OUTDOOR BASICS
A few outdoor basics to know before you go. General knowledge, skills, equipment and clothing.
Getting started = One Pack To Go
One Pack To Go. Or, shorter, 1 Pack 2 Go. The idea behind these two words and two numbers is easy to understand. It comes down to this. Get yourself a good pack and choose the right equipment. Pack and go. The idea behind 1pack2go Simplicity. Back to basics means being aware of what […]
Taiga Talk - Our Blog
Find the Scandinavian taiga and treeline, mosquitoes, reindeer and snow. Where the big sky is a landscape and nature writes a book.
Why we love a landscape is a brain thing
Nature is good for people, to state the obvious. But did you ever wonder why a place, a landscape affects or even overwhelms you, to stay with you forever? Why do we feel like this? What is it that we find there? Above all, is there an explanation for the appreciation? Certainly. It is a […]
Running on wheels – Osprey Ozone 42 review
Airportproof and outdoor resistant. Plane, train, bus, wilderness. On my way to the world I love most, to those lonestanding tall trees, the landscapes of the taiga, and the stones that tell their tale from long ago. The northern part of Europe. The Osprey Ozone is perfect for a weekend break or a business trip. […]
Arctic frame – Svalbard polar bears through a lens
A photographer’s dream called Svalbard. Located between Norway and the North Pole and dominated by ice, wind, and sea. It is the habitat of the polar bear and home to Melissa Schaefer. White, wild, and beautiful. The arctic surroundings come with cold temperatures, stunning aurora light shows, and the blue tones of glaciers. Freeze frame […]
Portage Glacier, an Alaskan journey in time
Portage Glacier across the two miles of lake. Surrounded by towering mountains that plunge straight into the water. Nature’s splendour right in front of me. Old friends we are, meeting once in a while. Today Gibbs will paddle his way up to greet the glacier again. Portage Glacier is an Earth time travel I am […]
The Hidden Life of Trees- A reality fairy tale
The Hidden Life of Trees. A book title that suggests secrets and fairy tales. Both are here to discover, following the footsteps of the author and forester Peter Wohlleben, and Petter Elmberg who read the book and now write about it. A forest is a magical place indeed, a lot is happening out there. It’s […]
Flying high || Osprey Sirrus 24 Review
Destination Gränslandet, central Scandinavia, the borderlands between Sweden and Norway. With a new daypack, the Osprey Sirrus 24. Like a companion, only met recently and invited to come along, a new pack is a challenge. It has to walk with you, river deep, mountain high, without complaints. Weeks in untouched and remote wilderness country encounters […]
The language of stones
Paradise is to be found everywhere. It only depends what you’re looking for. Enchanting forests, endless woods where you walk without encountering another human being – or sunny beaches, fun packed to the maximum. And everything in between. I love nature, the colours, the scents, the seasons. And stones – the small pieces of earth […]
River reflections on climate change
River reflections and climate change, the actual subject matter. Framed in one single image since this picture represents what is important in life. To me, that is, hopefully to a lot of other people as well. Interdependence of systems. How we fit in. We love people, we love nature, we love things. Not […]
Osprey messenger bag with outdoor appeal || Flap Jill Mini Review
Destination Southern fjords. Not Norway, not Iceland but Italy – the lakes in the northern part of that beautiful country where the mix of nature, art and excellent food is a travel awesome guarantee. In the back of the car our luggage, including two Osprey packs sent to me recently, the Sirrus 24 daypack and […]
Northern Lights – Drawing their curtains to reveal the sounds
The Northern Lights, fascinating and magnificent. A mystery, inspiring people’s beliefs and creating myths. A scientific challenge as well. The Norwegian scientist Kristian Birkeland developed a theory to answer the question why auroras appear when the magnetic field of our planet is disturbed. Even though his work lifted the veils of the aurora borealis, it […]
How Nordic nature relates with a Japanese garden
Swedish wilderness and Japanese gardens, the natural beauty versus the created beauty. In both surroundings there is no balance without contrast. Yet, while the essence of the Japanese garden is found in its purpose to enhance the quality of human life, the close-up or miniature landscape in a natural environment, doesn’t have a purpose in […]
Tribute to a pair of socks
Spring is in the air. Throughout history the change of seasons has been (and still is) a ritual. Nowadays snowdrops, followed by daffodils and cherry blossom trees, evoke at least a pleasant promise of warmer days that are to come. Winterjackets can be stored away and we start searching for those canvas sneakers – and […]
Iceland 2 – A festival of geology
Sparsely-populated, this North Atlantic island is one of the most volcanically active regions in the world. And if this weren’t enough, volcanism in Iceland is unusually diverse for an oceanic island. Nearly all volcano types and eruption styles known on Earth can be found here. The place is a festival of geology with a free […]
Iceland 1- Follow a raven to discover an island
The blue and the grey, the white and the black and all colors that nature has to offer at this latitude were present in the days when the Vikings steered their vessels towards the land. Iceland. What we see now is more or less the same. The man made constructions that are added over time, […]
Owls that foretell the future
It’s one thing to find the perfect place to hide away, it’s another thing to discover the bird and capture it in an image that is simply beautiful. Patience and the eye of Michelangelo – “for the hands execute, but the eye judges” – accompanied the photo camera of nature and wildlife photographer Graham McGeorge, […]
Nature as a nuisance, meaning mosquitoes and midges
Nature bites back Why we are on the mosquito’s diet is a question to which the answer is clear: the females use our blood as a source of protein for their eggs. How to withstand nature’s nuisance is rather more of a challenge, certainly less simple and unambiguous as well, because a Scandinavian summer is […]
A rust brown start of Scandinavian spring
Nature’s colors arrange for renewal at the beginning of a Scandinavian spring. The grayish green of the reindeer moss, the vivid green of the young spruces, the rust brown of grass. And the birch trees are shown as a haze of purple, stretched out along the hills. Small, tiny spruces are fighting over territory, feverishly […]
Reindeer’s seasonal adaptation: fur, fat and eyes
Arctic seasons are known for their extremes. Variety in temperature and changes in light between summer and winter months are the common environmental circumstances that call for adaptation. With the approach of winter, the reindeer start to put on a lot of body fat and also their coats fill out, in color changing from brown […]
Roskilde, town of bishops and kings
Denmark, the smallest of the five Nordic Countries (minus Greenland, Svalbard…), might not be heading the list for wild outdoor adventures destinations, this flat country is more than anything perfect for bike holidays and long walks on sandy beaches. In addition to the sports activities, its rich history guarantees an easy visit to one of […]
How Messi recovered from last year’s eagle attack
The Sami culture has a strong connection with tradition, long-established reindeer herding being at the heart of it. In Sweden alone there are some 260.000 reindeer and young Messi is one of them. In Spring 2014 the newborn calf was attacked by an eagle and although severely injured, it survived. The animal was brought down […]
Exploring beyond frontiers – Part 2
Compared to the achievements of Isabella Bird, most of our so called adventurous travels are easy walks in the park. The independent-minded Bird (1831-1904) was the first woman to be elected Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society. She visited Australia, the USA and Asia, the extensive travels of this nineteenth century explorer, traveler, writer and […]
Exploring beyond frontiers – Part 1
Nothing ventured, nothing gained. There are people who crave for challenge, adventure and new frontiers. As a consequence they go base jumping or climb Mount Everest. Others will follow their blog posts, look at the jumpers’ and climbers’ GoPro films, meanwhile feeling entirely at ease with their weekly bridge drive. Most researchers do not take […]
Easy take along outdoor gifts for her
Outdoor gifts for her, a lighthearted topic? Yes and no. Apart from the obligatory picnic basket set or an activity bracelet, could the list have a surprise in store? Of course, one should rather specify necessities and wishes for the real outdoors. According to the flourishing trade and discussion forums on bush craft and survival […]
It is the scent of a dense forest on a rainy day, the silence of a minus 25 degrees winter’s night, the humming sound of a mosquito-filled summer’s breeze. It is the inviting presence of mountains, valleys, rivers, and streams, the sudden weather changes, the magic of untouched nature reigned by its own rules only. It is all out there, to experience and to enjoy, bringing exciting adventures and contemplative moods.
The Nordic Countries Outdoor Blog – Treeline Tales is the pursuit of putting it down in words, combining an impressionistic view of Nordic outdoor life with particular details and facts. The starting point is a passion for experiencing the nature and wilderness areas in the northern part of Europe.
What wise people said
A life without adventure is likely to be unsatisfying, but a life in which adventure is allowed to take whatever form it will is sure to be short.
- Bertrand Russell (1872-1970)
It is necessary to keep one’s compass in one’s eyes and not in the hand, for the hands execute, but the eye judges.
- Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564)
Nature has no mercy at all. Nature says: “I’m going to snow. If you have on a bikini and no snowshoes, that’s tough. I am going to snow anyway.”
- Maya Angelou (1928-2014)
Only two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity, and I’m not sure about the former.
- Albert Einstein (1879-1955)
In nature there are neither rewards nor punishments, there are consequences.
- Robert Green Ingersoll (1833-1899)
Experience is simply the name we give our mistakes.
- Oscar Wilde (1854-1900)