Bunny Goes to Hossa: Hiking, Kayaking And Other Questionable Decisions

This September, Bunny found herself back in Finland and decided that some autumn hiking was in order. Naturally, she needed a suitably exercise-mad friend to accompany her.

Enter Hossa National Park.

Hossa became Finland’s 40th national park in 2017, after many years as a popular hiking and outdoor destination. Located in northeastern Finland, in the northern part of Suomussalmi close to the Russian border (a little too close to Putin for Bunny’s liking), Hossa is all about crystal-clear lakes, pine forests, rugged eskers and ancient rock paintings. There are around 90 km of marked trails, most of them relatively easy-going, winding through some seriously gorgeous Finnish scenery.

Bunny and her friend had three days. They managed to squeeze a rather ridiculous amount into them.

Day 1: Hiking. Lots of hiking.

They arrived at Hossa around lunchtime and, naturally, went straight from the car to the hiking trails.

First up was Ölökyn ylitys, a challenging trail in the spectacular Julma-Ölkky gorge. The route follows the gorge high above the deep blue lake, with beautiful views of the cliffs, forests and water.

The trail goes halfway around Julma-Ölkky Lake and includes plenty of ups and downs, as well as a rather impressive suspension bridge. It is also possible to circumvent the whole lake, but Bunny and friend didn't have time for that. It was the day with the best weather of the trip and, frankly, absolutely gorgeous.

They went clockwise and somehow it took them 2,5 hours to cover just 5km. Hmmm. In Bunny’s defence, there was a lot of stopping for photographs. Deep blue water, clear skies, gorgeous pine forest… Bunny was hardly going to just walk past all that.

There was also the small matter of her friend producing a bowl of hot lentil soup halfway through the hike. Perfection.

Hossa’s Ancient Rock Paintings

After completing Ölökyn ylitys, Bunny and friend immediately set off again. Because one hike a day clearly isn’t enough.

Next up was Värikallio, home to some of Finland’s oldest rock paintings. The route from the Hossa Nature Centre and back is around 9km. Bunny nearly lost her courage when she saw the distance. Nine kilometres?! She started doing complicated calculations in her head about whether they would even make it back before dark. Her friend, meanwhile, was already marching off at approximately twice Bunny’s preferred speed.

Fortunately, this trail was considerably faster-going. And Värikallio was absolutely worth the effort.

The paintings are estimated to be around 3,500–4,500 years old, which is a rather humbling thought when you’re standing there looking at them. The figures are wonderfully mysterious, stick-like people with triangular heads, accompanied by various animals. Bunny spotted what looked suspiciously like dogs. They could also have been dragons. Who knows.

The trail itself was mostly pleasant, although the rocky section at the beginning was not particularly kind to Bunny’s delicate little paws. Thankfully, there was hot chocolate and cookies waiting near Värikallio, enjoyed in the glorious afternoon sunshine.

By the end of the day, Bunny and friend had clocked up around five hours of hiking. Time to check in.

Hossaville Tiny Luxury Cabins

For their stay, Bunny had chosen Hossaville Tiny Luxury Cabins, conveniently located almost next to the Hossa Nature Centre.

The location was excellent, with beautiful views over Lake Öllöri and gorgeous sunsets right from the cabin.

The cabin itself was stylish and very well equipped, although rather small. The kitchen was basically designed for one person at a time, which meant Bunny was more than happy to surrender all cooking duties to her friend.

There were, however, two very important features:

A sauna.

And an outdoor hot tub. On the terrace. With a view. Bunny approved.

The bed also had a lovely view, although after five hours of hiking she was fairly confident she could have slept standing up.

Not before an extensive sauna and hot-tub session, obviously. Possibly accompanied by a glass of bubbly.

Day one: successful.

Day 2: Bunny Becomes an “Experienced Kayaker”

Hossa is one of Finland’s best paddling destinations, so obviously Bunny and friend had to try kayaking. They booked kayaks and transportation through the Hossa Nature Centre.

There was, however, a small problem. Bunny is not an experienced kayaker. Her friend, on the other hand, had told the staff that they were seasoned kayakers. Bunny therefore kept very quiet while they received their equipment and instructions. There were helmets. This did not exactly increase Bunny’s confidence.

Their route was part of the Julma-Ölkky–Somer–Hossa canoeing route, described as a relatively easy, maze-like lake route featuring small rapids, rugged canyon landscapes and pine forests.

They were dropped off at Laukkujärvi and planned to paddle via Talasjärvi, Puukkojärvi, Hakokoski and Huosiusjärvi before finishing at Nurmiselkä.

The beginning was lovely. Calm water. Beautiful scenery. Even some sunshine. Bunny was starting to think that perhaps she really was a natural kayaker.

Then came the rapids. The first one was easy enough. Bunny survived. Confidence increased. Then came the second rapid. And one particular rock. Right in the middle. Naturally, this was the rock Bunny headed directly towards. She hit it. Got stuck.

And then sat there in her kayak in the middle of the rapids, wondering what exactly an experienced kayaker was supposed to do next. Apparently, the answer was NOT to use her paws to push the kayak off the rock. That’s what she did regardless.

And it worked. Sort of. The kayak was successfully freed from the rock. Unfortunately, it was now pointing backwards. And moving rapidly downhill.

What to do?

Well, obviously, Bunny rode the rapids backwards. Her friend, already waiting downstream, found this highly entertaining. Bunny considered it a qualified success. She had tackled the rapid. The fact that she had done so backwards was merely a technical detail.

After that, Bunny decided to wear her helmet for the rest of the trip which was a very sensible decision. Miraculously, Bunny managed not to tip the kayak over or fall into the freezing water. How she achieved this remains one of life’s great mysteries.

They stopped for lunch at the Torkonluikea campfire site, where Bunny’s friend produced a delicious packed lunch based on recipes from the excellent Viimeistä Murua Myöten website.

There were more rapids further along the route. Apparently, none were higher than Class 1. Bunny nevertheless developed a newfound appreciation for people who voluntarily tackle anything more challenging than that.

Finally, they reached Nurmiselkä and handed back the kayaks. Firm ground. Wonderful, beautiful, glorious firm ground. Bunny was relieved.

Unfortunately, her friend decided they hadn’t done quite enough exercise yet. So they went for an afternoon walk in the nearby forest. At least the sauna was already heating up back at the cabin.

After some lovely forest scenery and ponds, Bunny and friend returned to their usual evening ritual:

Sauna. Hot tub. Sauna. Hot tub. Dinner.

Day two: another success.

Day 3: Kokalmuksen kierros

The weather forecast for their final day was looking rather wet, so Bunny and friend spent some time debating which hike to choose.

Bunny wanted to do Harjujen huikonen, a 12 km route. Her friend wanted Kokalmuksen kierros, a 14 km route.

Guess which one they did? Yes. Kokalmuksen kierros.

Both routes are also used by mountain bikers, and Kokalmuksen kierros turned out to be an excellent choice. The trail was mostly flat, extremely pleasant and ran alongside lakes for much of the way. It was exactly the kind of peaceful Finnish wilderness Bunny had been hoping for.

They even encountered some reindeer. Always a bonus.

One of the highlights was Muikkupuro, which they deliberately saved for later in the hike by going clockwise. The timing was almost perfect. They arrived just after the day’s only proper rain shower, found the incredibly clear water, settled down at the facilities and enjoyed some delicious lemongrass noodle soup.

Rainy Finnish wilderness lunch. Not bad at all.

After completing the 14 km loop, Bunny was actually willing to keep walking. This was getting serious.

So they decided to visit some of the rapids they had kayaked through the previous day, this time from the safety of dry land. And, frankly… Uh-oh. The rapids looked terrifying. Bunny and her friend stared at them in disbelief. They had actually kayaked through these? The previous day? Voluntarily?

They couldn’t quite believe it. Bravo, middle-aged women doing scary things!

They continued walking all the way to Hakokoski, one of the more intimidating rapids, where they sat by the campfire, sipped tea and contemplated their achievements. Bunny felt particularly smug. After all, she was now an experienced kayaker. Apparently.

The final walking adventure took them partly along the Kokalmuksen kierros trail and partly along routes navigated by Bunny’s friend using maps. Bunny cannot read maps. At all. So she simply followed her friend through the Finnish wilderness, happily hopping along, or, more accurately, hopping after her.

Six hours of hiking later, they finally called it a day.

Even Bunny’s exercise-mad friend agreed that enough was enough. Hallelujah.

The rest of the evening was devoted to sauna and hot-tub bliss. Even the rain couldn’t dampen their spirits.

Hossa Highlights for Bunny

• Incredibly peaceful – there were surprisingly few people on the trails.
• Beautiful, well-marked trails through forests, ridges and around crystal-clear lakes.
• Fantastic scenery, particularly around Julma-Ölkky.
• Excellent kayaking opportunities, even if Bunny’s technique remains questionable.
• Great accommodation, especially if your idea of wilderness involves a private sauna and hot tub.

One Important Note

This was an extremely rare occurrence: Bunny did absolutely none of the trip planning. Her friend planned the hikes, the kayaking, the routes and, most importantly, all the snacks and evening meals.

Bunny’s only responsibility was the accommodation. This was deliberate. Because if she had left that to her friend, they would almost certainly have stayed in a tiny tent in the middle of the woods, freezing to death, getting no sleep and generally maximising their misery. Bunny, as regular readers will know, prefers her wilderness adventures with a proper bed, sauna and hot tub. She suspects her friend secretly agrees. She would never admit it, obviously. Stubborn as she is.

Either way, Hossa delivered exactly what Bunny had hoped for: beautiful autumn scenery, excellent hiking, a little bit of terrifying kayaking, plenty of sauna time and just enough questionable decision-making to make the trip memorable.

Would Bunny go back? Absolutely. She might even kayak again.

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