Trekking Route to the Rovastinoja Fortress
Savitaipale, February 9, 2018.
It’s been over a week since I arrived in Finland, and today we finally did our first trekking route through its incredible snow-covered landscapes. The chosen path was from Savitaipale to Rovastinoja, a prehistoric-style cabin by the shores of Lake Kuolimo. This route, called Rovastinojan Tautopakkia in Finnish, is one of the recommended trails on the official tourism website of Savitaipale. It spans 9.4 km one way and can easily be completed in a couple of hours if you take it slow.
Winter days in Finland are short, but luckily, the days are getting longer. Normally, we have daylight from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., so we got up early, bought supplies, and started our hike at 8:30. We didn’t want to be caught by nightfall in the middle of the forest!
Starting the Route to Rovastinoja
First, we headed towards Lake Kuolimo, where the trail begins. There, we found the signpost for Rovastinoja. The trail is very well marked with red symbols, and it’s impossible to get lost. Nonetheless, we occasionally checked our location on our phones to make sure we were on track.
The landscape was absolutely breathtaking. The path wound through the forest, and at times, along the shores of Lake Kuolimo, where we could appreciate the beauty of Finnish nature. Everything was white: the trees, the ground, the surroundings… even the sky had a grayish-white hue. It felt like the ground and the sky were made of the same thing. Also, one of the things that caught my attention was how, throughout the morning, it seemed like it was always the same time, as the sky didn’t change color.
At first, I thought the trail would be all “off-road” through the snow, but it wasn’t. Most of the path was flat, although sometimes the signs tricked us into taking a detour through the snow before bringing us back to the main trail. I think they designed it this way because, during spring, these small paths are likely a better option than the streets.
Cold and Silence to Rovastinoja
The hike to Rovastinoja didn’t feel long, and we made it in about 3 hours, including breaks. While walking, the temperature was quite manageable, but without the city’s warmth, the wind made it feel much colder. When we stopped for a photo, our hands would freeze, and we could feel the loss of sensation as our fingers started to swell. Of course, we were all bundled up with double layers: pants, socks, scarves… only our eyes were visible, and we were sniffing the whole way.
Another aspect worth mentioning was the silence of the natural surroundings. Every now and then, we would stop to simply “listen” to the silence. It was a unique experience. There was almost no sound—no animal noise, nothing. You might occasionally hear birds or a distant noise, but it was rare. It might sound a bit nerdy, but I recorded a couple of videos just to capture the silence of these landscapes, even if only for a few seconds.
Tasty Snow
One interesting part of the walk was “eating” snow. I have to admit I wasn’t sure about it, but my friend encouraged me to try, and I eventually did. To my surprise, it wasn’t bad at all, as we were in a pristine area, and the snow was pure. Obviously, I wouldn’t eat snow from the middle of the street with all the dirt there, but where we were, it tasted fine. Of course, I didn’t go overboard—didn’t want to risk a stomach bug.
Cabins by the Lake
Midway, we stumbled upon a family cabin in the middle of nowhere, with a view of Lake Kuolimo. In Finland, it’s quite common for families to have a cabin in remote locations like this, to enjoy summer (or winter) vacations. We peeked inside to see if anyone was there, but it was empty. From the cabin, the immensity of the lake was striking. When you looked toward the horizon, the bright clarity was almost blinding. As I said before, it felt like both the sky and the water were made of the same thing.
When we resumed the journey, we encountered another type of cabin. It was a wooden structure with materials for building a fire. We took shelter there for our first snack of the day, as we were starving. The interesting part was that it was fairly well-equipped, with firewood, recent newspapers, and fire-starting materials. This meant that someone had been there recently.
Throughout the trail to Rovastinoja, we didn’t see anyone. However, we noticed animal tracks in the snow. They were from different animals, but we couldn’t tell which ones. Some tracks led to the lake, others into the forest, and some simply crossed the trail… They were quite fresh, meaning the animals had passed through not long ago.
Welcome to Rovastinoja!
When we reached Rovastinoja, the cold hit us even more, especially since we had stopped for a while. Standing still in these low temperatures is the worst because your body cools down, and you start to feel the cold in your hands and feet.
The cabin was super authentic and made of wood. For some reason, it reminded us a lot of the Hobbit’s home, nestled in the middle of nature. The fortress had two doors (front and back) covered with bear skins. Inside, it felt more like a gathering place than a home. In the center was an extinguished fire pit, with wooden benches, a surface for sitting, and materials for lighting a fire. There was also a ladder leading to a raised platform to sit by a window.
Just a few meters from the cabin was another wooden structure—a restroom, complete with toilet paper, which means someone had passed by recently. This made me think that in Finland, they pay attention to even the smallest details. Honestly, I didn’t expect to find such a well-maintained restroom in the middle of nowhere.
Outside the Rovastinoja cabin, there was a staircase leading down to the lake, which was, of course, covered in snow and frozen. After exploring and taking a few photos, we went inside to eat our sandwiches. Eating inside was quite a challenge, as our hands were frozen, and taking them out of our gloves was painful. We thought about lighting a fire, but if we did, our clothes would smell like smoke. We didn’t really have extra clothes to spare… so we decided to eat while frozen.
Hitchhiking: How to Meet Locals
We could have walked back from Rovastinoja, but we had a goal: to hitchhike for one of the two legs of the trip. We wanted to see if it really worked and how long it would take to get back to Savitaipale. So, after eating, we made our way toward the nearest road, about a half-hour walk away. This section felt more civilized, with little houses and small villages.
The best moment came when we finally reached the road. Not a single car passed by in either direction. We hadn’t been waiting for 5 minutes when we saw a car coming from the same trail we had walked. We waved it down and asked if they were heading to Savitaipale. Even though it wasn’t their destination, they agreed to give us a ride since it was on their way. And here’s the best part… talking to the driver, we discovered that he knew the lady from the volunteer organization we’re with. Before becoming a Flea Market, the building had been a restaurant run by the same owners, and this guy had been the chef! What a small world!
We made it home safely. After a relaxing afternoon here, it was time to dive back into Finnish lessons… An intense class, as we’re starting to get into more complex topics.
Bonus:
To see all the routes departing from Savitaipale, you can check this link. The one we did from Savitaipale to Rovastinoja is listed as SA 21.
