The 3N Challenge takes place in The Taiga – the giant forest encircling the top of the entire northern hemisphere and the largest contiguous biomass on Earth. We have 2 routes – one in Finland, one in Canada. 

Both routes represent the journey 3N cancer patients undergo during treatment – the emotional rollercoaster, the endurance of chemotherapy, the physical shock of surgery and the continued endurance of radiotherapy on the road to recovery.
Picture
The Taiga Forest area. Original image © Natural Resources Canada

   FINLAND:
​   3N Challenge Lapland

Welcome to Lapland, a magical place under a giant, never-ending sky, where curious reindeer look on as you head north through the ever-changing landscape.

Our journey starts 250km inside the arctic circle travelling to where the boreal forest eventually gives way to the sub-arctic tundra.

The Lapland route is divided into 4 phases: River. Lake. Swamp. Tundra. 
  • The original Challenge! 
  • River: negotiate 90km of river with 40 grade 1-3 rapids.
  • Lake: cross the Sea of the Sami with its 3,000 islands 100km end-to-end.
  • Swamp: paddle and portage swamps and difficult rocky terrain for 28km.
  • Tundra: trek 80km through the forest and on to the vast sub-Arctic tundra.​
  • Total distance approx 300km.
  • 12-14 days – 3NC Lapland returns 27th Jul-9th Aug 2019.​
  • See "Time & Money" for costs.

  CANADA:
​​  3N Challenge Ontario

Welcome to a world where a campsite is any gap in the trees for a tent and routes are only as up to date as the last folk who travelled that way.

Where local knowledge means more than any map and everything changes on the whim of the next fallen tree.

​The Ontario route is a canoe adventure followed by an endurance trek. 
  • Navigate your canoe through 200km of dense forest and steep cliffs via a maze of rivers and lakes.
  • Portage an assault course of fallen trees, waterfalls, swamps and beaver dams.
  • Trek 100km of the most challenging and least-trodden wilderness trail in North America.
  • Total distance approx 300km.
  • 12-14 days – next 3NC Ontario 13th-26th June 2020.
  • See "Time & Money" for costs.

One Forest – North & South

It's amazing how the same forest can throw up two different experiences with broadly the same flora & fauna. Yet conditions in both Lapland and Ontario have to be experienced to be believed. 
Lapland (North)
Environment:
  • Temperature: avg. 10-15C; be prepared for anything between 0C to 30C and any weather. 
  • Humidity: again varies; typically UK late summer/early autumn weather but can go up and down dramatically.
  • Precipitation: yes. random storms can come and go any time or the sun can be blazing. Or both at once. 
  • Pests: Mosquitos, midges, wood ants, horse fly, ticks. 
  • Terrain: brutal, unforgiving; open boreal & sub-arctic forest with swamps and bogs; big boulder gardens. 
Ontario (South)
Environment:
  • Temperature: avg. 18-25C; high >30C, low 12C. Be prepared for hot weather and avoiding wet chills.
  • Humidity: 60-80%. It honestly feels like jungle sometimes. Very difficult to dry anything out without a fire.
  • Precipitation: at worst, UK summer weather, but mostly dry with big thunderstorms bringing torrential rain. Thunderstorms also cause forest fires; forest fires cause campfire bans.
  • Pests: mosquitos, deer fly (like horse fly), black fly, wasps, wood ants, ticks; some plants may cause reactions.
  • Terrain: brutal, unforgiving; dense boreal & sub-boreal forest with swamps and bogs; lots of obstacles. 

So, what's the harsher environment of our two Challenges?
Lapland's forest is open, Ontario's impenetrable.
Ontario you'll suffer from intense heat and big thunderstorms.
Lapland is both hot and cold with unpredictable rain.
Ontario paddling is simple but requires technique.
Lapland will test your nerve and skill on rapids.
Ontario has lots more portages, but the canoes in Lapland are heavier.
Lapland has a network of wilderness huts to fall back on, Ontario does not.
Both will see you having to think on your feet whilst wet, cold and tired.
Both have lots of biting insects.
Both will test your morale.
But above all, both are adventures travelling paths seldom trod.
You will see things others only dream of.
Both will change your life forever.
Don't worry about which one might be easier - they aren't.
​You can do this.
Don't think about it. ​Just do it.