I got back already from Isojärvi (which means "Big Lake" in English), I planned to stay till tomorrow but some pain in my Achilles heel made me decide to come home already today. The trip was good. Isojärvi is a beautiful place, and it has three Lean-to shelters as well as a Rental Cabin with Sauna, so its well equipped for those folks without tent.
I changed by plans a bit, and decided to go by bus to Kuhmoinen and then walk the 17 km to the National Park from there, then walk another few kilometers to the Kuorejärvi lean-to shelter and stay there for the night. I had a early start, and was walking at about 12.30 yesterday. However, those 17 km were boring grit-roads, so walking wasn't to interesting.
Happily there were some nice spots along the way, as spring is just starting here in Finland so the Toads and Frogs were in love, and I also passed a nice old store and a bus stop which hasn't seen much traffic lately. I also managed to snap some photos of some butterflies =)
After around three hours I reached the National Park Info centre, and there were quite a few cars parked there. I started walking, and soon reached one of the first lakes, where I refilled by water bottle. As usually, I don't use any filters or tablets, the water is very clean here and I am careful with the spots from where I pick my water. There was still some ice on the lake, too.
I reached my camp site after another hour, and started to look around the place a bit.
If you look closely on the last photo above, you'll be able to see two pike next to each other. I saw those two "love birds" as I went to get water for cooking, and was surprised to see two tail fins almost jumping in my pot! My natural hunter instinct said "Take your knife and grab one by the neck!" though my environmentalist instinct said "Take the camera and snap some photos!". I listened to the latter one. Those two were quite active the rest of the evening, splashing in the water close to the shore.
I slept on the floor, on my Therm-A-Rest and a groundsheet, though I would have fit in the lean-to shelter. Just felt I wanted my privacy and not lie next to two strangers. There were some interesting bird calls during the evening, and they continued till near darkness. Lying comfortably warm in my sleeping bag, I was glad as it became a bit colder because so the few mosquitos also disappeared.
This morning I started early, made a fire to warm myself up a bit and had a good breakfast. At about nine I was on the road, and I passed some interesting sites. Isojärvi National Park is quite small, but it has three or four Nature trails, which overlapped with my chosen path at times.
The frog (or is it a toad?) above probably didn't hear me approach. Normally I could see them disappear way before I reached their location, its surprising me time and again how well they can feel the vibrations of an approaching person. At noon I reached the Kalalahti lean-to shelter, and a had a bit of lunch. This was the spot I was planning to stay for the night here, but didn't feel like hanging around for 10 hours till its dark, so I continued to the exit and the 10 km to the village. All in all it were 43 km I reckon.
Also close to Kalalahti was a beaver damn, and the underneath collection of mating frogs. It was quite a concert those fellows gave. And on the way back, there was one more toad which was trying not to let me pass =)
I changed by plans a bit, and decided to go by bus to Kuhmoinen and then walk the 17 km to the National Park from there, then walk another few kilometers to the Kuorejärvi lean-to shelter and stay there for the night. I had a early start, and was walking at about 12.30 yesterday. However, those 17 km were boring grit-roads, so walking wasn't to interesting.
Happily there were some nice spots along the way, as spring is just starting here in Finland so the Toads and Frogs were in love, and I also passed a nice old store and a bus stop which hasn't seen much traffic lately. I also managed to snap some photos of some butterflies =)
After around three hours I reached the National Park Info centre, and there were quite a few cars parked there. I started walking, and soon reached one of the first lakes, where I refilled by water bottle. As usually, I don't use any filters or tablets, the water is very clean here and I am careful with the spots from where I pick my water. There was still some ice on the lake, too.
I reached my camp site after another hour, and started to look around the place a bit.
If you look closely on the last photo above, you'll be able to see two pike next to each other. I saw those two "love birds" as I went to get water for cooking, and was surprised to see two tail fins almost jumping in my pot! My natural hunter instinct said "Take your knife and grab one by the neck!" though my environmentalist instinct said "Take the camera and snap some photos!". I listened to the latter one. Those two were quite active the rest of the evening, splashing in the water close to the shore.
I slept on the floor, on my Therm-A-Rest and a groundsheet, though I would have fit in the lean-to shelter. Just felt I wanted my privacy and not lie next to two strangers. There were some interesting bird calls during the evening, and they continued till near darkness. Lying comfortably warm in my sleeping bag, I was glad as it became a bit colder because so the few mosquitos also disappeared.
This morning I started early, made a fire to warm myself up a bit and had a good breakfast. At about nine I was on the road, and I passed some interesting sites. Isojärvi National Park is quite small, but it has three or four Nature trails, which overlapped with my chosen path at times.
The frog (or is it a toad?) above probably didn't hear me approach. Normally I could see them disappear way before I reached their location, its surprising me time and again how well they can feel the vibrations of an approaching person. At noon I reached the Kalalahti lean-to shelter, and a had a bit of lunch. This was the spot I was planning to stay for the night here, but didn't feel like hanging around for 10 hours till its dark, so I continued to the exit and the 10 km to the village. All in all it were 43 km I reckon.
Also close to Kalalahti was a beaver damn, and the underneath collection of mating frogs. It was quite a concert those fellows gave. And on the way back, there was one more toad which was trying not to let me pass =)
