What to do when skis are all tuned up and ready, but snow refuses to show up? With temperatures mostly above zero degrees celsius and rivers still flooding, I opted to pull out the packraft (which I had already cleaned and stored for winter after the last trip once more, to go and check what else (aside of bushwhacking) Keravanjoki has to offer.

Every now and then there comes a chance to do something slightly different, inordinary, silly even. As it has been quite a rainy autumn here in Espoo, many of the small rivers and creeks have grown in volume lately, allowing some rare opportunities for a days paddle.

Following last week’s downpours a plan was set by Janne to visit Myllypuro in Nuuksio, to find out if one can actually paddle this tiny creek. As usual, it didn’t take much to get me interested, and early Saturday morning I was sharing a bus ride with Janne and Tiina towards Kattila. From there it was a short hike to the creek, and journey downstream could start.

Due to time constraints, I had to skip a trip to Kymijoki with few other packrafters, but drove to flooding Keravanjoki instead, on Saturday morning, accompanied by two friends in a canoe. Their plan was to paddle a longer strech of Keravanjoki through the day, but as I had only few hours to spare, I joined them for the first part, which runs through an area also referred to as “canyon” in some route descriptions.