The World Esperanto Congress takes place each year in late July or early August. Last year, Tim and I went to the event in Tanzania together. This year's congress is taking place in Brno, Czechia and - while it looks like a lovely place - I suspect the excursions are not going to be quite as exciting as they were in Arusha. While Tim is semi-obligated to attend for work reasons, I am not and so, now that my busiest period of the year at work is over, I decided to have an adventure on my own. I considered various destinations, but the last week of July is a hot, busy and expensive time of the year to go to most places. Then, when we were in Saariselkä in January, it occurred to me that I'd been saying for years that I'd like to see what Lapland was like without the snow, but never got around to organising the trip. Here was my opportunity! I started researching and discovered that it was possible to do lots more walking during the summer than it is in winter, with lots of the routes that are cross country ski runs during the snowy months turning into hiking trails during the warmer ones. Before I knew it, I'd booked the flights and invested in a brand new backpack.

I left home around lunchtime on Thursday, walking to the station in Nuneaton and catching a train to Coventry. I should add at this point that Tim did offer to give me a lift - in fact, he did offer to give me a lift all the way to Heathrow at one point - but I'd found that it was possible to get to the airport very cheaply via National Express coach from the bus station in Coventry. And when I say very cheaply, I mean it was only £25 for a return ticket   That's a lot cheaper than it would be to go by train, and a lot cheaper than paying for a week of parking at an airport too.

I hadn't been anywhere with National Express for a very long time but it all turned out to be very straightforward. The coach was air-conditioned, with WiFi and charging points. While you can't reserve a specific seat, they don't sell more tickets than there are seats, so you definitely get one - which is more than I can say for a lot of train journeys!

It took about two hours to reach the bus station at Heathrow. My flight to Finland wasn't until Friday morning, so I took another short bus to a hotel where Tim and I stayed the night before we flew to New York in February. I had quite a nice room...

...and enjoyed a pizza in the hotel bar before heading to bed for an early night.

My flight to Helsinki was at 10.20 on Friday morning, so I had a reasonably early start the next day, having breakfast in the hotel and then catching a bus back to the airport. My journey today has probably been a bit more glamorous than Tim's Ryanair flight to Prague, as I'd decided to splash out on Finnair business class for the 3-hour flight to Helsinki.

I definitely couldn't complain about my seat; it was super comfy and came with two cushions

Once I was up in the air I was able to make use of the footrest...

...while I enjoyed some coffee and a snack.

As it was a comparatively short flight, the meal was served pretty soon. It was chicken (which was very nice) served with some rather dubious pea puree (not a fan!).

I was just started to feel disappointed that there hadn't been any dessert, when the cabin crew came round with more coffee and the most amazing warm vanilla pastry.

All too soon the plane was coming down to land in Helsinki. It looked significantly greener out the window than it normally does in January!

Finland is two hours ahead of the UK, so the flight landed around 15.20 local time. My connecting flight to Ivalo wasn't until 19.55, so I had plenty of time to kill in Helsinki airport. Luckily Helsinki is a really nice spacious airport, so that didn't really feel like a hardship.

Finnish passport control is often a little bit intense, but I had all the correct answers prepared as to where I was going and how long for, so I got through it with relative ease this time. The border guard warned me to beware of mosquitos. I hope I am sufficiently prepared for the mosquitos.

It was surprisingly hot in Helsinki today - my phone said 30 degrees - and apparently Lapland has been having a heatwave over recent weeks too. I had an iced americano (and another pastry!) in one of the airport cafes to cool off.

Because I had a business class ticket, I was also allowed to visit the Finnair lounge so after a while I went to explore that. The food was a bit weird; some sort of Finnish stew which seemed to be pieces of hotdog in tomato sauce. But there were plenty of free drinks to choose from.

There was even an automatic lingonberry juice dispenser  

Eventually it was time to go and find the gate for my flight to Ivalo. On the way I found that some parts of the airport are permanently celebrating Christmas!

My flight took off promptly, taking just under two hours to reach Ivalo. I had a window seat so was hoping I might see some of the view for the first time (although I've flown from Helsinki to Ivalo quite a few times, it's always been in the dark!) but it turned out to be quite a cloudy trip. I didn't really see any of the countryside until the plane was just about to come in to land.

First impressions were that Ivalo in summer looks... wet!

Seriously wet! I think whatever heatwave Lapland was having may be over.

I walked out of the airport and got straight onto the airport bus, which costs EUR 14 for the 30-minute drive to Saariselkä. It wasn't as busy as it sometimes is in winter; there were only three other people on the bus and they all seemed to be Finnish.

Before too long I was getting off the bus at a familiar stop near the centre of the village. Although it was around half ten at night by this point, it was still pretty bright outside. And luckily the rain had eased off.

I'm staying at a different apartment to the one we normally book in winter, but I knew approximately where it was so I set off in that direction. I was walking along the main street when I saw... a reindeer coming towards me  

Gosh, that was unexpected! He was completely unbothered by my presence; just busy eating some grass!

My apartment was just around the corner. I retrieved the keys from the key safe and let myself in. It's quite compact, but cosy. I've got a bedroom area...

...plus a kitchen/dining space.

And of course, because it's Finland, even a small apartment has a sauna in the bathroom.

Also, because it's Finland, the first thing I had to do was make my own bed, which is always a joy after a long day of travelling   But even after I'd done that, it was still light outside the window. Good job I have packed my eye mask!

Everywhere looks incredibly green and so different without snow. I'm looking forward to exploring more tomorrow  

Breakfast was a bit sparse when I woke up in Saariselkä this morning; the supermarket was closed by the time I arrived last night and not reopening until later this morning, so I had to make do with the snacks I'd managed to buy in the airport last night.

I was excited to get outside as soon as possible and see what Saariselkä looks like without the snow. And wow, the conclusion is that it looks really, really different! I kept finding myself in places I barely recognised, despite knowing exactly where I was

This photo is taken at the start of the walk up Kaunispää fell, which Tim and I did a couple of times back in January. In winter there's a path that goes down the small slope and then between the trees. In summer, that path isn't there... but there is a lake!

Here's a photo of more or less the same spot in January.

The surprise lake was very pretty.

There was a little beach area where it looked like people probably go swimming at this time of year.

I continued along the main road, passing the side road to the cabins where Tim and I usually stay in winter.

In the background I could see the big hill where there's normally downhill skiing and a ski school.

Ordinarily, it looks like this:

It was considerably warmer today at least  I found another lake...

...and then a bit of ground I definitely recognised.

It might not look worth photographing today, but in winter this is normally where all the snowmobiles are parked!

I passed the little wooden church...

...then made my way round to one of the outdoor shops in the village, where I rented some hiking poles for the next few days. I've got my own poles at home, but because I flew with hand baggage only I wasn't able to pack them; the sharp tips on the end apparently mean they're not allowed as cabin baggage. There was a lot of activity at the rental shop, but it seemed like everyone else was there to rent mountain bikes.

Once I was suitably equipped I made my way to the entrance of the Urho Kekkonen National Park.

Another place that was looking a bit greener today than it normally does  

There are lots of maps and info inside the teepee structure, including a sign asking people to be considerate of reindeer. So far I hadn't encountered any today!

I set off on the straightforward Aurorapolku trail, which I've done lots of times in the winter. The brightly coloured barriers were a new addition last year, I think to stop people tobogganing on the path.

I passed by some water and was pleasantly surprised that so far there didn't seem to be any mosquitos or other annoying flying bugs.

I definitely recognised this bridge, which is normally quite difficult to navigate over in snowshoes.

The path starts by going quite steeply uphill, which is actually easier to show in a photo without the snow. I've definitely seen people struggling to get down this bit when it's icy.

After the initial ascent, the path flattens off for a bit.

There's a view down to a small rocky gorge...

...and a bench to admire it from.

I definitely recognised the bench!

At this point the path splits off and turns into a different marked trail called Iisakkipää, which Tim and I normally attempt with snowshoes.

Definitely no need for those today! It was a rockier path than I expected; the snow is normally high enough to completely cover these.

I continued walking through the forest...

...until I got to a place which was part of the reason I'd rented poles. This slope is normally really steep and difficult to navigate in snowshoes! It turns out I needed have worried - there are a series of little steps to walk down in summer  

In contrast, here's me contemplating how I'm going to snowshoe down the same slope in winter:

The next part of the walk is flat and easy, though I don't remember this stream.

Shortly after this there's a crossroads where in winter we are normally faced with a dilemma. The Iisakkipää trail is supposed to be a circular route, walked in a clockwise direction. The first year we tried to follow the trail, we realised that if you go in the intended direction then you quickly come to a slope which is far too steep to get down on snowshoes. In fact, the only people I've ever seen get down it were these two ladies who decided to slide  

No such concerns today - it turns out that in summer there's a lovely staircase to walk down!

That was good news and meant I could do part of the walk that I've never done before. And I'm very glad I've never been brave enough to slide down that slope in winter, because about five minutes later there's an opposite staircase going uphill. I'm not sure I'd manage to get up a slope that steep in snowshoes!

The path continues through the forest for a while...

...and then once you get higher, the views begin to open out.

Soon I could see the top of Kaunispää, where Tim and I have had some nice meals in the restaurant after very cold uphill walks.

And I could also see back downhill to the main village of Saariselkä.

As you can see, it was quite a cloudy day today. But there wasn't any rain and it was actually quite warm.

I carried on across a landscape which was largely treeless. I bet it's cold up here in winter!

A rather rocky hill appeared in the distance.

It felt like I'd walked quite a long way by this point, but the sign at the next crossroads informed me it was only 3.4km back to Saariselkä.

The path took a right turn and went around a corner...

...and then I recognised where I was. This is normally the crossroads we get to in winter before turning around and returning the same way we've come.

Here's me in the same spot minus 20 back in January.

And here's me in about plus 20 today  

It's so different! But really cool to see the same place in such different weather  

After that the route was quite straightforward - definitely easier without snow - though rockier than I expected.

Before too long I was back in the vicinity of Saariselkä...

...and could see the national park entrance teepee on the horizon.

From there I followed the rest of the Aurora trail, back down towards the village.

I found another unexpected lake at the end of the trail!

Once I got back to the village I went to the supermarket to stock up on some much-needed supplies for the next few days. I was back in the apartment drinking coffee a bit later, when I spotted a reindeer walking past  

I couldn't believe my eyes, but this obviously isn't anything unusual at this time of year; there have been a steady procession of reindeer all evening  

I guess if you live here this isn't exciting, but it definitely is to me  

Breakfast might have been sparse yesterday but it was going to be great today; while I was at the supermarket yesterday I picked up a supply of my favourite Finnish pastries. Tim might refer to these as "soil", but I love them  

I soon realised it was a much brighter, sunnier day than yesterday once I stepped outside and started walking through Saariselkä towards the national park.

I was quite excited today because I was trying a trail called Rumakuru, which it isn't possible to walk in winter.

My route started off the same as yesterday though, following the Aurora trail steeply uphill.

The first few kilometres were then along part of the Iisakkipää trail that I'd walked on yesterday. This is the easy bit that Tim and I normally snowshoe on in winter.

After a while the path began to go more uphill...

...and I had views out over the forests.

Before too long I'd reached the crossroads where I contrasted my winter and summer selfies yesterday.

From here the Rumakuru path goes in a different direction, so everything from here onwards was new territory

I had a go at taking a selfie and realised it was so sunny it was hard to keep my eyes open.

I've never needed sunglasses in Lapland before

Unfortunately the path was also a mountain biking route, so I did have to watch out for bikes coming up behind me. It looks very rocky for cycling here to me, but lots of people seem to be doing it.

The path continued uphill for a while...

...giving more great forest views.

Part of the path must be a skiing route in winter, because I realised that some of the info boards were giving skiing distances.

Eventually the path became wider, more like a gravel road.

This led to the Rumakuru hut, which is part of the Finnish national park version of tourist amenities. There were some sort of compost toilets here, plus several fireplaces for camp fires. I didn't see it here but I remember learning on a snowshoeing excursion once that some of these have communal axes so that people can chop firewood. Can't imagine that working out in the UK  

It was a nice place to pause for lunch anyway. Lots of mountain bikers were whizzing past without stopping, which seemed like a shame because there was supposed to be a sight worth seeing here. I turned off onto a narrower path...

...which led me to a view of the Rumakuru Gorge.

This steep, rocky gorge was formed by melting water during the last Ice Age.

The name "Rumakuru" apparently means "Ugly Gorge" in Finnish. It did look very dark and rocky, but the little pool in front was pretty  

Once I'd finished admiring the gorge, I re-joined the main path.

There were lots of little streams on the way back to Saariselkä and they had varying levels of bridge across them. This one was luckily more stable than it looked from a distance!

And the stream was pretty  

I was considering turning around and going back the way I'd come when I saw the log across this one  

Luckily I then realised that there were enough stepping stones to get across without getting your feet wet.

The final stream had a much more impressive bridge!

Once I'd successfully crossed all streams, the path opened up into a wider forest road. The mountain bikers went fast on this one!

Before too long I was back in the vicinity of Saariselkä...

...and discovering new lakes.

Also discovering more reindeer!

I am the only person who seems to find the reindeer remotely interesting - I guess it's like going to Wales and photographing sheep - but I am amazed every time I see one casually wandering around.

And once I got back to the apartment I saw a few more wandering past.

Overall it was a lovely walk today and really cool to be able to see somewhere that isn't accessible in winter  

I woke up this morning to the sound of thunder  There was a very loud storm taking place around 8am and the rain was torrential; like it had been when I arrived in Ivalo on Saturday evening. I checked the weather forecast and it looked like things were due to clear up by 9ish, then stay dry until mid-afternoon when the storms would start up again.

The forecast turned out to be pretty accurate. By the time I'd had breakfast the rain had stopped. I stepped out of the front door and met my first reindeer of the day.

As I walked through the village to the national park, the sky was starting to look blue again.

My plan for today was to walk up the Kaunispää fell, which Tim and I often climb in winter. The route we take in winter is a special winter hiking trail and today I was going to be approaching it from a different direction, following a path that starts at the national park entrance.

It was quite a wide gravel path; in winter it is a cross country ski run and in summer it is (unfortunately!) also a mountain-biking route.

There were a handful of sights marked on the map along the trail. The first of these - after a few hundred metres - was the so-called "Ghost Hut". There was a sign on the wall trying to explain some sort of local ghost story - it seemed to be to do with the ghost of a bear - but it didn't make a whole lot of sense to me. Presumably it made sense in Finnish!

I walked past a lake...

...and then the path passed the Saariselkä ski centre.

There was some sort of construction work going on here and so the path was temporarily diverted, with a not very well signposted diversion. I was optimistically following a Finnish couple hiking in front of me on the assumption that they knew where they were going; it turned out they didn't! But eventually we all figured it out.

Back on the correct route, you could see that it had been raining heavily this morning.

The path was nice and flat to start with, following alongside a stream.

Eventually it began to climb up into the forest a bit more...

...and soon I could just glimpse the stream down below.

From here onwards there was quite a bit of up and down involved, crossing over various small rivers and streams.

Award for worst bridge of the day goes to this one!

By this point I'd walked quite a way from Saariselkä. The thermometer at this signpost was showing quite a high temperature by Lapland standards.

The path continued through the forest...

...until it reached the Palo-oja hut. This one is apparently built like a traditional Lappish hut.

I didn't find the communal axe, but there had definitely been some wood-chopping and a camp fire going on recently.

After the hut, the path began to climb upwards towards the top of Kaunispää.

It was quite a gentle climb, but eventually the trees began to become a bit sparser...

...and I could imagine what these ones might look like covered by snow in winter.

Eventually I could see the top of Kaunispää coming into view. There's some sort of weather station at the top, which I think is what the weird white tower is.

Now that I'd got this high and out of the treeline, the views of the surrounding countryside were amazing.

So strange to see it all looking this green, though!

At the top of the hill there is a ski lift, which is always busy in winter.

There's also this triangulation tower, which you can climb to the top of.

I admired the views from the bottom first...

...then climbed to the top.

Behind me in the photo below, you might just be able to make out a herd of reindeer (on the left) and the markings for the snowmobile route up the hill (on the right).

I could also see the restaurant...

...which looked so different to how it does in winter!

To be fair, the tower itself looks pretty different in summer...

...compared to how it does in winter too.

It's always looked too icy to climb in winter (though I have seen people try it!) so I was excited to be on the top today.

I admired the reindeer herd for a while...

...then went to get a selfie with the Saariselkä sign. Unfortunately, selfies are inverted so it's not the best  

Obviously, it should look like this

Again, a bit of a contrast to winter!

I had a coffee and a doughnut in the restaurant, but didn't want to linger for too long. Although it still looked like a beautiful sunny day, my weather app was still forecasting more thunderstorms to come.

For the trip down I'd be taking the path which Tim and I normally climb in winter.

The view down normally looks more like this!

Without the snow I could see that it actually is quite a steep path in places. There was one year where the snow was too deep for us to make it all the way up this final slope.

After a while I got back down to the forest.

At this point the summer route seemed to deviate from the winter route, with the signposts to Saariselkä taking me down what I think must be an illuminated ski run in winter.

Soon I was back in the village, walking past Santa's deserted office.

It still looked like a beautiful sunny day when I got back to the apartment, so I was starting to wonder whether I could have stayed longer on the top.

Turns out I'd judged it correctly - the rain started about half an hour later!

Very glad I wasn't on the top of the fell for that. The reindeer didn't seem bothered though  

Today was the day I was moving locations, from the centre of Saariselkä to nearby Kiilopää. Tim and I have visited Kiilopää a couple of times and done some amazing snowshoeing there. In winter there is a ski bus which runs from Saariselkä to Kiilopää in the morning, returning in the late afternoon. The ski bus - unsurprisingly - doesn't run in summer, and the schedule of the normal bus wasn't very helpful, so I'd decided a while ago that the best option would be to walk.

I couldn't check in at Kiilopää until 3pm, so I had a relatively relaxed start to the morning. As I was packing up my final bits and pieces ready to check out in Saariselkä, I heard something outside my door. I figured it might be the cleaner arriving or something like that. When I opened the door I found...

...there had been an actual reindeer walking across my porch  He didn't seem bothered at all by my presence; just wandered off.

It felt like there had been a lot of rain overnight but the sky looked brighter again today. As I set off I had a view up towards the top of Kaunispää, where I had been yesterday.

I walked to the national park entrance and started walking towards Kiilopää.

Before long I came to a rather strange structure.

No idea what it was supposed to be!

The trail was nice and wide and easy to walk on. 

In winter it's an illuminated ski run. And although it felt like the middle of nowhere, every so often there were little bill boards advertising outdoor gear shops in Saariselkä; I guess aimed at catching the attention of the skiers.

At one point I even passed what appeared to be a bar by the side of the ski run  

Before too long I'd reached a little village called Laanila, which Tim and I often walk to in the winter. I found the sign for the winter walking route we're normally on.

In winter the ski run meets the walking trail at this point.

I realised I'd been standing in the exact same spot in January...

...and remarked on the sign, which was warning people not to walk on the ski run!

As I made my way through Laanila I found a little lake...

...and then crossed over a small stream.

I'd made enough progress now for the bill boards to be advertising the cafe at Kiilopää rather than shops in Saariselkä.

The path had been mainly flat until this point, but began to go uphill slightly.

I passed a sign indicating a dogsled track...

...and then found a bench for lunch.

Time to set off again!

After lunch the path became a bit rockier.

The plus side of this was that there didn't seem to be quite as many mountain-bikers on this stretch.

At one point I heard something behind me which didn't sound quite like a bike. I turned round to check and found it was a reindeer  

The path now began to climb more steeply uphill.

Soon I was more or less above the trees and had a view out across the endless forests.

It was quite rocky up here, but very pretty.

I realised I could see the summit of Kaunispää where I was yesterday. You should just be able to make out the white weather station tower on the hill in the photo below.

It felt like I'd walked quite a long way at this point...

...but there was still further to go.

Eventually I reached the top of whatever hill I'd unexpectedly been climbing.

From here the trail led downwards towards Kiilopää.

I soon caught sight of a hill which looked very familiar.

This is the Kiilopää fell, which Tim and I snowshoed to the top of in January.

Here's the fell in January...

...and here's us looking very, very cold on the top.

Luckily it was considerably warmer than that today!

I could see the settlement of Kiilopää in the distance by this point, but I soon came to an obstacle on the trail.

I wasn't sure what this was to start with, then realised it was a gate in the reindeer fence. I guess humans can walk through this and reindeer can't?

I walked through it anyway and was soon walking out of the Kiilopää national park gate...

...and towards the main building.

There's a sort of youth hostel complex here with hotel rooms, cabins, a restaurant and an equipment rental store. I am staying in one of the cabins, which turned out to be a 10-minute walk up the road.

It's really lovely inside. I've got a kitchen-dining area...

...plus separate bedroom. Although, being Finland, the first thing I had to do was make my own bed  

While I unpacked and settled in, it began raining torrentially outside. Once it began to ease off a bit, I walked back to the main building in search of dinner. I saw a beautiful rainbow on the way.

Dinner was, erm, interesting. I didn't think you could go far wrong with pizza, but ham, blue cheese and peaches is not my favourite combination!

The restaurant was very quiet compared to how busy it normally is with skiers in winter, so it was quite a peaceful dinner until a guy ran in shouting in English that the men's sauna was on fire. Quite a commotion followed! Unfortunately all in Finnish, so I don't know what happened, but several people went running out to investigate. There was no visible sign of a fire anywhere once I'd finished eating!

I went back to the cabin to make a start on the blog. Unfortunately, I'm so far away from the main building that the WiFi doesn't seem to work, so it's been a bit of a slow process with data today.

The forecast for Wednesday was not good and when I woke up this morning it was indeed rather wet and misty.

I had a damp walk down to the main building to investigate the breakfast buffet. It's €15 a day for breakfast and there was an awful lot of very dry-looking rye bread to avoid.

After I'd got as much value for money from my breakfast as I could, I went to explore the outdoor rental shop as I wanted to rent another pair of walking poles. I was told I could rent them for four days for €18, which seemed like excellent value in comparison to breakfast. The catch was that in order to rent them I needed to show ID and I'd left my passport back in my cabin. So I walked back there, picked up my passport, walked back to the main building, successfully rented the poles this time and walked back to the cabin again to pick up the rest of my stuff.

All this going backwards and forwards meant that by the time I got to the national park entrance to actually start my hike, I'd already racked up 4,500 steps  

For contrast, here is the national park gate in winter.

Given that the weather seemed to be constantly on the verge of raining, I was just going to stick with a short walk today; one which Tim and I have done on snowshoes in the winter. The starting point of the of trail looks very different in summer...

...compared to winter, when it's a ski run that you have to sort of edge down the side of, trying not to ruin the ski tracks with your snowshoes!

This trail is called Poropolku (the reindeer trail) and is essentially a signposted nature trail, with info boards giving you facts about reindeer at regular intervals.

It was a really misty day and I couldn't see very far in front of me at all as I set off along the route.

The trees were very atmospheric in the mist though.

This info board was telling me about "blood-sucking insects", which thankfully seemed to be absent today. Maybe they weren't fans of the weather.

Soon the path came to a bridge across a stream.

I remembered this one from January!

And then before I knew it I was at the reindeer fence.

At this point I was very glad to have been here before and know how the gate worked, otherwise I'd have been quite confused. You have to move the logs, walk through and then replace them.

Beyond the reindeer fence, the trail became rockier and began to climb uphill.

It was so much easier going uphill without the snow though, so I made it to the top of the hill quicker than I expected.

It definitely took longer to get to the top in January.

The first time I came here in January 2024, it was a really clear day and the views from up here were spectacular.

Today, they were not  

Never mind, at least it wasn't really raining! I started following the path back downhill.

The return route was quite rocky, something I'd never have guessed when the path was hidden under snow.

I came to a signpost I recognised.

When Tim and I first did the walk in 2024, there was so much snow that despite the markers we lost the route at one point and were really relieved to find this signpost. Look how low the sign is on the ground (and therefore how deep the snow must have been!) compared to how it looks in summer!

The path was definitely a lot muddier in summer!

It was nice to see the landscape in a different season though, even if the weather wasn't perfect today.

Soon I was climbing back through the reindeer fence...

...and was nearly back at Kiilopää. When I'd arrived yesterday afternoon I'd been confused by these pieces of bright green artificial grass which seemed to be dotted around the trails.

I found out from the signs today that they're for frisbee golf. Though I'm not 100% clear what frisbee golf is!

Ironically, I'd walked the entire reindeer trail without seeing a single reindeer. Then, as I was just strolling back up the road towards my cabin... guess what I spotted!

They really are everywhere except on the reindeer trail!

The weather took a turn for the worse at this point with more rain and thunder so I spent a bit of time inside. Later in the afternoon it began to look positively sunny, so I ventured out for a second hike.

The sky above the national park entrance was definitely looking a lot bluer than it was this morning.

The walk I was planning to do this time was following a path called Kiirunapolku. 

The path climbs to the top of Kiilopää fell, which at 546m is the highest hill around Saariselkä.

Tim and I had snowshoed to the top back in January and it had been bitterly cold. Definitely warmer today!

I was doing the walk in the opposite direction to the way Tim and I had in January, so climbing up the bit of the hill that we'd descended.

The route is marked with these bright pink-topped poles, which I remember us trying to pick out in the snow.

I had found some of the slopes we had to climb down incredibly steep and icy back in January and hadn't enjoyed a couple of parts of the descent at all. In what is turning out to be a theme for this trip, it turned out that that was because... in summer they are staircases!

Climbing upwards was tiring but the views were amazing. In this photo you can just make out the main road, cutting through the forest.

I stopped for a breather after a particularly steep section and realised that the views might not be there for long, though.

The top of the fell was starting to look a bit cloudy...

...and everywhere was getting cloudier by the minute.

Soon I could barely see the man who had been climbing up slightly behind me!

Eventually I made it to the top.

But there really wasn't much of a view by this point  

Here's me and Tim in more or less the same spot in January

Now I just had to loop round and back down to Kiilopää. The sun was trying to poke through the clouds at times...

...but the visibility wasn't great, so I was glad of the bright pink marker poles to follow.

The route down wasn't quite as steep as the way up, coming down more gently along the side of the reindeer fence.

It had been bitterly cold climbing uphill alongside this fence in January though.

And it is actually quite a long climb. If you look at this winter picture below, you can see the line of the reindeer fence going up the hill on the left hand side. The path follows the fence, then turns towards the top of the fell.

As I got close to the bottom, the sun was starting to shine a bit more.

And then the final remaining obstacle was to cross this stream (which I have no recollection of from winter!), before enjoying some chicken and fries in the youth hostel restaurant  

The forecast looks like the weather is (hopefully!) going to be a bit brighter tomorrow, but it's been fun to see Kiilopää in different weather today.

By late evening last night the weather had completely cleared up and all the clouds had gone. This is how bright it still is outside around midnight.

Thursday was forecast to be a dry, sunny day. It was already feeling quite warm as I trekked towards the breakfast buffet.

I thought I knew what to expect from breakfast today but it turns out it's one of those buffets that changes daily. Today we had the winning combination of croissants with meatballs  

Once I'd made the best of breakfast and stepped outside, I saw my first reindeer of the day; he was hanging out outside the equipment rental shop.

The walk I was planning to do today was called the Luulampi trail. It's one that isn't doable in winter, so everything was going to be new. It started off fairly flat, with duckboards over boggy parts of ground.

I'd safely made my way across these when I turned around and saw a sign saying "Dangerous duckboards" for people coming in the opposite direction. How odd! Maybe it's dangerous if you're on a mountain bike.

After that the trail began to climb a bit and I soon had some forest views.

I soon had some reindeer views too!

These two looked like a mother and baby. The baby reindeer was really cute  

The path led across a stream, which had a bridge but no water...

...and then started to become quite rocky underfoot.

I could see Kiilopää fell, which I'd attempted to climb in the mist yesterday afternoon, in the distance.

More or less the same view in winter:

The route I was on today wasn't going to take me all the way to the top of the fell, but there was still quite a bit of uphill to do.

Eventually I came to the reindeer fence.

I don't really understand the reindeer fence, because there are definitely reindeer on both sides of it. Maybe they belong to different people?

As soon as I climbed through the gate I spotted an entire herd of them.

I also found one solo reindeer who wasn't hanging out with the rest of the herd, giving me my most scenic reindeer photo so far  

The walk did become incredibly scenic at this point.

I'd reached the highest point I had to climb to and was about to start going downhill.

There were some beautiful views on the way down.

The path was still quite steep and rocky, but at least going downhill is easier. The poles I've rented are really good, so they definitely helped.

Once I'd done a decent chunk of downhill I began to see a splash of blue in the distance.

This is the Luulampi pool, which marks the halfway point of the hike.

To be honest, once I got down to it it's quite a boggy little pool  

Luulampi is also the site of another Finnish national park hut. This one was quite big and there was a very large pile of chopped wood for camp fires.

Past the hut, the route continued over more duckboards.

Then it began to follow the route of a small river.

There wasn't a lot of water in the river today, but the valley was very pretty.

From time to time the route involved crossing a few smaller streams. Luckily not a lot of water in these either!

And then it was steeply back uphill again!

This definitely wasn't a flat walk, but on a sunny day like today the views were gorgeous.

I don't think I'd have got much of a view if I'd tried doing this one yesterday  

Eventually I made it back up to the highest point of the walk...

...and it was time to start going downhill again. I was initially a bit confused by these signs which indicate downhill! Then I figured out they must be a warning for the mountain bikers.

I climbed back down alongside the reindeer fence.

Then it was time for some afternoon refreshments, in the form of a very sugary doughnut and coffee  

It was a tiring walk today, but fun. I'm so glad the weather has improved!

It was another bright sunny day this morning... and another challenge to get €15 worth of value out of the breakfast buffet. No croissants today; just meatballs and Karelian pastries. In fairness, the meatballs are really delicious. They just feel like an unusual breakfast food.

Once I'd eaten as much as I could and collected my poles, I was off. The route I was following today was the Ahopää trail, marked with blue-topped poles. It started off in the same direction as the Luulampi trail I followed yesterday, which was marked with yellow poles.

That meant starting the day with quite a lot of walking uphill again.

But at least it was very scenic

Before too long I reached the reindeer fence. I'm getting quite good at climbing through these gates now!

I didn't immediately see any reindeer when I climbed through the fence, but I did see the white tower of the weather station on top of Kaunispää in the far distance.

And then I realised I could actually see two reindeer, they were just a long way away

I soon spotted another couple...

...and then the rest of the herd.

While I was admiring the reindeer, a Finnish hiker explained to me that we were definitely looking at Russia in the far distance.

He was a lot more excited about that than the reindeer.

Even after a week of seeing them, I am still quite excited about the reindeer  

It was a gorgeous view though.

As I started the walk downhill towards the Luulampi pool, I spotted two more reindeer.

My attempts to get a selfie with them didn't really work (they're quite small in the background!)

They were really cool though

Before too long I was down at pond level.

I sat down at one of the campfire spots to have a drink...

...and realised I could see something.

I found the communal axe!

From this point the route diverged from the Luulampi trail I followed yesterday, with a nice wide trail leading through the woods.

I was glad that there was shade in places because it was turning into a really hot day. 

I crossed over a river...

...walked through some more forest...

...and got to a place I recognised.

I'd made it to the Rumakuru gorge area, which I visited on Sunday.

On Sunday I'd walked here from the direction of Saariselk; today I'd approached from the opposite direction  

I had lunch outside one of the huts. Didn't seem to be an axe here!

Then I went to see the gorge again  

After the gorge, the route started going steeply uphill, back towards Kiilopää.

There were a few unexpectedly bridge-less rivers to cross on the way...

...but luckily not very much water and lots of stepping stones.

Then there was more uphill.

Lots more uphill!

It did result in some nice views though

I realised I could see the top of Kaunispää again. The weather station is a very good landmark.

Otherwise it was hard to know what direction I was looking in.

I was almost finished with the uphill by this point.

Once I got to the top I realised I could see another rocky gorge down below. It hasn't come out very well in photos; I didn't want to go too close to the edge!

It was quite impressive in real life, though. At the point where it came to an end there was a path where you could walk a little way into it.

It was very rocky!

After a bit more walking, my route intercepted the Poropolku trail which I'd attempted on Wednesday in the rain. It was so misty on Wednesday that there had been no views at all, but today the weather was a lot clearer and it was beautiful.

Here's me being happy to finally see the view  

After that it was a fairly easy stroll back to Kiilopää.

Just one more reindeer fence to get through...

...and I was pretty much back.

Time for refreshments! The breakfast and pizza in the Kiilopää restaurant might be a bit odd, but the doughnuts are 10/10  

When having breakfast yesterday I noticed that there was porridge on the buffet. I'd already committed to eating meatballs by the time I noticed it - and I didn't feel meatballs and porridge was going to be a winning combination - so I didn't try it. When I saw it on the buffet again this morning though, I decided to give it a go. 

Poor decision - it turned out to be the worst porridge I'd ever had in my life! It was really sour  I actually thought there was something wrong with it when I took my first mouthful, but everyone else was eating it quite cheerfully, so I assume sour porridge must be a delicacy in Finland. Luckily, I had a plate full of croissants, meatballs and fried potatoes to take the taste away!

I'm going to miss breakfast tomorrow because it isn't served until 8 and the airport bus I need to catch is leaving around 7. I've decided this probably isn't a bad thing  

Anyway, breakfast survived - I was off on today's hike.

My route started off following the same trail that I've been on for the past few mornings, so climbing uphill towards the reindeer fence.

Once I was through the fence, it didn't take long for me to find my first reindeer of the day.

I think this one was scared of me - it saw me coming down the path and froze. I walked off the path to give it some space.

It seemed happier once it had satisfied itself I'd gone!

A few more reindeer followed...

...and then I was back down at the Luulampi pond again.

From here I was following a different trail to yesterday, marked by poles with blue wooden crosses.

The route crossed a river...

...then led slightly upwards through a valley.

Every so often it crossed dry river beds. I think there must be a lot of water in these when the snow is melting in late spring.

Before long I came to the first of several little pools that I would pass.

The path became a bit narrower at this point...

...passed two more little pools...

...and led down to one which was quite sandy.

While I was admiring the view here, I was passed by a group of Finnish children with very large backpacks who seemed to be on a camping expedition. They didn't look like they were having as much fun as me!

Eventually the trail led to a bigger body of water; Lake Rautulampi.

There are several huts beside the lake, where people can stay overnight when doing longer hikes deeper into the national park.

The buildings are very modern; there was an older hut here originally, but it unfortunately burned down a few years ago.

I'd made quite a lot of progress with my route by this point, so stopped for lunch with a view of the lake.

Then it was time to continue on, back towards Kiilopää.

From this point the path was marked by poles with red wooden crosses, rather than blue.

I think it's because in winter, different parts of the path form parts of different ski runs.

The path climbed uphill...

...and soon I was looking down on the Rautulampi lake from above.

There were some gorgeous views as the path continued to climb.

The way back to Kiilopää led over three different fells, so there was quite a lot of up and down, but it was lovely.

I particularly liked these pointy hills I could see in the distance

And being up high meant that there was actually a bit of a breeze; a welcome relief on what was otherwise quite a hot day.

I continued onwards...

...being passed by various mountain-bikers...

...and at one point even by a group of Finnish soldiers, who looked like they were having about as much fun as the schoolchildren on their expedition. I was enjoying my walk though

Once I crossed the final fell, the path began to descend.

I'd made quite a lot of progress from Rautulampi by this point.

The weather was starting to look a bit cloudy in the distance though, so I wanted to keep going and get down before any potential rain.

Soon I was walking down through the woods...

...and back towards the Kiilopää restaurant, where I had another very nice doughnut. I think doughnuts and pastries are the peak of Finnish cuisine!

I was walking back to my cabin after the doughnut when I surprised a mother and baby reindeer.

The mother gave me a good look...

...and then they both set off down the road.

I just made it back to my cabin before it started raining.

I ventured out again later for dinner; another pizza-with-peaches combination.

Tomorrow will be a long day of travel, with two flights to get back home. The trip has been a real adventure though and so fascinating to see what this part of Finland looks like without snow. I think I definitely succeeded at escaping into the wilderness