Two weeks ago I went to pick a package from the post office, and I wasn't sure what it could be. Well, turns out it was the Scandinavian UL Mystery Box which was waiting for me! The Mystery Box started in Norway, went to Denmark and came via a small detour to a honorary Scandinavian to Finland.



I took out some Paracord, a resealable tube - excellent for pesto or tomato sauce, I think - two mini dropper bottles so I can scale down my Hygiene kit even more, two silicon muffin cups for some Groovy-Biotoc Muffins and a couple of MYOG bits for future projects.

But we - Thomas, Joe, Roger, Dave and me - would like to enlarge the group of participants, and want ask all those who are on the way of lighting up to join us. Participation is very simple, and I will just quote Joe here:

Have you been in your 'bits box' recently? Are all those little bits'n'bobs, doodads, thingummys and what-nots still in there? Perfectly serviceable but lying dormant and unused? Well, lets share these 'bits' with like-minded folk by adding them to the Scandinavian Mystery Box. When the Mystery Box arrives at your house simply have a rummage, take out what you want, put something in and send it on to the next person. We'll keep this in Scandinavia for now. Lets keep things pertinent and lightweight. This is not the place to get rid of that 6lb tent and unused Trangia!

I'd like thus to send out a call to all Finnish lightweight and UL folks - be you just starting out or if you're already since years with minimal gear on the trail, everyone is welcome. Just send me an Email with your Address (it is on the right under the Creative Commons note), and I'll add you to the list the next time it arrives here. Swedes, Danish and Norwegians (and Icelanders, should there be any reading here!) also are welcome to send me an Email if they would like to participate, I will then add them to the list as well. Your address will be private at all time, and only used for sending you the Mystery Box. I'm looking forward to many emails, and let me tell you - there were some very nice pieces in the Mystery Box, so it is well worth to participate!

This week saw special attention paid towards the women here on Hiking in Finland with the "Women in the Outdoors" week. It started with an interview of Kim Coupounas from GoLite, a look at the Patagonia W's Nano Puff Pullover and the Golite Cottonwood Racerback top & Madrone Frontcountry pants, and a trip report of the Pieni Karhunkierros.

I'm late to the party, so this might be old news for some. Nevertheless, the inaugural Scandinavian UL Bloggers Meet-up is less than two weeks away, so it is time to let the cat out of the bag, as we say in German.



The last weekend of May will see six UL bloggers hiking together in Vålådalen, Sweden. Those six individuals are

- Jörgen and Martin from Fjäderlätt (their announcement), representing Sweden
- Roger from Nielsen Brown Outdoors representing Denmark
- Joe from Thunder In the Night (his announcement) hailing from Norway
- Gustav from The Bearable Lightness (his announcement) from Sweden
- and yours truly, representing Finland

This event has been in the making since autumn last year, and I believe it will be a superb gathering of ultralight enthusiasts and forerunners of the UL philosophy in Scandinavia. It is going to be wild with all the Gear Talk which will take place, learning skills while watching others over the shoulder, techniques will be discussed and compared, and a jolly good time will be had, I am sure. Mostly I look forward to meet the other five, learn from them about UL and life (I'm the youngest one =) and build friendships. I am certain that everyone has much knowledge in some area to show the others, be it how to use a wood burning stove in the fjell or what makes a warm yet light winter setup.

As a special treat, here is a link to our pack lists. As usual, many last minute orders are being made, so much is still work in progress, but it should be interesting nevertheless - who will be the lightest?