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82 km hike in three days; Karhunkierros

Updated: Jul 29, 2020

Dear Reader,


One night three weeks ago, I was sitting in my best friend's kitchen asking her about her holiday plans. By chance, she mentioned being interested in completing the famous Karhunkierros (the Bear Trail) in Lapland. There are two trails; one family-friendly 12 km day trail and the Big Bear Trail which is 82 km long and meant for a three to five-day hike. My boyfriend left Finland on a Sunday morning so I told my friend that the hike has always been at the top of my bucket list but that I have a wedding in Helsinki on Friday so I would have to complete the hike in three and a bit days. She accepted the challenge and off we went on Sunday with the intention of hiking from Monday to Wednesday and driving out on Thursday afternoon, finishing the last few kilometres on Thursday morning.

All online resources and friends who had completed the hike said that you should start the hike from the north; Hautajärvi and finish the hike off at the Ruka centre. There’s a bus that runs between these two places and costs 10.5 e. The bus schedule can be found at https://www.ruka.fi/liikkuminen#kimppataksi You can also access the map here: https://www.retkikartta.fi/?id=853


We had got it in our heads that since we would arrive late Sunday night that we would start the trip from Ruka against all instructions. The main reasoning given to the north start was that people like to finish on the high hills (we don’t really have mountains) of Ruka to have a nice final view. However, we didn’t find the reasoning sufficient and there were no more buses running between Ruka and Hautajärvi so we had to leave the car to our start. There’s a secure parking garage underneath the Ruka centre which costs 15 e per day. We wanted to start our hike once we arrived and make it to the first hills. We arrived just before midnight, filled up our water bottles at the hotel where we got our before-picture and headed out. We made it to the hills in the most beautiful sunset and hiked the first three kilometres. We heard that most of the hills were at the Ruka end and because of our schedule rush on Thursday, we didn’t want to take a risk and leave the toughest part to the end. I think we made a perfect choice!

Let me say it very clearly; I definitely, 100 % would recommend starting the journey from Ruka. We got the views, the sunset, the journey got easier all the time and we didn’t have too many people hiking with us and found wilderness huts to sleep in because of our choice of direction.


There are eight open wilderness huts which are maintained by the government, you are allowed to sleep in these for free but they work on first come first served basis so you should still bring a tent with you especially if you are travelling during the popular season. More information about the huts here: https://www.luontoon.fi/oulanka/palvelut There is also one hut which is a so-called day hut where you are not allowed to sleep but it is clearly distinguished.


We spent our first-night camping near the peak of Valtavaara, made a fire and got some fresh water from the pond. It was a short night and, in the morning, we conquered the hill and proceeded our journey forward. In the first 7 kilometres, there are 10 ‘mountains’ so the progress speed is around 2 km an hour. The last one is the second-highest peak on the hike, Konttainen rising up to nearly 500 metres. All the ponds and the river are drinkable water. We saw some people having water filters with them but we didn’t find it necessary, just make sure that you fill up at all the lakes etc especially when you are heading for those hills. You can also bathe or dip in those lakes but there are no shower opportunities along the route.

Okay, let’s talk about the walk itself!


Because we were on a strict timeline, we had some long hiking days. Including the 3 km, we hiked in the middle of the night, on our first day we hiked 23,5 km altogether. At 15 km there is a beautiful hut called Porotima which has a sauna but sadly, it didn’t work for our schedule. We stopped for a warm lunch after 10 km and stayed the night at Siilastupa by a waterfall. This is a ten-person hut (measured to a squeeze) and we did have a rather uncomfortable night with damp clothes inside and someone lit the fireplace during the morning hours which led to the hut being extremely hot and humid.

We knew that Tuesday would be a rainy day so we got geared up in all our rain gear in the morning and headed out. The hike route for the day was lovely, easy-going and we made good time. The rain came down heavily so we stopped just 5 km before Jussinkämppä at an open hut which had a fireplace where we dried our clothes for a bit and ate lunch. The following 5 km was probably one of the hardest on the journey. There were two sections where you had to hike right by the rapids on a narrow, muddy path. The hills were also slippery and muddy and filled with tree roots to irritate you to the maximum. It took near forever to reach Jussinkämppä where we just stayed long enough to sit down by the fire for a second. It looked like a lovely place to stay and was packed to the max.

We proceeded another 8 km to Ansakämppä which accommodates 20 people and had the loveliest views. We got lucky and the hut was nearly empty so we decided to stick around and dry our clothes there. Altogether we hiked around 24 km that day.


Make sure that you have a good back bag that also comes with a rain cover. Mosquito net for your face and a good raincoat will save you a lot of pain too. Also, remember to walk in your hiking shoes.

Wednesday was a beautiful, sunny day and we made excellent time on our hike. I even embraced some time in shorts because my legs were already eaten and destroyed by the bugs from before. Everything that came after we passed the halfway sign felt super light and easy-going.

There were some absolutely gorgeous hanging bridges and the route follows the riverside for most of the time giving you stunning peeks of waterfalls and canyons. Due to the great section of the route and the fabulous weather, we made great progress.

We hiked 12 km before we stopped for lunch and then ran into the Oulanga Nature Centre where you can get ice cream! We nearly cried of happiness. There's also a great place for a photoshoot by the Centre where many families were enjoying lunch. A reindeer herd also became interested in us so we walked together for a while. Such adorable, calm creatures.


We had a tough choice towards the end of our third day; we wanted to leave fewer than 12 km for our final day but all the maps simply showed a 15 km path from the last hut to the finale with two open fireplaces on the way at unspecified spots. You can always get water at these places and since we were high on the hills, the sensible plan was to walk until we ran into these and then see how many kilometres were left. The first fireplace was at 13 km from the finish. We didn't want to stay that far and were trying to measure the map for a distance to the next one since we had already walked over 23 km that day. We estimated it around 5 and headed on. The fireplace was actually located 6 km away leaving us with just 6,7 km to the finish line for the next morning. The day was hectic with over 29 km hike but being so close to the finish line felt amazing. We put up a tent, made dinner, had a final swim and went to bed happy. I felt so light waking up the next day knowing that we weren't in any rush and we had a great time and brilliant weather to finish the hike. The last kilometres from our direction were super easy-walking and made the decision to hike form Ruka to Hautajärvi even better. We sang Queen's 'We Are the Champions' as we jointly jumped across the finish line.

There's a small cafe at the Hautajärvi centre and the bus back left at 13.25. The journey by car is 48 km so if there aren't many pick-ups on the way, it will take around half an hour to get back. The driver and the cafe accept both cash and card.


What to bring with you:

-sleeping bag; it gets quite cold at night and can be very damp

-sleeping mattress

-tent: no guarantee that you can get into the huts. also, a tent might be more comfortable -mosquito repellent: even if you aren't sensitive, there are billions

-mosquito hat: just take my word for it

-raincoat: I had two. One sporty for drizzle and one hardcore. I also had rain trousers

-camp cooker aka Trangia (and something to wash it with) plus cutlery, matches, Sinoli

-enough dry layers, you must change into a full dry bottom layer during breaks or you will get ill. I had spare t-shirts, trousers and a small down jacket that I never hiked with so that I always had dry things to change into

-hiking boots that you have walked in

-blister plasters and a 1st aid kit

-enough snacks in your pockets, you will burn around 3 000 to 3 500 calories a day

-two to three pairs of socks per day

- your own toilet paper and wet wipes

-a beanie or a hat

-towel

-a seat cushion will help you during lunch etc

-camp shoes: after a long day it's nice to walk around camp with lighter shoes

- water bag or enough water bottles to carry at least 1,5 litres at one time

- power bank: the huts don't have electricity

-sports watch or something to track kilometres with

-cash or a card

-remember your car keys, parking ticket (which we left in the car) and download the Finnish 112 app


My bestie also highly recommended compression socks.


Pro-tip; pack everything in plastic bags inside your bag and bring extra plastic bags in case something gets wet or your shoes get soaked





 
 
 

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