Translated as the Bear’s Trail, or the Bear’s Ring, this long distance hiking path runs for 82 kilometres, and is the most popular in Finland, attracting about 15,000 hikers each year.
Over the course of five days I will encounter much of it, starting with the loop section which I wrote about in the last post. I repeated that in reverse yesterday. I had initially read that it was better to do it clockwise in the summer, which I did first, but I would disagree, my choice after doing both would be anti-clockwise; the section above the canyon is better appreciated, and that is certainly a highlight.
Eastern Finland has the highest density of population of the Eurasian Brown Bear, and particularly the Arctic areas. There are about 2,500 bears in Finland. Unlike Sweden, they can only be hunted when in possession of an exceptional permit, which is granted only when the population exceeds a certain amount. Sweden are currently culling 20% of the bears unfortunate enough to reside there, 500 in total, and this will be done in the first days of the hunting season which has just begun. Sweden has about the same number of bears as Finland does. Controversially, Sweden has culled wolves and lynx in recent years similarly, while its neighbours leave them alone. Conservationists criticise it as solely being trophy hunting.
In the circuit I met a few people, drawn into conversation usually because of the size or amount of sticks that Roja was carrying. Most interesting perhaps was a Czech family with a daughter of 17 and son of 14 who were on vacation for three weeks hiking some of the long distance trails of the Arctic. The daughter was about to enter her final school year and at the International school that neighboured the one I worked at in Prague, albeit in 2005.. Such schools give their students the opportunity to get IB qualifications which enables them to get into universities throughout the world. She was aiming for the States. I actually met them three times; once not long after starting, then on the way around as we were going in opposite directions, and then a third time when they stopped at the van for a chat as they were leaving in their vehicle.
After three nights parked at Basecamp in the Oulanka National Park this morning I drove thirty kilometres south to Ruka, a ski resort near to the southern terminus of the Karhunkierros trail. We hiked a 12 kilometre section of the trail that formed a loop that took in Valatvaara summit and a ridge that extended north for a kilometre that was the day’s highlight.
This hot Arctic summer doesn’t seem to want to go away anytime soon. I had written that the mosquitoes had gone, which indeed they had, but the last few days have been warm and humid, with the temperature at night not dropping below the late teens. Last night my outdoor thermometer recorded a minimum of 20C. I had the side door open most of the night and Roja chose to remain outside.
I tick off another year today which will make a grand total of 63. I was actually in Cumbria this time last year, but otherwise it has been many years since I have been in the UK on 23rd August. It pretty much proceeds like the usual day. It’s a Friday, so it’s a day when I usually have a beer watching the sport in the evening, and thankfully Storm Lilian has passed so cricket is being played in Manchester, though it played havoc with Manchester Pride and the Leeds Festival, and that will go well with a Chimay.
Safe Return Doubtful 
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