Laukaa: Scenic Hyyppäänvuori

I just can't imagine a more beautiful day for a snowshoeing trip! My destination is a hilltop which some have claimed to be the equivalent of the famous Koli (of North Karelia) in the province of Central Finland. Hyyppäänvuori hill is located on the southwestern shore of lake Lievestuore in Laukaa and it rises to 171 meters above sea level. There are more than one path leading to its top; I select the shorter, unmarked one via Ruoholahdentie, being lucky in finding a place to park (for there really isn't parking available) by the side of the road only a little distance away. Also, finding the unmarked trail is easy because there are some footprints in the snow leading to the right direction.

Climbing to the top of Hyyppäänvuori is very good excercise. The path winds up the steep hill slowly but surely and I feel almost sorry for the cross-country skier who has also gone up the same way. When I am close to the top, I also encounter the marked trail which joins my path from the west.

Parts of Hyyppäänvuori area are also parts of a nature reserve maintained by Metsähallitus. As I'm out here without a map, having arrived here by following instructions only, it's great to see where exactly I am on the map as well as where the marked trail would have been (had I known about it!). Good to know for the next visit which might well take place when the snow is gone.

Well, I must say the view isn't too bad. Not bad at all. The view must be one of the best in Central Finland. And  there is no need for an observation tower because there are no trees blocking the panorama and there is a sheer drop right in front of me.

The lonely, grey pine tree strikes a weary pose for me. I stand still in the snow for a long time, gazing the blue-tinted view around me, and hear no sound, not even from a distance.

The other handsome, already grey or slowly greying pine trees may not be hundreds of years old but they are charming just the way they are. Let me think - there was also supposed to be a cave around here. It must be somewhere beneath me.

I take care in descending the rocky slope in my snowshoes and hope that I won't miss the cave; I have no idea how big or small it could be. Once I'm safely down, I start following the rocks and it seems pretty promising. I wonder if that can already be labeled a cave?

A couple more steps and... No doubt about it, this is a proper cave and it's easy to enter it, without needing to wriggle in through a tiny hole. I can well imagine someone must have slept here, safe from the wind and the rain. I guess these days this is not meant to be used for spending a night here... and making a fire in this area is forbidden.

I climb back up the hill and rejoin the trail that goes round the scenic Hyyppäänvuori, giving a view to almost every direction. If you are visiting Hyyppäänvuori and don't want to go down and visit the cave, you can also get a temporary shelter by sitting under the large rock by the path. Again, making the fire is forbidden and there is no fireplace offered here, unlike in many other nature trails. It is quite understandable because this gorgeous area had better stay as it is!

I walk down the hill with a light step, choosing a different shortcut to the road in my snowshoes now that I know the way. Hyyppäänvuori may not be the equivalent of Koli, and Lake Lievestuore doesn't exactly equal the huge lake Pielinen in North Karelia, but to me Hyyppäänvuori is now definitely among the most scenic spots in Central Finland. I hope to return here in the summer!

Jämsä: Icy Synninlukko gorge

There are Paths of Sin (Synninpolku in Finnish) but there is also a Lock of Sin - or at least that is the literal translation of Synninlukko which is the name of a gorge in Jämsä, south of Jyväskylä in Central Finland. Finding the place isn't too easy - not least because the snow has covered some of the signs that are desperately trying to guide visitors there. Luckily, I've got my reliable snowshoes with me so it is easy to cover the distance between the road and the gorge; it has been a while since the previous visitor walked here but his or her footprints are still visible. So are those of the hares and foxes.

If Synninlukko isn't too easy to find, it may have been a blessing at some point. In the old days, the gorge was known as a hiding place (apparently not everyone knew it even then!) but the name may be a variation of some words in the local dialect. 'Lukko' (literally 'a lock') means a gorge in the local dialect and 'synnin ('of lock') refers to birth ('synnyin-', 'syntymä') and according to one story, someone was actually born here. Who knows.

I cross a small wooden bridge and follow the previous visitor's footprints slightly towards the left to locate the gorge. There are no signs and since the path is hidden beneath the snow, I sincerely thank the person who came here before me! Soon I find myself surrounded by the tall rocks of the gorge which is about 50 meters wide.

There are huge blocks of ice hanging down from the rocks as well as sharp icicles on my left. The gorge isn't huge but I think small is beautiful.

Come to think of it, the rocks are quite tall and steep enough for me. I walk along the bottom of the gorge, step closer to the rocks, feel the ice with my fingers, check the colour and shade of the ice and the patterns in the frost.

There is plenty of ice in different colours; somewhere the icicles are tinted with blue, somewhere else with brown.

As it turns out, Synninlukko gorge is an excellent place for exploring different kinds of ice! Although my visit takes place fairly early - it is not really spring yet - there seems to be loads of ice everywhere.

It is as if there was a huge ice monster on the top of the cliff who is gnarling and baring his teeth to me! Synninlukko gorge will surely be even more handsome as the spring advances.

Finally, I reach the end of the gorge and climb up to the top of the cliff, to take a snowshoe walk there. There is a small sign that announces I'm at a nature reserve but no further guidance. Should I walk further or turn back? However, as the sunlight seems to be starting to fade and the sky is slowly exposing a shade of pink, it is a clear message to me that I'd better head back.

This gorge may well be at its best in the winter but I'm already wondering what it is like in here in the summer!

Korpilahti: Vaarunvuoret nature trail

Vaarunvuoret nature trail or "Vaarunpolku" as it is called on the spot, can be found in Korpilahti, about 38 kilometres south from Jyväskylä in Central Finland. The site is located on a scenic route (road 610) between Korpilahti and Joutsa, not very far from Kärkinen bridge that crosses Finland's second biggest lake, Päijänne.

The footprints before me show me the way but I still prefer to wear my snowshoes - it will be so much easier to step aside when I wish plus you never know how far the previous walkers have gone along the 4 kilometre long trail. As usual, the beaty of the white forest descends upon me like snow flakes, gently, slowly, softly.

V for Vaarunvuoret. Spruces, pines, a swamp, and finally a small lake surrounded by junipers: Särkijärvi. On the other side of the lake there is the only campfire site in this nature reserve - you simply aren't allowed to make a fire anywhere else.

On the other hand, it is a bit too early on that I arrive at the campfire site... Yes, there would be plenty of firewood available at the old-fashioned shed but I'm not quite yet in the mood for having a snack. The scenic spot (Vaarunvuoret is literally "Vaaru Hills") is only 0.6 km away but I feel like walking a bit more. However, there is a side track to Korospohja by lake Päijänne - great!

The track to Korospohja goes downhill all the way and is amazingly straight. The explanation behind it is that before it became part of the hiking trail it was an official road until the 1980's, connecting Luhanka and Korpilahti. The Vanha Vaaruntie road was famous for its steepness and it slowly dawns on me that yes, I do have to walk back uphill! Just imagine a bus driving slowly uphill, with passengers stepping out and perhaps pushing the bus...That was also reality sometimes!

Those who visit Vaarunvuoret area by boat step ashore right here, at Korospohjanlahti bay on the eastern shore of lake Päijänne. Standing here you can't really see that there's a steep hill very close by so I have to walk a bit further to the steepest part, Vaarunjyrkkä, to get some idea.

After about a kilometre's walk on the ice I arrive at Vaarunjyrkkä's rocky shore. On such a grey day as this and with the rocky hill covered with snow it doesn't look as spectacular as you might expect. However, I can easily imagine how great this all looks in the summer, with bright blue skyes above and the light waves of lake Päijänne splashing against the granite.

There's always something special to see though: at least some artistic icicles. When I start my return journey to the nature trail via Korospohja, I foolishly change my route on the ice and after a short while realize how heavy my snowshoes have just become. Below the layer of snow, there is already water on the frozen lake - and it means that the slush starts to stick to the bottom of my snowshoes and they're becoming ice shoes. For a second. Until I scrape the ice off them and head quickly as close to the shore as possible and find a better route. It seems that the best season for walking on the ice is now almost over.

I have a short tea break at Korospohja before climbing back up along Vanha Vaaruntie road - a wise decision because it isn't exactly a light walk uphill - but when I arrive back at Särkijärvi campfire site I don't feel like stopping there for making a fire. Onwards! Up! Oh, how the last leg to the top feels so easy! And I'm once again back among the winter fairytale land.

The Vaarunvuori hill is pretty steep so I'm somewhat surprised to find some cross country skiing tracks heading downhill from the top, across the nature trail track. I truly hope all has gone well before the skiers have arrived at lake Päijänne, somewhere down there. There are so many trees there that it can't be too easy to avoid hitting them on the way.

Once I'm at the scenic spot, I get a better idea of how tall the Vaarunvuoret hills are - lake Päijänne is so much below me and you can see pretty far through the opening between the trees. The guest book that is hiding in the wooden box is already full and it is hard to find a place where to scribble my signature and there's no telling who was here last and when that was. Beware of the steep hill, says the sign - Varo jyrkännettä.

I am extremely happy to be wearing snow shoes, judging by the 'trail' which was made by someone who was simply wearing boots. He or she has stepped in pretty steep snow but has still managed to keep going!

The route marks (blue paint, in places yellow paint) lead me to an opening which is the only place where I can't locate the next trail sign. My own fault for not paying attention perhaps; here the route doesn't actually enter the opening (which is on private land) but goes round it, making a sharp turn to the right and then heading back to the woods. I take a minute to locate the trail again but while I do so, I pay a visit to the snow-covered Loch Päijänne Monster, nature's creation, that actually is looking exactly where the trail is...

Vaarunvuoret area can surely offer great experiences all year round, and definitely not just in the summer. Yet it would be pretty cool to arrive there on a kayak on a summer's day!

Laukaa: ice and snow at Järvilinna

Järvilinna Art Centre at Laukaa, Central Finland (15 km north from Jyväskylä) hosted an ice sculpting competition on Feb 10-14, finishing on Valentine's Day.  A good reason to visit the place which has art on display also indoors in the lovely main building (1891) and the surrounding buildings where some local artists have their own studios.

The ice sculptures have attracted many other visitors as well and that is no wonder; this is not a typical art form in Finland, although you might easily think so, as we have plenty of ice available for a considerable time each year.  The five teams invited to take part in the competition were from Finland, Mongolia and China (the Russian team canceled at the last minute). 

The winner was the humorous Kiss by the team from  Mongolia (Lkhagvadorj Dorjsuren and Bayarsaikhan Bazarsad). It suited well the competition's theme - love / friendship (in Finland, Feb 14 is celebrated as Friends' Day, not associated with romantic love).  I can't stop wondering at the fantastic, carefully made details - from the tail of the ox (with a knot in it) to the rose and necklace of his cute, slightly shy girlfriend.

After a cup of hot chocolate at the café of Järvilinna we pick up our snowshoes and follow the local road for about a kilometre until we locate a cross country skiing trail that will lead us to a log shelter not too far away. As always, you are not supposed to walk on the skiing tracks, so we leave our snowshow footprints on the side of the skiing track, careful not to disturb it. The trail is used all year round but in the winter, the skiing folk naturally take priority.

I must admit that the skiing track looks lovely and this would be a great route for cross-country skiing. However, no matter how slow snowshoeing is, it is such fun to be walking here, taking it easy in the midst of pure, white snow, guessing which animal has left this or that footprint. Those must have been left by a hare, and that must have been a squirrel?

Walking slowly uphill we finally arrive at the log shelter where it would be possible to make a fire. This time we simply sit down to have a cup of tea.

The guest book of the shelter reveals that the majority of previous visitors have been here on cross country skis. They have meticulously written down their kilometres after their names (14 km, 10 km, etc.). Oh no, I'd better just write my name and not record the somewhat embarrasing 3 km. Only ;-)

After the short break at the shelter we turn to walk back to Järvilinna (about 1 km from here through the woods) but this time we decide not to follow the skiing track. The distance is so short and we are sure not to miss the road close by if we just manage to stick to the right direction. It is liberating to once again choose our own way in the snow. Round that tree, and then over there...

The air here is pure; as a sign of that, there is hanging moss on the trees. The snow gets deeper in the openings between the trees but is nevertheless easy to walk on. We start to climb up a small hill, Vierumäki.

We pass by a large rock and a pole that is painted red. I wonder what it means. It is very hard to say if there is something special about it now that it is covered with snow and ice.

The fresh little hole in an old spruce is an easier puzzle to solve: it must have been made by a woodpecker only recently. Probably a black woodpecker, to be exact.

 

We descend the hill, going round the steep rocky slope, and arrive by the side of a field. On its other side we can already see the road that leads to Järvilinna Art Centre. One more chance to see the lovely ice sculptures!

It is already getting late in the afternoon and the lights have been switched at the Art Centre. The skiing Moomin figure welcomes us back to Järvilinna.

Limits of Love (Pasi Ahokas & Juha Käkelä) became third in the ice sculpture competition, together with the team from China. Angels and Demons can be friends or even lovers, at least on Valentine's Day.

I step back to my favourite sculpture, The Kiss. The Mongolian team have impressed me most with their delicate, yet fun sculptures. I can't get over the eyelashes made of ice! Simply fabulous.

Thanks to all the ice artists at Järvilinna!

Jyväskylä: what if...Concert hall underwater?

My evening walk has taken me to Mattilanniemi campus by lake Jyväsjärvi where these strange lights pierce the frozen lake. What if... The long-planned concert hall had already been built in Jyväskylä. What if it was summer, not winter. What if the concert hall was underwater, not under ice - like it now seems to be? 

Kari Alonen is a local artist and sculptor who has created this work of art on the ice, using old skylights from the local health centre (that's why they have numbers on them). If I hadn't spotted a short newspaper article about this, I wouldn't have a clue of what it is about; it would be "just" a lighting installation.

Alonen has imagined what an underwater concert hall would look like in the winter, with the skylights popping out through the snow and ice.The concert hall has been planned in Jyväskylä for ages, but so far the project has always been postponed until later, due to lack of funding. Alonen jokingly proposed this as a cost-efficient alternative.

I recognize the metal wire ball as one of Alonen's previous works that has been on display here earlier as well. I start toying with the underwater concert hall idea but soon find that my feet are pretty firmly on the ground instead. How would you enter the underwater concert hall? How much water is there in this part of the lake? How big a concert hall would fit underwater right here?

The freshly fallen snow covers the skylights and they cast an eerie light on the ice. What if you could have a peek into the concert hall through the skylights through the windows when walking on the ice in February? Would it be possible to paddle over the concert hall with a kayak? Walk over it in knee-high water? Can't help thinking about Feet in the water (by Eva & Manu)! How clear is the lake water several meters deep in the lake - when looking through the windows of the concert hall, would you be able to watch the fish swim?

You can go on and on thinking what if... However, for now I'll look at this light installation as a work of art and not take it too deep.

Laukaa: Multamäki nature trail

Multamäki nature trail can be found in Laukaa, close to Peurunkajärvi lake in Central Finland. The easiest route to the start of the trail is via Spa Hotel Peurunka (few kilometres north from Laukaa): drive past the spa hotel buildings and follow the road towards  Finninkylä and further until Multamäki. In the winter you may find the private road to Multamäki closed - and the nature trail (luontopolku) sign can be seen right next to the gate. If you are lucky, you may even be able to park by the side of the road - if there isn't too much snow!

I am equipped with snowshoes which proves to be a clever choice because although there is a snowmobile track at the start of the trail, it is made for cross country skiing and not for walking, and very soon we need to part anyway; the nature trail takes a sharp turn to the left and I see virgin snow ahead. The yellow trail signs lead me to the official start of the Multamäki nature trail with a map depicting the route. It seems that no one has stopped here for a snack for quite some time!

This seems to be one of the best marked nature trails in Jyväskylä area - thanks to Laukaa municipality which seems to take excellent care of such routes! 

As is typical on nature trails, there are quite a few signs with more information about nature along the way. However, the snowy weather has covered practically all of them and even if you brush the snow off, the text (in Finnish) is hardly legible because you'd need to scrape the ice off as well. I'm not in the mood for doing that with my woollen mittens! Also, typically these guides describe things that would be easiest to discover when there is no snow on the ground.

So, my walk in the forest is simply a pleasure walk, enjoying the beautiful scenery, the shapes covered with pure white snow, examining footprints and guessing who or what has gone past. Those could be the footprints of elks...

If I wasn't wearing snowshoes, I might be tempted to try a different route but now there's no stopping me. Straight ahead! Anyway, only few meters away I find a fresh trail of another snowshoe walker who makes my going even lighter in the powder snow. I climb up the hill and soon the nature trail again joins a wide trail made by a snowmobile. Careful... But there are no cross country skiers in sight.

Step by step I reach the very top of Multamäki hill, the highest point of the trail. Multamäki hill is part of the original so-called Struve Geodetic Arc (#46) which was measured and marked in the mid 19th century in different countries. There was a survey triangulation station for quite a long time but the last wooden station from 1980 is long gone; in its place is now the kota under which the original plaque still exists.

The view from Multamäki hill is lovely; I am now at 211.4 meters above sea level and lake Peurunkajärvi is about 105 meters below me. Besides the kota (which is the only place where you are allowed to make a fire here on top of the hill) there is also an open shelter for enjoying a snack outdoors. There are quite a few footprints on the snow so this seems to be a pretty popular place.

From the top of Multamäki hill, the nature trail continues down towards the lake, along long and steep wooden steps that are totally covered with snow. Should I take off my snowshoes? No way! I step off the steps and partly slide down the steep hill in the snow, falling down only once...This is so much fun!

When I get down to lake Peurunkajärvi I could even take off my snowshoes because there have been so many other visitors to the shelter - the path in the snow would be so easy to walk on. I can't see anyone skiing on the lake but there are a couple of ice fishermen!

I arrive at exactly the same time to the open shelter as one of the fishermen comes there for his break. Once again, I get to sit in front of a ready made fire and enjoy the moment with hot tea from my thermos flask. Another fisherman joins us and says a shy hello. The fishermen seem surprisingly quiet but soon I find out why: we don't share the same language. Unfortunately, I don't speak Russian so I can't ask whether they've had any luck fishing.

After the relaxing, quiet break by the lake I walk up the hill to finish the trail that goes past some tepees - a surprising sight in a Finnish forest but I suppose they are there for children's camps that are sometimes held at the nearby Multamäki recreation centre, owned by Laukaa municipality. After I've passed the Multamäki centre's buildings, the nature trail sign guides me to join the snowmobile track for the remaining 100-200 meters but I step off it, not wanting to leave my snow shoe prints on a trail that has been made for cross country skiing.

As usual, many trails that are used by walkers for 3/4 of the year when we don't have snow, turn into cross country skiing tracks in the winter. I try to avoid such tracks when I go for a walk and the best way to do it is to wear snowshoes which allow you to walk anywhere - but it may be frustrating if you see that the lovely, hard and wide track is unused when you are stepping deep in the snow. If you ski in the traditional style, there would be room for both skiers and walkers side by side on the track made by a snowmobile, but those who ski fast use ski skating technique which requires the full width of the wide track...  So, unless you are skiing yourself, it is best to stay off the skiing tracks whenever possible, and walk somewhere else.