2022 Wrap Up

 

The year 2022 didn't exactly go as I had wanted. Below is a brief recap and some pictures, mainly for my own memory.

After having returned from the skiing trip in the beginning of April, I started to get quite busy at work, even stressed to the point that I didn't have time to do the things I normally do outside my work. This continued until the beginning of my summer vacation in the middle of July. 

I did get a new mountain bike, a fully rigid Pässilä Kytö in titanium. Very nice.

At least a little sailing in June.

Midsummer on an island in Kvarken.

I did teach four weekend sea kayaking courses, which was a tad much considering my lack of energy and time for own things.

Another trip to the Kvarken archipelago.

A new kayak and a small test trip. Tiderace Pace 17 turned out to be a British style sea kayak 2.0. Stable, roomy and fast.

After my vacation I did try to find more time to do the things I want to do. Not that easy, though, since periods of more work stress is kind of built in to working in R&D. The final phase of multi-year R&D projects simply needs more time and energy.

Some more sailing in August.

In the beginning of September I took part in a very nice Vigu packrafting and hiking trip of six days to the Rogen area in Sweden. Really nice.

When arriving home from Rogen I tested positive for Covid-19 and was sick for a while. Not too bad, but it took over a month for the tiredness to pass. A planned mountain biking trip to the Helags and Sylarna area of Jämtland in Sweden had to be postponed, though, since there was no way I could do that when recoving from Covid. I did still have energy to do some packraft whitewater training at the end of the month.

Picture by Caj Koskinen (hutkai.fi).

October saw some sailing before lifting the boat.

I also had a nice trip to the Kvarken archipelago.

The rest of the year, November and December, doesn't usually see much outdoor action from my part. Usually a lot to do at work, and the weather is typically miserable. Not this year, though. The November weather was strange, with a weekend of almost summer temperature in the middle of the month, following by the start of the winter two weeks later. Even though I didn't have energy to do much on workdays after work, I actually managed seven overnighters during weekends in November and December. The hot tent really gave a new dimension to the dark December evenings.

That's it. I'll try to improve my work/life balance next year. Happy New Year!