HELVETINJÄRVI

National Park

By Erik Plankton

October 24^th, 2014

getting there

The Helvetinjärvi National Park is in western Finland, about a three hour drive from Helsinki. This time we made some sort of history by sneaking out of work early and got actually going around 1 o’clock. Had time to grab some lunch on the way and buy essential supplies like sausages and beer. Parked the car at Haukanhieta and did a quick hours walk to camp before it got dark. We enjoyed a nice campfire under the stars with some beers. We knew the temperature was going to drop, but going down to -10°C was a bit of a surprise and some of us really felt it good in their zero graded sleeping bags.

now that's crispy

Since we slept by the water the frost was pretty awesome. We got up just before sunrise.

Write your story here. (Optional)

Warming up

We got the fire going and started making breakfast. Jesse and Mathias with their too light sleeping bags were really feeling it.

Write your story here. (Optional)

epic light

Luckily the sky was clear and we were treated to a spectacular sunrise. Frost on the ground and vapor coming from the lake made everything look really beautiful.

Write your story here. (Optional)

packing up

After a nice breakfast in the sun we dried some gear and filled up with water for the day. We left the tarps and tent as a basecamp and did a day hike to the Helvetinkolu ravine.

on the trail

The trails were very easy going and good duckboards on the wet spots.

Write your story here. (Optional)

photo op

Nice weather meant for multiple stops to take photos.

helvetinkolu

The ravine is the most popular spot in this national park and there were quite a lot of people checking it out. It is a pretty impressive place and worth visiting.

Real lunchtime

Everyone had Real Turmat for lunch. In my opinion these are among the best tasting dehydrated meals available in Finland. Especially the Kebab casserole is on of the all time favorites. Water from the lake had a slightly shady color, but it tasted great. We ran the water through a Sawyer filter to remove any nasty stuff. This little filter has been performing really nicely and is easy to use.

Write your story here. (Optional)

snow

After lunch we packed up camp and started making our way back towards the starting point, since the forecast promised us with snow that would turn into heavy rain during the night. It was surprisingly accurate. We found a nice shelter near a beach were we cooked dinner and hung out so late that we decided to crash there for the night. It was nice to be able to pack up under a roof in the rain and made for a relaxed getaway in the morning.