HIKING IN ISOJÄRVI NATIONAL PARK

HIKING TRIP IN ISOJÄRVI NATIONAL PARK – exhausting adventure with valuable lessons for life

Orange stemmed scots pines everywhere. Mosses to admire and lichens to slip over. Watching every step carefully to not fall into holes of the root systems of the deep, deep forest. Focusing on my breath and focusing on not getting lost. Hiking in the wilderness of Finland opens up your mind and let‘s you wander off to places you have never even dreamed of.

Off the track for about five days in the National Park Isojärvi in the south of Finland made me realize how much more physical training I should have done beforehand. A backpack filled with everything one needs, from eating to sleeping, is not only bulky, but also uneasy to lift and extremely heavy. Hips and shoulders were screaming from time to time and every time I had to lift my legs over another fallen tree I was thinking about the squats I didn‘t do in preparation for this trip. But I am definitely not complaining here, only learning from everything I could have done better.

Mindful moments filled our evenings with meditations, talks about our own values of life, partner massages and shared hours around a cozy bonfire, which made me realize how lucky I am to be able to enjoy this kind of experience.

Spreading positivity in the world and focusing on ones breath was not only the motto for Wednesday morning, but also stuck to my mind in a meaningful way. Deeply breathing in and out three times makes you realize how easy and difficult at the same time it is to bring all your thoughts back to yourself and your pace in hiking and in life.

DETAILS

Weight/ Fillpower
The Fillpower of my Rucksack is about 50 Liters. The recommended size for the hiking trip was between 65 & 75 liters. Some of my groupmates chose even bigger ones though. The actual weight of the backpack should only be 1/5 of your body weight, but nearly all of our backpacks were way heavier, most commonly between 16 and 18 kilogramms.

Length of the hiking trip
5 days – of which two were the arrival and departure days.

We started at 7.20 on Monday morning and stopped at around 2 o’clock on Friday afternoon. Every other day started with getting up at 6 am and usually ended around 10 pm in the evening.

Even on hiking trips Finns usually eat supper (late evening meal AFTER dinner).

Food on the way
Dried foods – cut into small pieces, dried in the oven (in a professional kitchen) over night and packed together with other ingredients were served as a wholesome meal. Slimy porridge and food without enough flavors were filling up our bellies and loads of butter and cheese made those foods enjoyable. Heavy in the backpack – but indeed very necessary to carry.

Footwear
Rubber boots – due to hiking off the track, over ditches and through bogs and mosses I chose this kind of shoes. My feet were protected from the outside moisture, however sweating created a nice atmosphere inside. Some of us were also wearing hiking shoes as those support your ankles better, however if they get wet drying them close to the fire is impossible during the trip.

LOUE – the Finnish design of a tarp

IS A HALF OPEN SHELTER IN WHICH YOU CAN COMFORTABLY SLEEP IN AND EVEN MAKE A FIRE DIRECTLY IN FRONT OF IT TO KEEP YOU WARM INSIDE.