Safe Return Doubtful

Being only a thirty minute drive from Turku, and ninety minutes from Helsinki, Teijo National Park is very popular at holidays and weekends. It is 34 square kilometres, but has more than 60 kilometres of hiking and biking trails. It was on,y established in 2015, when it was discovered that the type of mire found here, had all but disappeared in the south of the country. The area had always had visitors for outdoor activities, but after it gained National Park status more businesses opened offering various types of refreshment and accommodation. 

After the rain of Saturday the weather settled into a period of very calm, cloudy and humid days typical of autumn here; perfect for the outdoors, with temperatures between 12 and 18C. 

Initially I used a hiking car park deep in the forest for a trail that I did with Roja the following day. In the late afternoon we moved a few kilometers south to another similar car park, but that gave us the opportunity to get round the two main trails, each about 12 kilometres. 

There were a few people in the villages, Teijo, and more so in Matilda, which has the sort of infrastructure one would expect, cafes, ice cream shop, campground, pub and restaurant. I was stocked up prior to arriving, so didn’t need any of that. 

On arriving at the car park in the south, we took a short hike as I usually do in the evenings, about 6 pm. At the Matilda Lake I said hello to a guy walking alone and we got chatting. He was a firefighter from Denver, Colorado who was visiting the Finnish side of his family, something he did every few years. He was based in Helsinki, but had driven out to do a few tourist type things ahead of sharing a few beers with his cousin in Turku later that evening. We were about the same age, so obviously spoke about retirement; me a few years into it, he, on the verge of taking it. He said though, that the Fire Department looked after its more senior employees by giving them more vacation time. He was not long back from a trip to Glacier National Park in Montana with his daughter, a place I knew quite well, having cycled through there, over the famous ‘Going To The Sun’ road on my Beers Of The Great Divide Tour in 2014. The link to that day of the ride is here.

It was the first of three courses along the Rocky Mountains in the next four years. 

The firefighter’s vacation was coming after a tough fire season. Though he is a city fireman he has been contracted out the last few years to fight wild fires. I actually have a friend who does this also, a New Zealand girl who we biked New Zealand with in 2004. Her full time job now is fighting wild fires around the world. 

We spoke about beer also, as that is something Colorado does very well. In order to chat over these important matters I extended the walk by an hour or so, as we wandered together. Initially when I meet someone and chat, I have noticed that these days, Roja goes and lies at the other person’s feet. When he was younger he used to look at me, as if to say ‘hurry up, let’s get moving again’.. but now, he just takes the opportunity of a break. This, him lying at their feet, usually goes down very well. 

After two good days in Teijo this afternoon I drove an hour west to a nature reserve near to the town of Kirkkonummi, around Meiko Lake. Again, I’m using the hiking car park, and it’s quite busy on a fine evening. Roja met another fox red labrador while I was attending to some business. She was with a group of guys heading out for an open water swim. Her owner told me that he swam two kilometres, and the dog did most of that with him. Though the car park is quite busy, when out of the trails we didn’t see anyone. 

I’m getting closer to Helsinki now, though I don’t need to be there until Sunday, but there is one more National Park I want to take in, and we plan to get there later tomorrow. 

Some recommendations, as I don’t remember passing anything on for a while. 

The Out To Lunch podcast hosted by Adrian Edmondson, with the guest Tony Visconti. For those not of my generation, he is a record producer who discovered, amongst others, TRex and David Bowie. 

Mark Gatiss reading the ghost stories of EF Benson. It’s an audio book. 

The Classic Tales Podcast. Today I listened to the excellent The Man Who Disliked Cats by PG Wodehouse. It lasts about 40 minutes. 

Thanks to Sue, for the recommendation of the film Kneecap, which I watched on Sunday night. I didn’t expect a lot, but after 15 minutes really got into it, and I’m sure it will be up there as a film of the year. It’s about Irish Hip Hop..