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T2 Packraft in Oulankajoki river Upper Part from Oulanka to the national park visitors center

22.3 km rapids class II-IV. Oulanka Canyon, Pikkuköngäs and Tayvalköngäs.

By Packrafting.cat

November 17^th, 2024

Oulanka National Park

See the main post with all the sections and information for Packraft and other activities in the Oulanka National Park in Finland.

https://blog.packrafting.cat/packraft-en-oulanka-national-park-finlandia

Otros tramos

I will explain in detail the following routes:

T1 Koutajoki - Savinajoki River ⇾ Savilampi Lake. 17.5 km class I-II
T2 Oulankajoki river Upper Part Oulanka - Isokuusikko visitor center, Oulanka National Park. 22.3 km of class II-IV rapids.
T3 Packrafting Oulankajoki lower part - Oulanka NP visitors center Isokuusikko - Kiutakongas - Paljakka - Russian Border. 25.5 km of endless meanders!
T4 Kitkajoki Upper part. Käylä - Basecamp Oulanka
T5 Packrafting Kitkajoki Lower part Juuma - Millikoski rapids - Aallokkokoski rapids
T6 Kuusinkijoki

If I had to choose only one, I would recommend the T5 section and combine it with the Pieni Karhunkierros Trail of 12 km.

The Oulankajoki river is a very long river and is usually divided into 2–3 days. In this post I explain in detail the T2 Oulankajoki river Upper Part Oulanka - Isokuusikko visitor center Oulanka National Park, which would be approximately a first long day of 22.3 km of navigation.

Logística

Gran parte de este tramo (el inicial) no discurre a través del Karhunkierros trail y eso provoca algunos retos de logística para realizar este tramo. Tenéis las siguientes opciones:

Con dos coches: hay 3 parkings que nos pueden ayudar, hay que tener en cuenta de donde partimos, si el día anterior hemos hecho la ruta T1 Koutajoki - Savinajoki River -> Savilampi Lake, hay que tener en cuenta que tendremos bastante rato
Transfer en taxi: Consultad la sección taxi del artículo principal sobre Packraft en Oulanka o preguntad en Oulanka basecamp.
Caminando sin ningún tipo de soporte hay una larga pista que es accesible siguiendo el camino circular y algún tramo para vadear lagos, pero esta ruta no la he explorado.

T2 Packraft in Oulankajoki river Upper Part from Oulanka to the national park visitors center

SCOUTING OULANKA CANYON

I recommend the day before to do the scouting of the Oulanka canyon and the Pikkuköngäs rapid using the 6 km circular trail around the Savilampi lake hut and parking lot.

T2 Oulankajoki river Upper Part Oulanka - Isokuusikko Oulanka National Park visitors center.

Data:

Low difficulty on most sections with class II-III rapids, but watch out for specific passes, especially the class III-IV Oulanka canyon and Tayvalköngäs rapids. These two sections can be ported, the Oulanka canyon with a long portage and Tayvalköngäs with a much more comfortable portage, even prepared for large rafting rafts.
22.3 km with a total elevation gain of 64 meters, 209 meters high at the boarding to 145 m high at the visitor center, that is an average elevation gain of about 3 m per km.
The river's physiognomy combines open and canyoned sections.

The Oulankajoki river will allow us to see from the inside some of the most significant points of the Oulanka National Park, such as the Oulanka Canyon or the Tayvalköngäs rapids.

Oulankajoki Upper part

ON THE RIVER

I will now describe in detail what you will find in the river.

Surroundings of Oulanka

As you can see in this section of the Oulanka National Park map, the initial section of this route along the Oulankajoki River runs outside the national park boundaries and we do not enter the park until we reach the Oulanka Canyon.

The entrance to the river is near the village of Oulanka in a parking lot near the bridge on road 950, where there is an area where you can park your car and easy access to the river to embark.

Note: it is possible to start from further upstream, the river is also navigable.

In this first section you can see on the topographic map how we immediately enter a canyon zone with walls of 40 m or more, especially on the right bank of the river. This section combines canyons with some simple rapids where we will navigate and stretches of calm water backwaters (suvantos) where we will have to paddle.

The river offers very scenic views with flat water and very easy class I rapids in this first stretch. Definitely, although it does not offer great whitewater opportunities, the scenery itself already justifies a visit to this stretch of river.

At km 3.8 approx. the river becomes canyons again, although the rapids do not present any special difficulty. We will continue until we reach the Oulanka Canyon.

The website asiointi.maanmittauslaitos.fi has some highly recommended topographic maps, for example you can see this first area here.

First section of the Oulankajoki River. Canyons and backwaters of calm waters.

Oulanka Canyon

After a quiet 7.4 km we will arrive at the entrance to the canyon where we will have to decide before entering the canyon whether or not we want to portage this class III-IV section.

The canyon is approximately 1.5 km long, as soon as we see the hanging bridge of the Savilampi refuge we will know that we have finished the canyon (8.9 km) and we will start about 4 km of wide river.

The topographic map of this area:

Pikkuköngäs

Before reaching the refuge and ending in Oulanka canyon is the most complicated rapid in the area, first with some relatively simple rapids, but at the end is the Pikkuköngäs pass. Pikkuköngäs which ends with a small drop. With a low water flow the passage can be too rocky and complicated and with a high water flow you must be attentive to the hole that is created in the fall.

Once you enter the canyon it is difficult to get out, we recommend a thorough scouting using the circular path near the refuge to assess the level of water and difficulty of the rapid.

It is also possible to slowly approach Pikkuköngäs by scouting the different sections of the canyon. With a water flow of We were lucky and the flow was just perfect for us to go through the canyon. Some of us did paddle through Pikkuköngäs and some of us portaged it inside the canyon.

Check Caj Kosninen's blog where you can see different pictures of the area and scouting. After Pikkuköngäs the rest of the canyon is again of a more affordable level.

Once we reach the bridge of the refuge we find ourselves again in the final section of the route T1 Koutajoki - Savinajoki River -> Savilampi Lake.

Here we can rest or eat in the refuge and there is also the option to leave in the parking Oulangan kanjonin parkkipaikka.

Tayvalköngäs

At km 13 we will cross again with the Karhunkierros trail. In this area there are three bridges that across an island in the middle of the river Oulankajoki allow you to cross the river from the right bank to the left bank following the path in a southerly direction.

Here you have to make a decision as to which pass you want to cross over Tayvalköngäs. There are 3 passes and all of them can be carried.

Top hut with dry toilets, cabin with wood and fire and picnic area that can accommodate 10-15 people and has a comfortable embarkation and disembarkation area with all services (dry toilets, wildfire, chopped firewood, barbecue utensils, grills).

If you want to carry these rapids you have to leave at the boarding of the refuge (just in front there are some wooden benches around a fire with a grill) and access by walking across the bridge to the central island. Here you will find a wooden structure designed to launch the rafts and re-enter the river in the backwater after the rapid.

As the map of the Oulanka National Park indicates, Tayvalkongas has a portage area, just before arriving and in front of the shelter's jetty you will find a sign that warns you.

Here you can see pictures of the beach and the access (with a wooden structure for rafting and heavier canoes, with the Packraft this is not a problem).

The right-hand passage of the rapid is probably the most accessible line and can be scouted from the bridge and from the island.

The most complicated pass can be observed from the third bridge, it is a clear class IV pass:

Located at km 20, it is a large camping area where even in summer there is a kiosk where you can recharge your batteries and a parking lot.

Just at 22.3 km, we arrive at the visitor center of Oulanka National Park, just after crossing the bridge on road 8693. This is the end of our route.

Karhunkierros trail

Once we arrive at Savilampi Lake, we will be in the territory of the national park and our route along the Oulankajoki River will run parallel to the bear path (Karhun in Finnish).

The route is easy to follow and is very well indicated by signs:

My Google Map

All points of interest on the Oulanka National Park packrafting map.

Mapa Wikiloc

All GPS coordinates, as always, on acacha's Wikiloc account, Packrafting Oulankajoki river Upper Part Oulanka - Isokuusikko visitor center Oulanka National Park.

Blog de Caj Koskinen

This section is very well explained in Caj Koskinen's blog, the article is:

The river Oulankajoki upper part.

An inspiration, thanks to Caide78 and his Instagram account, I got to know this wonderful place that is the Oulanka National Park.

The river Oulankajoki upper part

Caudales

From Caj Koskinen's blog we know that they performed it at a flow rate of 32 m³/s measured at Savilampi. The flow rate is available at https://wwwi2.ymparisto.fi/i2/73/q7300100y/wqfi.html

Tramo anterior

T1 Packrafting Koutajoki-Savinajoki river Oulanka National Park Finland

Tramo posterior

T3 River Oulankajoki lower part Kiutaköngäs - Frontera Rusa

See you at the river baby! I hope you only care about me 😘.

The river is a living environment, changing and subject to permanent development. The publishers of the river sketches and the creators of this website cannot be held responsible in any case in case of inaccuracy, omission or error in the river sketches. The topos editors and website creators disclaim all liability in case of any accident that may occur on the rivers described in this guide.