Wilderness Week hosted by Huskies A week

A week for spending time with huskies, exploring the nature, or just relaxing and enjoying the peace and quietness. The choice is yours, as you are the only guests at this small husky farm. This farm of about 25 dogs is located on a lakeshore and surrounded by taiga forests. It offers a great opportunity to experience the wilderness lifestyle: hiking in the nature, canoeing or rowing on a lake, fishing, picking berries, mushrooms & herbs, cooking, chopping firewood lake, fishing, picking berries, mushrooms & herbs, cooking, chopping firewood and heating up sauna etc. You can also take part in daily tasks with huskies and to go hiking with them. Below an example of the itinerary which can also be
tailored during your stay.

Day 1
Arriving in Kajaani or Kuopio airport. Transfer to the husky farm, getting familiar
with the dogs and the surroundings. Dinner.

Day 2
Foraging wild food. There are plenty of edible plants, mushrooms and berries in
our nature to collect. Thanks to our “Everyman's right” or “Right to Roam” we can collect
those delicacies freely as long as we do not disturb wildlife or neighbours by going too
close. That is pretty easy to avoid as the closest neighbours are two kilometres away – in
fact in Kuhmo municipality we have less than two persons per square kilometre.
Some of the delicasies we may find are:
-Cranberries in early spring (they stay good over the winter) and late autumn (by then the new ones are ripe)
-False Morels (mushrooms) in springtime
-Wild Herbs in early summer
-Boletes, Chantarelles and many other mushrooms from July until late autumn
-Cloudberries (July), Blueberries (July-September), Lingonberries & Crowberries (August-September)
As every evening you will have the chance to enjoy the great combination of traditional
Finnish sauna and dipping into a refreshing lake water. In the evening we will make
dinner of our catch.

Day 3
A day for fishing. During the summer months huskies are mainly fed on lake fish
that we catch ourselves with a fyke net. Fyke net is a selective trap that mainly catches
small cyprinid fish like Roach. It takes a lot of time and effort but it all pays back with a
smaller carbon footprint. We also try to catch something for ourselves for the dinner. Most
common catch for ourselves is Pike, Perch, Zander & Whitefish.

Day 4
Husky trekking day. Today we will pack the car with some eager huskies and head
to one of the many nature trails we have in Kuhmo. Each participant will get an “own”
husky, a special belt and a shock-absorbing leash. Huskies are very eager to pull and
your job is to follow and slow down on the tricky parts. Afterwards you will feel the hiking
in your muscles – no need for a gym! Having the dogs with also helps us to see, smell
and hear better what is out there in the nature. Lunch by the fire, some sausages for the
dogs as well.

Day 5
Canoeing day. For the start we will study the basic canoeing techniques. Then it is
time for a small canoeing tour, starting right from our cabin shore. On the way we can
study beaver life on a small river. Lunch & coffee will be enjoyed by the open fire.

Day 6
Hiking in the pathless woods. We have many nature protection areas without any
marked trails, fireplaces or other hiking services. Today we will head to one of those.
These areas preserve our most original nature, and there you can feel how it is to be one
with the nature.

Day 7
Departure from Kajaani or Kuopio airport.

General information about the husky farm:
This small husky farm is situated 20 kilometres from the closest village (Kuhmo) and 2 kilometres from the closest
neighbour. It is a permanent home for one of the guides and his dogs. The farm is on a lakeshore in the
wilderness and it is very rare to see any other people on “our” lake. The main building is a traditional log cabin
which used to be a base for the forest workers. It is simple but has the modern comforts such as electricity,
running water and indoor toilet. There is no shower, but you can wash yourself with hot water every evening in the
sauna. The sauna is another log building which is right on the lakeshore; one has to take approximately five steps
before jumping in to the lake.
The cabin has a kitchen and a living room for the common use. Guests have their own bedroom with a fireplace
and a view to a lake. The second bedroom is a bit smaller than the main guest room but also with a view to the
lake. The guest rooms are with double or twin beds depending how the guests wish. There is a mobile phone
coverage and one should be able to connect to internet with smart-phones. There is also a computer with internet
access if needed.
Food that is served is based strongly on local ingredients; fish (usually caught from the own lake), mushrooms,
berries, vegetables and potatoes. Special dietary needs (gluten-free-, lactose-free-, vegetarian-, vegan diets etc.)
are fulfilled if asked in advance.
The dogs on the farm are friendly Siberian and Alaskan huskies. There are also some mix-breed rescue dogs that
are having a vew life within the pack. Dogs live outside, usually two to three dogs per one cage. Occasionally
some are staying inside. Most of the time they are very silent. They are only noisy when being exited: for example
because of feeding or when they are taken out for hiking etc. Anyhow, no need for earplugs during the nights!

Duration: 7 days
Group size: 2-4 persons
Season: 15th May - 30th September 2017
Place: Kuhmo, Finland
Includes: Accommodation with full board, guided program for the whole week, airport
transfers from/to Kajaani (KAJ)
Not included: Flights, personal travel insurance, alcoholic beverages
For extra price: Transfers from/to Kuopio (KUO) airport.
We keep the right to change/modify the program due to weather
conditions or groups fitness level.