Day 2 Tues 19th Sept – Suolampi to Jyrava

• Suolampi to Jyrava (7hrs trekking)
• Highlights: Our first night in a warm log cabin, sleeping opposite a waterfall and Finnish birdlife
• Lowlights: We nearly gave up

After the fiasco of our first night in Finland, both Alex and I awoke to freezing temperatures. Yesterday’s hike invoked every emotion imaginable, from frustration to fear to downright annoyance, Alex’s first comment in the morning was “I was wondering if we’d survive the night or not”. It was a bemused acknowledgment of being ill-prepared with no matches for cooking, a sleeping bag that didn’t keep me warm enough and underestimating how undulating the terrain would be with our 10kg rucksacks each.

The bubbling nourishment of porridge suddenly made me feel human again. My initial preempted ‘lets find a safe escape route’ changed to let’s keep going, it can’t be any worse than the first day!

From Suolampi, we continued our Karhunkierros trek. As we walked on, I felt happier and more motivated. There were towering trees with ancient trunks adorned with moss and lichen, the air felt fresh and alive and we listened to the melodious chirping of birds and the rustle of leaves in the gentle breeze. I remembered the comment from the Finnish lady on how friendly the birdlife was in Finland, during a brief stop for fruit and nuts, we watched as a fearless Siberian Jay, (Kuukkeli in Finnish) perched on our hands awaiting treats.

It was a steady and beautiful 7 hour trek where we aimed for a ‘hut’ symbol. We eventually reached Jyrava, a small wooden cabin in front of a tumbling waterfall. Outside the hut was an outdoor stove, we used this in glee, preparing two mugs of tea as we celebrated the completion of our 2nd leg of our journey.

Day 3 Wednesday 20th Sept – Jyrava to Ansakamppa

• Jyrava to Ansakamppa (9hrs trekking)
• Highlights: Reaching the half-way point of the trek and meeting other fellow hikers
• Lowlights: Drinking water with tadpoles in

Our previous night in Jyrava was warm and toasty, so much so that in the evening, a German female hiker stood indignantly by the front door stating “I will say it, it is far too hot in here!”, as she swung the door open letting in a cool breeze. Alex had stoked the stove within the hut, piling wooden logs on top of each over whilst underestimating how quickly a wood burner would heat a cabin. I was simply grateful to be warm, indoors and sleeping on a wooden platform instead of shivering in freezing temperatures outside. She was right, it was a bit too warm.

The trail hugged very closely to a river and we watched as the river meandered gracefully through the landscape, we were bordering Russia and it was the only physical barrier that distinguished between the two country’s borders.

Jyrava had rushing black water and white foam on the surface, we were in a rush to leave the cabin to break the back of the trek and as a result, we did not boil the water before leaving.
I would not recommend filling up water directly from river sources, as much as it felt like pristine wilderness, there was a bacterial after-taste to the water. We realised that the water had tadpoles swimming inside it, and may have accidentally had a few to drink here and there (extra protein?!), I recommend packing Water Purifying Tablets, as boiling the water left a smoky aftertaste as well.

We had an unexpectant reason to cheer as we spotted the above sign during our trek ’41km/41km‘ meant that we were half-way through! By day 3, with the weight of 2 fewer dinners, the trekking started to feel like clockwork, I wasn’t suffering under the weight of my rucksack anymore. We reached the top of a scenic hut called Jussinkamppa and saw lots of young trekkers gathered around the fire pit there. With the late afternoon timing, we pressed onwards to Ansakamppa, a secluded wooden cabin a few hours away on the trail closer to the finish line.

At Ansakamppa, we met a local Finnish solo female hiker, she said she had a leg injury and was completing The Bear Trail in her own time. We told her about all our mishaps at the start of the trail and laughed at our own misgivings. We spoke about our love for the outdoors and I admired that she was doing the trek solo.

Ansakamppa was the largest hut we stayed in, complete with a wood burner, we cooked pouches of hot rice and peas, topped with a spicy cajun-style lentil stew. We finished off our meal with the last couple of oranges we had in our pack. As we peeled the oranges the zesty & citrus scent filled the cabin, we shared oranges together with the solo female hiker who seemed completely exhilarated, she said to us ‘you have no idea, I have been craving oranges for days’,

Day 4 Thursday 21st Sept – Ansakamppa to Savillampi

• Ansakamppa to Savillampi (6hrs trekking)
• Highlights: The land crossing from Finland to Lapland, the best burger of my life
• Lowlights: Blisters

From Ansakamppa, we ascended the wooden stairs back to the trail and crossed shallow banks and rivers, it felt like we were quite high up on the trail at this point as we soaked in the views and the curvature of the river below us.

After a few hours into our hike, we witnessed our first sign of civilization at Oulanka Visitor Centre. Scandinavian in design with a welcoming cabin feel, there were pristine toilets and a well-stocked shop, Alex and I headed for the on-site eatery, Restaurant Ravintola Talonpöytä Oulanka. There were baked, glazed buns piled high at the counter as a warm welcome. At the till, there were sugar topped pastries and breads dusted with sugar. I felt my mouth water as I ordered whichever sweet bun was closest to me. The staff member wrapped the goods into brown paper bags as I had to prevent myself from ordering everything I set my eyes on. From the menu, I ordered a reindeer burger and Alex ordered a vegetarian burger.

We helped ourselves to seating on polished, laminated wooden benches. I spotted a plug and took the opportunity to charge my phone that was at 10% battery power. I gently peeled off my hiking boots, with the realisation that my feet felt swollen and painful. It was day 4 into our hike without any shower facilities, using wet wipes made me feel a bit closer to human.

As the burgers were served to us, the savory aroma was unforgettable. Having rationed ‘1.5’ tortilla wraps each with a lump of foil wrapped dairylea cheese the last few days, the burger was heavenly. I sunk my teeth into the burger oozing with oil from the grill and dipped the hot, crispy chips into pink mayonnaise. I suddenly felt a rising feeling as I took my first few bites, it was the most Alex and I had eaten since starting the hike. The meal felt overly extravagant and it felt like my stomach had shrunk, yet we still savored our lunch. To this day, this is the best burger I’d ever had.

After taking the time to sit on a normal, flushing toilet and rest our legs, we were either going to stop off at Taivalkongas, the nearer hut, or press onwards to Savillampi. We decided to press ahead as far as we could, crossing the border from Finland to Lapland on our penultimate day on the trail. Savillampi was a lovely, small hut next to a river with separate rooms (we joked that the cabin was like a hotel as rather than a wooden platform, there were separate sleeping spaces with doors).

Day 5 Friday 22nd Sept – Savillampi to Trail Head

• Savillampi to Trail head (3hrs trekking)
• Highlights: Unlimited Finnish soup, one of my favourite hotel stays in Helsinki
• Lowlights: So near yet so far, the dirtiest I have ever been on a flight

We were only 10km from the finish-line, the hikers we met who were on their ‘Day 1’ looked fresh and full of energy.

We were the only hikers who completed the Karhunkierros Trail in reverse (we didn’t meet anyone else doing it this way) and as a result, I felt we were always lucky with the hut availability, there always seemed to be space for us. Everyone we met cheered us on and said we were a whisper away from the end. “Easy as pie” said one girl passing us.

We stopped early on to enjoy the soft, sugary breads we brought the day before.

I don’t know if it was a complacent mentality or as everyone said ‘it’s no problem, you’re so close to the end’ but the last day was a struggle for me. Every tree root seemed intent on toppling me over, every small ascent felt monstrous on my calves. Even the KM counters seemed to taunt, at 1km/81km completed, I purposely sat on the ground and dropped my pack, stating fiercely why is a few KMs taking so damn long?

Alex and I reached the wooden entrance which marked the ‘start’ of the Bear Trail, I whooped in complete contentment and delight, from Day 1 of ‘we need to leave immediately so we do not freeze to death’ to completing the full trail, it was a feeling I can’t begin to describe. I was relieved, happy and felt full of beans after 82km and 5 days on the hike.

We waited at Hautajarvi Visitor Centre for an onward bus back to Kuusamo Airport, our flight back to Helsinki was that evening. For lunch, we ordered the traditional Finnish set where you ‘help yourself’ to soup, breads and juice. To this day, I do not know if the soup was unlimited or not but the hot potatoes, salty stock and boiled root vegetables felt like a godsend after 5 days on the trail. We saw an elderly couple take another bread roll and this ‘gave us permission’ to eat copious amounts of soup, bread, cheese and meats after the hike.

I peeled off my hiking socks where various toes and nails were wrapped in tape due to blisters, we finished well and truly on the Arctic Circle ‘Salla – In the Middle of Nowhere’.

From Hautajarvi Visitor Centre, we connected to Kuusamo Airport and flew back to Helsinki. My original ‘Bear Trail’ plan had the last night in Ruka (to shower and to look civilised at the end of the trek).

With the last 10km accidentally occurring on the same day as our flight, I boarded the Finnair flight sheepishly having been unable to shower in 5 days on the trail. My skin felt wind-burnt, my hair was greasy and I was wearing the same clothes I’d worn when I flew in. We arrived into Helsinki and checked into Hotel AX, for a much needed shower, Hotel AX, is a fantastic city centre hotel with the softest pillows I have ever slept on.

Trip Tips:

• Part one of our Bear Trail hike is here. The Bear Trail is 82km and can be completed in 4 to 5 days (depending on the flight arrival time into Kuusamo)
• The bus from Hautajarvi stops in Ruka, a non-descript ski town. This connects with another bus back to Kuusamo Airport is €10pp Airport bus with Pohjolan Matka 
• I would recommend doing The Bear Trail in reverse as the hardest day on the route is the last leg from Ruka to Porontimajoki (map here). It means getting the hardest out of the way first and we also did not meet a single hiker doing the route in reverse, this allowed better hut availability later on for our trek (Day 2, 3, 4 and 5).
• I made the mistake of assuming the bus to Hautajärvi runs everyday. It only runs Wednesday to Sunday, the timetable is here. This is why we accidentally did the trail in reverse!
• All food and drink needs to be carried with you as there are no facilities on route except for Oulanka Visitor Centre which is on Day 2 of the trail (or Day 4 if doing it in reverse).
• We boiled water in order to sterilise water before drinking. There are streams and water courses along the way. I would recommend Water purification tablets
• We carried a stove and a tent but in theory, a tent isn’t required if you stay at the wooden huts
• The toilets are long-drop composting loos. Bring your own toilet roll.
• If you have any questions, please feel free to comment here and I’ll be happy to help.