This post is about the “Trails” part of our vacation. We did three easy to moderate hikes: first one to Joenmäenvuori and Harjuranta Nature Church near Varkaus, the second to Kotkanpolku (“Eagle’s Trail”) in Kotkatharju Outdoor Recreation Area in Joroinen, south of Varkaus, and the third one to Kangasvuokon Kuiskaus (“Whisper of the Arctic Violet Trail”) in Kotkatharju as well.

We had some difficulties finding the trailhead to the Harjuranta Nature Church even if it was supposed to be very well marked. We found the end of the nature trail on a forest road, but it seemed so overgrown that we preferred not to enter — having read the warnings about ticks etc. We drove a bit back, and started climbing on another forest road towards the church (there was a sign). That was an easy walk, and the nature trail joined the road at some point; we still don’t have an idea where it started. From the church we continued the nature trail towards the cave of Peis Immonen, so named after a hermit who, according to the legend,  lived in the cave in the early 1900s and moved on skis even in the summertime. As soon as the trail became impassable, we turned back, and drove to Varkaus to enjoy the lunch sandwiches by the lake.

Kotkanpolku in Kotkatharju was a very scenic but a lot more challenging hike because of some very steep sections — we seldom find comparable gradients here in the Alps, and if we know about them ahead of time, we usually take hiking poles with us. Now we did not have our poles, and some descents were … interesting, and so were some ascents. On the other hand, what actually made the descents doable, more doable than here, was the condition of the trails; they were smooth with no lose rocks or gravel. We found a lot of wild blueberries and some strawberries along the trail.

Kangasvuokon Kuiskaus was another scenic hike in the Kotkatharju landscape. The trail started at the Frisbee Golf course (the largest in Finland), then traversed a “real” golf course before climbing to a ridge in the pine forest, which it followed for kilometers up and down, down and up. This was a longer hike, but not quite as challenging as  Kotkanpolku, although it had its tricky parts, too.

This sums up our hikes in Southern Savonia district. The remaining post about our vacation/workation in Finland will be about the one-night visit to Tomi’s family’s summer house, and our tour of historic center of Varkaus.