also, as I’m speaking to the camera it tends to keep wildlife away 😅

[@strydyr1328]

Beautiful country ! Loved watching this. Can you tell us what pack and pouches you used on this ?

[@TaivalOutdoors]

Thanks! My backpack is Eberlestock Little Big Top, and the pouches are from Baribal. More info here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/pXvNimuEaLWlgrM

[@strydyr1328]

@@TaivalOutdoors thank you sir !

[@Ruusukesammal]

Kiitos hienosta ja informatiivisesta videosta! Mihin aikaan olit liikkeellä? Lunta suhteellisen vähän, muttei kuitenkaan lehtiä vielä puussa.

[@TaivalOutdoors]

Toukokuun alussa. Tuntui että kesä tuli juuri tuon viikon aikana - yöllä vielä pakkasta mutta päivällä tuntui kuin olisi ollut hellettä :)

[@larrywave]

Nyt tekisi ittekkin mieli mennä jollekki euroopan kaukovaellusreitille 😄👍

[@TaivalOutdoors]

Ymmärtääkseni ne on myös vähän paremmin ylläpidetty ja löytyy hyvin infoa jos sinne meinaa 😁👍

[@TAVAAR7]

Looks like a great trip 🙂 Not sure if the dog snow plow was at the end of the trip (and yeah I played the whole video) or just edited in, either way looks he had fun too.

[@TaivalOutdoors]

There were a few patches of snow along the way, and that one indeed was in the end. A good way for the dog to cool off as it got surprisingly hot during the days considering this was early May.

[@kurtpiron838]

Watched the video from start to finish / Finnish, was great. Looks like you had good weather the whole journey. What was your pack weight at the beginning (if you weighed it of course)? My wife and I find 20kms days big, let alone 30km! Cheers from Queensland, Australia.

[@TaivalOutdoors]

I think pack weight is usually around 20 kilos total for me on these longer trips. And that includes everything. Also, always great to see my videos reaching the distant and almost mythical land of Australia 😁

[@kurtpiron838]

@@TaivalOutdoors, 20kgs is about my start weight for 5-6 days trips too. I have Finnish heritage and a strong spiritual connection to 🇫🇮. My wife and I really enjoy watching your videos, and our dachshund enjoys barking at Rokka. Enjoy your summer 👍🏼🇦🇺

[@pojatvaeltaa]

👍🏻😎

[@diipadaapa2000]

Arvostan että esittelet just näitä vähemmän kuljettuja! Kun vaan olisi aikaa niin kulkisin itsekin näitä enemmän, mutta silloinkin kiva saada vähän etukäteisinfoa.

[@TaivalOutdoors]

Näistä itsekin tykkään, ja jos on vaan vinkkejä tai ehdotuksia jakaa vastaavista niin otan mielelläni vastaan 👍

[@diipadaapa2000]

@@TaivalOutdoors Kun kerran kysyit niin Puolangan Tonkohuikonen on omalla kohdalla korkealla mm. Jouni Laaksosen kommenttien pohjalta. Ehkä olet tuon mennytkin. Ja toki Susitaival ja Karhunpolku ovat tunnetumpia ja kiinnostavia, mutta etenkin Tonkohuikonen on jäänyt päähän kummittelemaan. Mitään näistä en ole kävellyt.

[@TaivalOutdoors]

@@diipadaapa2000 Susitaival oli jo kiikarissa, mutta ajankohdan puolesta keväällä sinne ei vielä päässyt. Muutenkin tarkoitus yhdistellä sen alueen kansallispuistot noin 150-200km kokonaisuudeksi. Ehkä ensivuonna! Tonkohuikonen ei kuulostanut tutulta, mutta kun asiaa selvittelin niin olen tainnut tuon osuuden kulkea 2020 syksyllä: kzbin.info/www/bejne/qIakaqSmms18h8U

[@diipadaapa2000]

@@TaivalOutdoors 😀pitääkin sitten katsoa tuo video sillä silmällä! Hyvältä kuulostaa suunnitelmat. PS. onko sulla mitään muistikuvia tuosta Puolangan Tonkohuikosen osuudestä jälkikäteen? PS2. Ja tuli vielä mieleen Peuran polku Salamajärven maisemissa, siitä saa helposti n. 70-120km varioiden. Tykkäsin siitä itse, kuljin muistaakseni 90 kilsaa

[@TaivalOutdoors]

@@diipadaapa2000 Vieläkään en nyt tarkkaan tiedä mikä lasketaan Tonkohuikoseksi, mutta nimenomaan toi Siikavaaran ja Puolangan välinen osuus vaarojen päällä oli se syy miksi tuon reitin valitsin. Ajankohta oli erittäin haastava, polut märkiä ja liukkaita, täynnä lehtiä. Juuri ketään ei tainnut tulla poluilla vastaan, Siikavaaran laavulla oli iltaseltaan muutama porukka. Puolangalta etelään Hepoköngäös oli tietty hieno, sekä Vääränsärkkien harjanne, joka tosin harmillisesti suurilta osin avohakkuilla pilattu. Paljakan kohdilla poistuin UKK reitiltä Köngäskierrokselle, ja palasin takaisin reitille Paskokosken laavulla. Videolta selviää paremmin👍

[@eemelifranssi2296]

Which jacket is this that had it's zipper broken?

[@TaivalOutdoors]

UF PRO Striker XT. I’ve had it now for four years and used it a lot. Color has faded in the sun and that one zipper has failed from the seams and the mechanism itself, but other than that it has been great.

[@eemelifranssi2296]

@@TaivalOutdoors it seems those jackets aren't available anymore. What next? Hunter jacket from UF PRO?

[@TaivalOutdoors]

@@eemelifranssi2296 Yeah it seems so, and apparently this particular camo was a short production run only. Not sure what’s next. Maybe Anar Muorra. I’d like to try something from Helikon-Tex but every model has just a little bit of something that’s not for my needs. Looked through Arktis, TacWerk, and other places but haven’t found anything “perfect” yet.

[@eemelifranssi2296]

@@TaivalOutdoors I'm using Helikon-Tex Blizzard and under it a UF PRO combat shirt with padded shoulders and sometimes aclima woolnet under the combat shirt. Works pretty well.

[@eemelifranssi2296]

And when It's too hot to wear the Blizzard either Tramontane jacket or Windrunner anorak as a windproof layer. Swagman roll is also something I can highly recommend. I'm not using a three season sleeping bag during spring and autumn. Instead I'm carrying Carinthia tropen and I'm using swagman as a sleeping bag liner. That way I dont have to carry a heavy sleeping bag and a separate warm insulated jacket.

[@irfanahmed9112]

Forest doe nt feel dense

[@BaltistaniBoys]

Absolutely amazing nice sound. Thanks for sharing your adventure. I recommend you visit the himalayan mountains k2 and Nangaparbat view point from one place moses peak. Add this sound in your bucket list.

[@TaivalOutdoors]

Kilimanjaro is on my bucket list for sure.

[@BaltistaniBoys]

@@TaivalOutdoors ohh nice Keep the peak I mentioned to you in future feel himalayan sound. 😋 Thank you very much for replying to the comment. Whenever you start a short solo trip of 4-5 days, Moses Peak is a must. It is a 5300m height۔ from the top of moses pea which you can see the views of the K2 world second highest peak in the world, Nangaparbat, K6 k11 and K 12 views in one frame. best time from May to October. This is a family tracked.its open Zone, one did not need a trekking permit or have to pay Royalty fee to climbed this Mountain tower.

[@trufin53]

KYLLÄPÄ TULI KOTIIKÄVÄ TERVEISIÄ TEXASISTA.