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Trekking, 'Saimaa Challenge', Saimaa Lakes, Finland, Aug 2011, ID 1126

2511/ 228 Sqn ATC

The 8th of August 2011 saw 8 Cadets and 5 Staff from 228 (Bromley) and 2511 (Longfield) Squadrons head off to Helsinki in Finland to undertake Exercise Samiaa Challenge.

The Samiaa lakes area in Eastern Finland are a massive complex of lakes and islands which run for hundreds of square miles and contain over 14,000 islands, the majority of which have no human habitation of any sort.

Our plan was to undertake a challenging expedition which involved canoeing for 4 days from island to island and then trekking for 4 days in a wilderness area.

The challenge would be in carrying suitable equipment and logistics to support this expedition, wild camping, moving with all the kit and exploring a wilderness environment in a range of modes of transport.

After a day in Helsinki which involved putting together our extensive logistics and purchasing food and supplies, we transferred to the Lakes.

Each day involved navigating and paddling for about 6 hours to a different island. On arrival the group had to sort out a suitable campsite and set up camp, cook their dehydrated rations and prepare for the next day. The evenings were spend sitting around the campfire, telling stories and playing a motley collection of musical instruments that they had been tasked with bringing to provide entertainment!!!

On the last day we left the boats in a secure place for our outfitter to collect and we started the trekking phase of the expedition: a challenging 4-day trek passing through a wilderness area known as the Hiidenmaa. Once again the cadets had to lead and navigate through this wild terrain to locate our aimed campsites. Each day was approximately 8-9 km long and their ruc sacs where incredibly heavy.

The final morning of the trek descended back down a steep hill to link up with our transport which fortunately arrived early and it was a relieved and tired group who piled onto the coach and collapsed for the journey back to Helsinki.

The expedition celebrated their success with a slap-up meal of reindeer steaks in a top Finnish restaurant before heading back to the hotel. And the last morning was spent sight seeing and souvenir shopping in the city before our flight back to the UK.

The cadets worked really hard throughout the expedition, they fundraised their contributions, attended teambuilding and technical training workshops and tested their psychological toughness, physical fitness and ability on a challenging expedition. During all this they demonstrated dedication, great teamwork, excellent leadership abilities as well as brilliant team spirit and expedition skills. The wilderness can be a challenging environment and the cadets and staff showed the full spirit of the Corps and what is provides and trains people for. We would like to thank the Ulysses Trust and the Royal Air Force Charitable Trust for their generous support in helping us take part in such an interesting and challenging expedition.

Flt Lt James Dyer, Expedition Leader

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