Instagram story viewer> @saanakamula> Posts

Saana Kamula

@saanakamula

1.1K

followers

498

following

Journalist-Photographer - Seikkailutoimittaja
Hunter / Sports Shooter / Adventurer
Freelance journalist for @riistalehti @retkilehti @rekyylilehti

POSTS STORIES REELS TAGGED

Huh mikä seikkailu! En Muotkalle lähtiessä arvannut, mitä seuraavat päivät toisivat tullessaan. Hirvisonni erämaasta on nyt totta. Sanat eivät riitä. Lyhennetty tarina on tässä:

Suuntaamme Valtterin kanssa ruskaiseen erämaahan ja viemme leirin tuttuun paikkaan joen varteen. Ylitämme joen ja lähdemme tutkimaan uutta potentiaalista tähystyspaikkaa. Vasta seuraavan päivän on tarkoitus olla varsinainen metsästyspäivä.

Matkalla huipulle näemme alas jokilaaksoon, ja spottaan ison hahmon suolla. Hirvisonni keloo sarviaan 700 metrin päässä. Sen edellä kulkee lehmä ja vasikka. Syke nousee heti korkeaksi. Teemme lähestymissuunnitelman. Tuulen suunta ja maasto ovat tilanteeseen täydelliset, ja hermojaraastavien hetkien jälkeen pääsemme sopivaan ampumapaikkaan. Lehmä ja vasikka ovat kadonneet näkyvistä, mutta sonni on siirtynyt lähemmäs, joen rantaan. Ammun jännittyneenä, mutta itsevarmasti laukauksen. Sonni astuu jokeen ja kaatuu sinne. Ensimmäinen hirvisonni on nyt totta.

Jännityksestä huumaantuneina palaamme purkamaan leirin ja lähdemme kohti kaatoa. Hirvi löytyy sieltä mihin näimme sen kaatuneen: joesta, ison suon laidalta. Olemme kahdestaan, edessämme iso sonni, joessa, kaukana tiestä. Ei mönkijää tai apukäsiä. Näin me sen juuri haluamme kokea.

Uitamme hirven rantatörmän viereen. Paloittelu on tehtävä osittain vedessä, koska sonni painaa liikaa. Työtä riittää yöhön asti. Väsymys painaa, mutta lopettaa ei voi.

Nukumme neljä tuntia, minkä jälkeen alkaa lihojen ja varusteiden kantaminen autolle. Teemme neljä edestakaista reissua kantaen raskasta taakkaa. Matkaa kertyy päivän aikana 35,5 kilometriä. Hieman ennen puolta yötä saamme viimeisen lastin perille, ensin jäisen kaatosateen, ja sitten upeiden revontulten saattelemana.

Saamme lyhyellä varoitusajalla varattua mökin, ja koko perjantain vietämme lihaa leikaten. Jalat ja mieli ovat väsyneet, mutta työt on tehtävä loppuun. Silmäkulmat kostuvat kun viimein pääsen maistamaan sisäfilettä. Näihin muistoihin palaan vielä monesti. by @saanakamula

246

51

2 years ago

Lately I've been thinking a lot about staying in the present and not hurrying to the next thing.

During a trip like our moose hunting trips this can be achieved with something as small as adopting a more leisurely mindset when driving up to Lapland.

Staying a night at a silent, scenic spot along the way has become a must for us. After a day of driving we can just pop the roof tent up, cook a dinner and enjoy the sunset.

Our adventure starts the moment we leave home. No need to drive to the destination in a hurry, because the moments spent on the road have also become a valuable part of our trips.

Our last moose hunt in Lapland offered us empty vistas. No sightings of moose. But despite the end result, it always feels so good to spend time in the backcountry.

All the vibrant autumn colours, social moments around the campfire and long hikes in the rugged open country get imprinted into the memory as moments to cherish.

#hunting #roadtrip #Lapland #autumn #rooftent taken in Lapland, Finland by @saanakamula

106

4

5 days ago

Choose the harder things. It's a motto I try to live by.

I've dreamed of Vaarojen Maraton for almost 20 years, ever since I read an article about the event. It sounded so cool, but also so harsh. All the elevation gain and technical trails add up to one of the most difficult, if not the most difficult, trail races in Finland.

Finally, a few friends and I made it happen and bought tickets to Vaarat. I chose the 43k course, and man, did I have a blast! Yes, it was tough, but that was exactly the part I loved while running.

My watch recorded 43.9 kilometers and 1721 meters of elevation gain on rocky, rooty and muddy trails. I set a goal of finishing under 7 hours and managed it in 6:57! Super happy and proud of myself.

It's a little difficult to tear my mind off Vaarojen Maraton, so I'll linger in the memory a bit longer, but then I'm off to the next challenge.

Thank you for the company and running motivation @pekanpalosusanna @pesonenniina and @edpekanpalo

Photos:
1. Janne Laukkanen
2. @lateoutdoors by @saanakamula

109

7

12 days ago

Rova '26 SRA comp was a blast! We had an awesome crew ROing the shotgun stage and a superb squad in the prematch.

I had a clean run and placed second Lady Overall, but only Open Lady category was given podium places. Many SRA comps require a minimum of five participants per category in order to give prices to the winners of that category. No Combined/Overall Lady prices are given. It means that Military Lady is usually left out of the Ladies ranking because so few choose to compete in full gear.

The same thing has already happened at a few comps, but I still won't change back to Open. I'd rather shoot with all the gear and take the added challenge. Competing against my previous self.

#sovellettureserviläisammunta #sportshooting #ladieswhoshoot #reservist #rovajärvi by @saanakamula

143

12

a month ago

Brutality Pre Match recap. There were things that went as expected, but also a lot of things that didn't go according to plan...

What went well?
- Was in good spirits even though I had a sore throat and a temperature.
- Had loads of fun!
- Shot really well and didn't miss any high value targets.
- Got to challenge myself physically.
- Got to spend the day with awesome people!

The challenging moments were:
- Was sick and had to survive all 10 stages on painkillers.
- Had my rifle malfunction on two stages because the BCG was too dry. Was too dumb to realize it the first time, but adding oil fixed the problem 🤦‍♀️
- Had the rifle red dot turn off on its own on two stages. Switching the battery helped.
- Had a really difficult time dragging the casualty on stage 3, so ended up with 9x60sek penalties. Goodbye scoreboard! But I don't do Brutality for the scores, so that's okay 💪
- Shot at a random target on stage 6 because I couldn't recognize the person on the target pack card 😅 resulting in even more penalties (4x60sek).
- When starting to run to the last bay on stage 6 I fell down when getting my pistol tangled on the strap of the shoulderbag we had to carry. Luckily the fall happened safely. Just cost some time untangling everything.
- Had no idea how to crash the simulator drone on stage 10 but laughed my way through it.
- Accidentally went to stage 10 with some of my pistol mags being practically empty and was forced to change mags twice. One mag had only two rounds in it 😁

Those hardships are exactly the thing I now lovingly cherish. Why oh why do we have to wait a full year to experience Brutality again?

PS. Thank you @valtteri.patrikainen for the motivational soundtrack behind the camera 😘

@varusteleka
#finnishbrutality
#finnishbrutality2026
#shootingsports by @saanakamula

120

6

2 months ago

I was asked how do I attach my rifle to the side of the backpack while in the backcountry hunting moose. I have a quick release buckle securing the front end and a holder made out of straps where the buttstock goes. I can release the rifle while having the pack on my back, so it's fairly quick to be ready. The whole system is very light and I've been using it for many years already.

FYI... BRX1 chassis system from @akila.ltd

#hunting #hunter #metsästys #dıy #backcountryhunting by @saanakamula

373

10

2 months ago

Finnish Brutality 2026 done and man was it epic! I got really unlucky with the Pre Match as I got sick the day before. I feared I couldn't do the stages at all but decided to give it a go regardless. And happy I did, because I had a blast!

As I'm a "Do more hard things" kind of person, I decided to turn the difficulty level up even more and competed in the Armored category. As a 60kg woman it is not easy carrying a minimum of 12kg of gear on you all day and doing all the physical shit that Brutality makes you do, but I'm not going back to Open category anytime soon. Loved it!

Thank you @varusteleka and all the fellow RO's, squad 21 and all the other competitors for making the best Brutality so far!

Video compilation coming soon!

The first two awesome photos by @its_matt94

#varusteleka #finnishbrutality #finnishbrutality2026 by @saanakamula

170

6

2 months ago

Oli pakko palata vähän muistelemaan kuukauden takaista Viron reissua. Ai että oli ihana seikkailu! Kansallispuistot oli hienoja ja niin paljon jäi vielä nähtävää ja koettavaa. Josko sitä jo ensi kesänä menisi uudestaan? ❤️

#viro #visitestonia #rooftent #hikinglife #matkailu by @saanakamula

28

6

3 months ago

Olipa ihana Juhannus! Hyvää seuraa, herkullista ruokaa, aurinkoinen sää, saunomista ja järvimaisema. Mitä muuta voi toivoa? Nyt on latautunut olo ja parin päivän päästä voikin sitten suunnata auton keulan kohti Viron kansallispuistoja.

Kattoteltta tuli myös testattua ja se toimi hienosti. Reissussa pääseekin sen kanssa tosi toimiin! by @saanakamula

52

1

4 months ago

Kohta pääsee reissuun! Nyt on teltta asennettu uuden auton katolle ja kaikki muukin alkaa olla valmista. Vielä pakkaaminen jäljellä ja sitten ensimmäiseksi nokka kohti mökkiä. Juhannus vietetään mökillä järven rannalla, hyvästä seurasta, ruuasta ja saunomisesta nauttien. Juhannuksen jälkeen tiedossa reissu Viroon kansallispuistoja kierrellen. Ei malttaisi odottaa enää! by @saanakamula

75

9

4 months ago

Uusimmassa @riistalehti numerossa on mun kirjoittama tarina viime syksyn erämaan hirvijahdista. Tähän reissuun kulminoitui monen vuoden kova yritys. Saatiin @valtteri.patrikainen kanssa kokea jahti joka oli samaan aikaan todella rankka ja upea. Yleensä en jännitä juttujen painoon lähettämistä tai niiden julkaisua, mutta tällä kertaa kokemus ja tarina oli henkilökohtaisesti itselle niin tärkeä, että vatsanpohjassa kutkutteli. Muistot on nyt painettu lehden sivuille ja sieltä niihin voi aika uudelleen palata. Josko tarina inspiroisi muitakin lähtemään erämaahan 😊 by @saanakamula

75

2

a year ago

Having an injury ruin your plans is a horrible feeling. I was very worried that my sprained knee would not heal in time for my trail marathon. Luckily I managed to run the marathon without issues, but after the race I realised that my ankle started getting very painful.

It has been giving me a horrible time for three weeks. At first it was really painful to even walk on, but with persistent, daily rehab I'm now back to running ❤️

As a very active person it's mentally very difficult to deal with injuries. Taking it easy, staying stationary and dialing down the training definitely don't come easy. Especially when I'm enthusiastic about a sport or an activity I want to go all in.

While doing the rehab exercises I kept on motivating myself with the thought of running, hunting and hiking pain free.

So happy to have my ankle functioning well now, because soon it's time to pack the backpack and head to the backcountry for some moose hunting 😍 by @saanakamula

78

0

a year ago