The last week of the year 2013 I spent walking in the Hossa area with four snowshoeing enthusiasts from France. A daily snowshoe hike through the beautiful snowy landscapes combined with observing nature and enjoying the silence was the name of the game. Some nights spent in a basic wood-heated wilderness cabin with no electricity or running water really guaranteed the authenticity of the experience and the time spent in the great outdoors allowed us to enjoy from the positive recreating effects of natural surroundings as part of our fairly active week.

All you need to be able to do snowshoeing is enough snow, proper outdoor clothing, a pair of snowshoes and some hiking sticks. Then you are ready to hit the trails or make a route of your own, wandering through the wild. One has to be moderately fit for a longer snowshoe excursion also as walking in deep snow can be quite demanding at times.

The blue daylight and the almost empowering silence in nature are typical characteristics of the midwinter here in Hossa, heavy loads of snow absorb the sound and not even the birds that winter here are singing as they are busy gathering food during daylights time.

Pictures taken during the week tell more than a thousand words so here you go!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Exceptionally warm weather conditions that we had here in Finland set us some limits in crossing the lakes because of the weak ice but luckily in Hossa there´s several trails and vast wilderness areas so that wasn´t really a problem, we just chose another route! One of the highlights; a delicious karelian stew dinner enjoyed in an atmospheric wood-heated, candle-lit cabin after an active day outdoors and feeling the löyly of a wood-heated sauna. This combination made sure that nobody had to wait too long to get some sleep that night! 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

Best regards to Yves, Astrid, Eleonore and Raphael! Shared a really nice wintery experience with you guys! 🙂