Weekend trek and bushcraft in the Ardennes

TREK REPORT 6-8 Sep. 2019 I did some hiking, wild camping and bushcraft with Leon Reteig in the French Ardennes near Fumay. Total distance: 21 km. Our route (including campsites) on Google Maps Other weekend treks in the French Ardennes Weekend trek in the French Ardennes (2014) Navigating the French Ardennes (2011) Warning Trek Reports … Continue Reading

Ski touring in Vallée de la Clarée

TREK REPORT I did some ski touring 2-8 March 2019 in the French Alps with my friend Jasper de Vries, local mountain guide Murray Hamilton and four Dutchies from toerskien.org. After a day of off-piste skiing in Puy Saint Vincent and a practice tour in Crévoux, we did a 4 day hut-to-hut tour in Vallée … Continue Reading

Hot canoeing journey in Sweden

TREK REPORT 26 July – 1 Aug. 2018, I went canoeing in south Sweden with Leon Reteig, Lynn Sörensen and Alessio Sclocco. We started and finished at Tyngsjö Vildmark, a campsite and canoe rental place run by a friendly Dutch couple, about 300 km northwest of Stockholm. In 6 days we did a 71 km trek (43 … Continue Reading

Kayaking at the Vinkeveense Plassen

Only a 20-minute drive South of Amsterdam is the popular nature and watersports area the Vinkeveense Plassen. I went kayaking there a few times over the years with friends. We rented kayaks at Vinkeveen Haven (about €20 for 4 hours per kayak). They also have the convenient free map “Vinkeveense Plassen Recreatie- en Plassenkaart”. Here … Continue Reading

Ski touring in Queyras

TREK REPORT 7-17 Feb. 2018, I went skiing with Ottoline in Queyras, in the French Alps. We started with two days of warm-up skiing in Abriès and Molines-en-Queyras. Then we had two days of off-piste training with a Dutch group from toerskien.org and the local mountain guide Murray Hamilton. We finished with four days of … Continue Reading

Facing the elements on the Hardangervidda

TREK REPORT Who said a vacation in rain, wind and cold can’t be fun? Just returned from a 6-day trek (28 July – 2 Aug. 2017) on the Hardangervidda in Norway with my friends Rob Hofman, Jeroen Keultjes and Willem Hofman. It’s the country’s largest national park and located on an 1100 m high plateau, … Continue Reading

Ski touring course in the Austrian Alps

TREK REPORT 17-26 Feb. 2017, I was in Kühtai, Austria. There I did a 1-week introductory course in ski touring and backcountry skiing through the Dutch website toerskien.org. Led by the experienced Austrian guide Karl Dung, our group of seven Dutchies did three tours in the area and spent the other days in the Kühtai ski … Continue Reading