Day 2: Savilampi Hut –> Ansakämppä Hut (19km) + two small detours for the views (2km)

​

Day 2 on the Karhunkierros was the day that I discovered a new form of hiking that I would call very chilled and enjoyable. It started with Alko sharing a Karhu beer with me on the hanging bridge just outside our hut at 9:30am in the morning. I suppose he wanted to get rid of some weight, haha.

​

After just one or two hours, it was time for a small break again, where Alko even stripped off his socks and hung them up to dry while preparing himself instant pasta for brunch(?).

​

After more hanging bridges, more rivers and more trees, we stumbled across a nice picknick place where we decided to have a short hot cacao break. That was a moment, where I realised how glad I was to have a hiking buddy not only because of the continiously good conversations, but also because of the milk and cacao powder he shared with me. We boiled some water from the river and enjoyed our hot drinks next to reindeer poop until I suddenly noticed huge grey clouds behind us.

​

We quickly packed our stuff together and continued on the trail until we got to Oulanka Visitor Center where we went inside for another break as it was pouring rain again. Clouds, Rain, Sun, Clouds, Rain, Sun. The weather on this day was crazy and to be honest, really exhausting. Alko and I started today’s hike with the idea to make it one hut further than planned in order to finnish the Karhunkierros in four instead of five days. But after starting quite late, having so many breaks and additionally regarding Alko’s suffering due to the 25kg on his back, we decided to follow our original plan and stayed at the Ansakämppä hut.

​

Before we arrived there, though, just after leaving the Oulanka visitor center, we saw an impressive river winding his way through rocks and were motivated again. Until this point, we agreed that the hike wasn’t as spectacular as we thought it would be, but let me tell you, after this moment, it only got better!

​

As the climate on the Karhunkierros was quite moderate, changing from cold and wet to sunny and fresh, entering a hut always felt like opening the door to a sauna. It was super hot and humid. Another thing that I could observe, was, that most people in the huts weren’t as social as I was used to from hiking in Germany or New Zealand or as I heard from stories of my brothers hikes in America. As it is probably true for the majority of Finnish people, they mostly kept to themselves.

​

Well, that was another reason that I was so thankful not to be alone. Alko gave me some of the canned moose meat, which a friend of him shot and prepared, and I used it to spice up my instant spagetti carbonara. Stripping off my tight hiking boots never felt so good before, even though I discovered two new blisters on my second left toe. I brushed my teeth by the river and tried to do some stretching before I fell asleep on the wooden planks.