Just dropping you a line to let you know we’re back from successfully crossing Scandinavia by canoe!
I just wanted to thank you again for supporting our endeavour with your stellar Pakboats.
The trip took a total of 26 days, covering almost 800 km from the Norwegian coast to Finland. We began with a two-day paddle up Norway’s Tys fjord after which we portaged our gear for 15 km and climbed 2000 feet up to the pass in the border mountains where Sweden begins. 
From there, we did a three day, first descent of the Skettejakke river that included two nasty 5 km portages around steep canyons through mosquito-infested swamp. Once through the Skettejakke, we entered the Lule river system, which winds for 400 km through northern Sweden to the Gulf of Bothnia. As our luck would have it, it was the coldest, wettest summer in Sweden in 80 years; 14 of the first 17 days of the trip consisted of damp, stormy weather. To our surprise, we saw no one for almost a week from the Norway/Sweden border- quite incredible considering we were travelling through a vast section of Europe in the summertime.
All the way down the Lule system we were battered with headwinds and squalls. Once into the Gulf of Bothnia, the weather cleared but heavy swell and a dogged southern wind ensured that our dozens of 5 km+ cossings remained interesting. We began the trip on the morning of June 26th from 
Bognes, Norway on the Atlantic Coast and pulled into our destination town of Oulu, Finland on July 21st at 11:40 p.m. Our journey followed in the footsteps and paddlestrokes of the Vikings and Sami people who had gone before us; as modern day explorers, we were treated to the warmth of the Scandinavian people and left having made a lot of new friends along the way. A Finnish man commented that “Only Canadians would be crazy enough to portage a canoe over the mountains.” We took it as a compliment.
Both boats were great. We were especially impressed (to say the least) with the canoe- it exceeded all our expectations, handling whitewater, rough open water and the portages with ease. The speed of the boat was also stellar- it’s very hard to tell the
difference between it and a similarly loaded hardshell. We only had to put a few minor patches on some wear areas of the canoe but otherwise everything else was perfect. You were right in recommending the Northwater skirt as it suited the boat and purpose very well. It was overall a nice, dry boat in all conditions. The kayak was agile, lightweight and served its purpose as a stable craft from which to film. We had a cameraman accompany us in the Puffin for the first 10 days after which he took it to Russia to film an expedition on Lake Baikal (for the same series we filmed) while we continued filming duties in the canoe.
Filming was successful as we shot 25 hours of footage that will be edited here in Vancouver by Big Red Barn Entertainment for air in 2005 on Canada’s national CTV network and other international networks. As soon as the film is done, you will of course get a copy. In the meantime, we’re putting together an article for North American publication within the next couple months. We’re sifting through our still images and have attached a couple here to give you an idea. I have an extra copy of Sweden’s “Kuriren” newspaper to send you. It has a picture of me portaging the Pakboat canoe on the cover and a full centre spread on the expedition inside.
Thanks again for all your support,
Best,
Frank Wolf and Todd Macfie, Across Asgaard Expedition