I’m Hendrik Morkel, the author of Hiking in Finland. A European by heart I live since 2002 in Finland, though my parents are Dutch & German. I started this blog in the spring of 2009, after reading many interesting outdoor blogs and being inspired by them. Seeing that there was no blog about backpacking in Finland which is in English, I took the duty upon myself to present this beautiful country and show what it has to offer to backpackers, climbers, bikepackers, skiers, cyclists and packrafters. You will read here about my adventures in Finland, Sweden, Norway and the rest of the world, as well as gear reviews, videos and interviews.

Since 2010 I write for various outdoor magazines and websites. I have written and photographed for NORR, Alpin, klettern, trekking Magazin, Bike & Travel, Climb, Snow Enthusiast, Mountain Pro, Outhdoor Enthusiast and Adventure Travel. I also have published my first book, a guide book about the Pirkan Taival Trail and am working on my second guide book.

You can follow me on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Flickr, Facebook and Google+. If you got a question or comment, please feel free to contact me.

Copyright

Content on hikinginfinland.com must not be used without the permission of Hendrik Morkel. All photos and texts are ©Hendrik Morkel unless otherwise noted. Please write an email if you want to use something from the website.

One Percent for the Planet

Since 2011 Hiking in Finland is a proud One Percent for the Planet member and has supported the John Muir Trust with donations.

R&D

I’m a gear geek who has started with hiking & backpacking and have evolved into pursuing many other outdoor pursuits. I love the mountains, sea and forests equally and can be found ski-touring, packrafting, cycling, backpacking, climbing & mountaineering in them. Because I spend at least 3 months each year outdoors I have a lot of experience with outdoor gear, and am happy to help you develop, test and review your equipment. If you’re an outdoor brand or PR company please contact me to inquire about me helping you developing your gear or testing it.

I regularly receive product samples, hundreds of press releases, and attend events that I feel are relevant to me and to my readers. This is to keep me updated and to monitor trends and developments in areas related to my interests. However, a free sample or a visit to an event is not a guarantee for visibility, they are a prerequisite for writing and, therefore, I do not guarantee any visibility on the blog or in my other channels. For guaranteed visibility a cooperation is required.

A cooperation means that I receive compensation for my work, and I only cooperate with brands that I can identify with and that are relevant to my readers. A collaboration does not affect my opinion or values about the products, these are always my own and can not be bought. To be clear to my readers and to comply with the current developments in terms of transparency, every cooperation is clearly disclosed by a Disclaimer at the start of an article as such.

I only review equipment that I have actually used for a considerable amount of time outdoors, normally that means at least several weeks, if not months. My reviews take their time but they are very detailed and accurate. Both as a blogger and journalist I am independent and test gear throughly so you get honest and impartial views.

Press Trips

I spend every month at least one week outdoors, from Norway to Portugal, from Iceland to Russia, Japan, Canada and beyond. If you’d like me to visit your region so I can write a trip report about it please contact me to discuss it further.

Transparency & the Outdoor Blogger Codex

I adhere to the Outdoor Blogger Codex and declare if an article is sponsored, if an item has been provided free of charge to me and if there’s affiliate links in an article.

Affiliate Links & Advertizing

This website uses affiliate links from AvantLink and its partners. If you buy outdoor equipment via one of the Partner Links at Backcountry.com, Bergfreunde.de, Bergzeit.co.uk CampSaver.com, Cotswold Outdoor, Eastern Mountain Sports, GearTrade.com, Globetrotter.de, Goal Zero, Klymit, PackingLight.com, Patagonia, REI.com, Salomon, Sierra Designs, Sierra Trading Post, Suunto, ULA Equipment and a few more I earn a small commission without any extra fees for you. It helps to fund the content on the website and the running costs.

If you’d like to buy one of the Banner Spaces on the right, please Email me to inquire about the Press Kit and prices.

Common Sense

While I try to, I can not guarantee for the correctness of the information on this website. I am not responsible for any injuries you may incur by following gear advice or attempting the same activities. Use common sense - stay within your abilities, and if you want to push your limits do so under the supervision of an expert.

Privacy Policy

aka Data Protection BS. This is a commercial Blog. I earn money with it, as is disclosed in the articles (and Social Media posts) which have been paid for. There's a couple of things I have to talk about, so grab a cup of ☕️ (or a 🍺 if it is after 16 o'clock) and read on if you like this kind of stuff.

§1 Hosting

The content of this blog is hosted on [Github.com](https://help.github.com/articles/github-privacy-statement/), my domains are hosted via [gandi.net](https://www.gandi.net/en/contracts/terms-of-service) and [cloudflare.com](https://www.cloudflare.com/privacypolicy/). I have probably a contract with all three of them somewhere in the depths of my inbox, as this website is online since 2009 they likely are very deep, deep down that inbox.

§2 Google Analytics and other tracking

I installed GA long ago, and then just don't use it. Dumb, I know. I also have somewhere some GoSquared code hanging around in some doc, which also collects data. I'm just too lazy to go find and get rid of them, so for the moment they collect the data of visitors. Cloudflare.com, which serves my dns, also tracks visitors, but not very well (at least to my knowledge). All that means that your visits are saved anywhere on this globe. The KGB is also reading along, after all I have been backpacking in Russia.

§3 Other Plugins

As I built this current website I also installed a few Plugins. Some make the website load faster (yay!), others serve the images (that's [Flickr](https://www.smugmug.com/about/privacy-flickr), which will be bought by SmugMug), other make the blog load nicely on your iPad or Android smartphone, and then of course the social sharing buttons for Facebook (evil), Twitter (was nice pre-280 signs) and Google+ (does anyone use that really?). I might have installed other code thoughout the years, and have not deleted it. I have also maybe somewhere in the depths of my Gmail account contracts with these Plugin providers, or more likely not. I honestly don't care - if you don't want that some company collects your IP address on my blog, don't visit it. Or simply use TOR of Freedome.

§4 Contacting me

If you decide you want to contact me, I will receive data from you. As you initated that contact, I will then sue you if you sue me. If you thus don't want that I sue you, don't write me Emails.

§5 Comments

Comments are served via the Disqus platform. When they work. I myself haven't seen the comments work in Safari or Chrome or Firefox or Opera since years, likely because I fucked up some code and am too lazy to sort it out so that people can comment. Usually people comment via Twitter, Instagram or Facebook either way, and what I think about these I have written further above. Also: If you manage to comment and are afraid that I might get some of your data, just don't comment.

§6 Cookies

Cookies are so tasty. And there's so many on this blog, 33 were counted the last time I checked. They come from companies like Amazon Affiliate, Avantlink, Outtra, Affiliate Networks from some outdoor shops and more. They help me earn money when you buy something at said shops. If you don't want to taste these cookies, turn "Do Not Track" on in your browser and don't read this blog.

§7 Warnings

If you decide you want to send me a warning, rest assured that I have an excellent insurance and can call upon the best lawyers in this country. Besides knowing their laws they also are a 3rd Dan in Hontai Yoshin Ryu Jujutsu and hit an Albatross in every round of Golf they play. But maybe just use your common sense: Does it really make sense to waste your and my lawyer's time and send me a warning? Right, much better to go hiking.

§8 Social Media & Affiliates

§9 Final Clause

I am all about the protection of your and my data. I haven't looked up anyones IP address or anything else that has ever visited this website, and if you come here you likely are interested in ultralight backpacking, good photography, outdoor videos, climbing, ski-touring and bikepacking, which is all I care about. I'm not collecting your data, I'm not interested in your data, so if you don't want that I have it: Please stay out.