Starting 19:15 at Matildanjärvi.
Lots of interesting things to look at.
Not only walking...
... and not always the easiest way.
Bog-rosemary (fi suokukka, swe rosling).
Continuing towards Puolakanjärvi.
Our goal, the forest island to the right.
Almost there.
The first task was to put up the tent. There was actually another small group at the shelter (usually I see nobody on my outings), but we found a nice tent spot a bit away.
After that the kids went exploring the surroundings.
We grilled a few sandwhiches over the fire started by the other group. Delicious!
The evening was quite beautiful. Sunset at 22:15. Not bad.
Time to sleep. There were already a few mosquitoes around, enough to warrant the bug inner tent.
The kids did complain a little about the light, but soon fell asleep anyway.
The night was full of bird sounds, and in the beginning some noise from the other group. The temperature went a bit lower than expected, down to 3ºC (37ºF), but the kids said they were warm the entire time. Their sleeping bags should be good to around a little below freezing, but they seemed to glide off their half-length sleeping pads all the time, making it colder for them.
We slept long in the morning, and when we started to wake up the sun was already warming the tent to a comfortable temperature. We all ate porridge and drank hot chocolate / coffee.
Morning view.
The first night in the new tent, a Golite Shangri-La 5 with a bug inner tent, was promising. Light weight, lots of space and not a single drop of condensation despite no wind and a fairly chilly night. I'll make a post about tents later...
Morning exploring while I took down the tent.
The kids carried their own sleeping bags and pads, while I took the rest. My 80 liter backpack weighing 1.8 kg wins me no credibility amongst the lightpacking crowd, but otherwise the gear was lightweight. I would probably get a new light backpack if I would do more backpacking. A modern 60 liter backpack should weigh clearly under 1 kg.
On the move again.
Always something to take a closer look at.
Blueberry blossoms.
Small, but important, details.
We arrived at the car after a one hour walk. The children were satisfied with the outing and immediately asked when we will do it again.
A slideshow with more pictures.
