Blog - Welcome to Ketunretket

Published on: March 9, 2019

tampere icy walk to siilinkari

Tampere town is located some 176 km to the north from Helsinki. Town itself lies between two lakes, and one of them is lake Näsijärvi. Near the northern harbour Mustalahti (Black Bay) is shallow water area, on top of which has been built a small lighthouse called Siilinkari, Hedgehog Reef.
In the photo can also be seen a sightseeing tower Näsinneula, 168 meters high.
Ketunretket had an icy cold trek over the ice to the Hedgehog Reef, because we are collecting visits to lighthouses!

Near this lighthouse happened on 7th of September 1929 the worst inland water accident in Finland of steamship "Kuru", and 138 lives were lost.

Steamship KURU after the accident, renovated and again on duty october 1929.

Published on: March 2, 2019

Vaakkoi kämmenlampi hike

Mother of Ketunretket calls you to join us into a snowy hike in Vihti.

The coldness had disappeared just a couple days before, and the snow had got wet. After that it got frozen again, so we did not need to have snowshoes all the time. The thick snow was hard enough to let us walk easily.

At small pond of Kämmenlampi is situated an open cabin, that can be used for sleeping and making food.

Mr. Fox grilled some sausages on top of the fire...

Published on: February 2, 2019

Black stone hike in usmi forest

February is a wonderful time of the year: There's a lot of snow in the forest, so what could be better than just pick up your snowshoes, some warm clothing and head up to Hyvinkä's Usmi wilderness area.
Ketunretket decided to search for a new route to Black Stone area, which has been used for manufacturing gravestones.

Trees have snow on the branches, and the snow thickness can be more than half a meter. You really need to use snowshoes!

To make a fire outdoors, you will of course need some firewood. Hyvinkää town has taken care of that, so there was plenty of dry but big chunks of firewood available. But why didn't I take my axe with me?

After a while we had a small flame, so the coffee could be prepared. There's just nothing as good as coffee than the one that has been prepared in the snowy winter wonderland!

If it happens so that one of the hiking team gets tired, you just need to place some kind of a lure...

Published on: January 27, 2019

mid-winter snowshoe trekking in sipoonkorpi

Sipoonkorpi (the wilderness forest of Sipoo) is located just in suitable distance from the main office of Ketunretket. January weather was not too cold and bright sunlight was visible, at least a couple of hours of the day. So we decided to grab our skipoles and snowshoes and pay a visit to the National Park of Sipoonkorpi. There we could have some grilled sausages and black coffee beside the fire. This kind of winter activities are offered to all of our customers during the winter time.

Arja and the icy organs of Sipoonkorpi

The ridge was rather steep, but we shall not give up!

In the upper part of the ridge the sun came visible

Timo on top of the snowy ridge

Wouldn't you like this too?

Near Ängesböle has been built fire making sites by the Forest Government (Metsähallitus) and they are also bringing firewood there. When we came here, there was already a readymade fire, so it was easy and convenient to start grilling the sausages and making coffee.

Even the smallest animals, like this forest mouse Apodemus Flavicollis, needs to have food

Book for your own tour!

Published on: January 20, 2019

moonlight sauna and snowshoeing at vaakkoi hut

Nice freezing weather and thick layer of snow - of those ingredients you can build a great outdoor event here in Finland. That is why we at Ketunretket decided to collect our snowshoes and sauna things and pay a visit to Helsinki Latu community's hut beside pond of Vaakkoi in Vihti, only one hour of drive from Helsinki!

Woderful small hut located beside a small pond Vaakkoi, in the Northern side of Nuuksio wilderness area. The owner of the hut and sauna is Helsingin Latu, an outdoor sports and recreation time promoting community, that has more than 7.600 members. This hut has an interesting history, being place for forest works for the unemployed men. These working men had a warm hut to stay overnight and in the other part of the hut there was a lady taking care of the meals for the men. Motorized saw was seldom seen during those times, so it was 2 men required to cut a big tree down. Hard work!

There is of course a sauna at this nice pond shoreline. This sauna has during winter time no kind of heating, and everything starts in cutting the firewood and getting water from the well. This sauna bath has a fire stove to heat the water and the Löyly room, and you need to do everything yourself - this is an experience even to a comfort-seeking Finn. You start with making firewood in dark wood-shed, making an open icy pit into the pond ice, carrying water inside the washroom stove... During winter it takes more time to heat this sauna, but that is really worth of it!

If you wonder where the water comes to the sauna, here is the answer: first you need to make an open icy pit in the pond ice and then carry the icy water in with buckets!

There were other members of Helsingin Latu bathing in the sauna, and we had some extra time to experience the snowy winter wonderland. We could meet here also my wilderness-guide friend Ella testing her snowshoes.

This is the way a fox moves in the forest

Later in the evening, when other sauna visitors had left, we got the sauna to our personal use. There had grown a new layer of ice in the icy pit, so we had to open it again with the tool available. Arja wanted to go skinny-dipping in the icy pit three times, because then your internal brown fat cells are activated and they will enhance your health and blood pressure gets lower.

AAAARGHH... take the photo fast, the eggs of these tubducks a freezing...

Published on: January 16, 2019

Hugo simberg-presentation at kirpilä art home in Helsinki

Helena Ruuska: Devils and Angels (pirut ja enkelit) in the art of Hugo Simberg

Pääsin kuuntelemaan Helena Ruuskan pitämän taide-esitelmän taidekoti Kirpilässä Helsingissä. Helena kertoi kirjoittamansa kirjan kertovan taiteilija Hugo Simbergistä, joka on tehnyt mm. kaikkien tunteman Haavoittuneen Enkelin, joista toinen on Ateneumissa ja toinen Tampereella tuomiokirkossa. Simbergin hahmo selveni huomattavasti kun luki tämän kirjan, voin suositella sitä kaikille symbolismin taidesuunnasta kiinnostuneelle. Tuomiokirkon maalauksien tutkiminen Waltteri Torikan konsertin aikana aiheutti hieman niskanikamien kiertymistä, mutta oli sen arvoista.

Published on: December 29, 2018

Kirkkonummi pampskatan tour

The most southern part of Porkkala is called Pampskatan and it is accessable also during winter. What a great site to visit, to listen to the wind and make some black coffee.

Juhani Repo, Eero Ojama and Timo Repo sitting beside the fire in Porkkalanniemi

Eero taking photos just before it gets dark

Published on: May 27, 2018

Suomenlinna tour

Luonto Matka

Just now is the best time of the year to visit Suomenlinna fortress with the guides of Ketunretket. Here we can enjoy wonderful lilac trees with different colours (Syringa vulgaris trees) spreading their odor everywhere! Did you know, that at least part of the lilac trees are from France, probably from Versailles, because some soldiers from Swedish Army were serving in the Swedish King's regiment serving there? These soldiers were sent to serve in Sveaborg, and they brought a lot of new ways of gardening with them to the northern areas.

Please join us on our guided tours to Helsinki and Suomenlinnas!

Published on: May 20, 2018

Dragonboat tour at melontakeskus in helsinki

There were 20 brave tourists leaving from Melontakeskus against Rajasaari, Kesäranta, Villa Toivola, Mäntyniemi and Tamminiemi waters. The Ruler of the Good Weather had sent us a nice sunny time, so we could enjoy a guided tour paddling with a big Dragon boat, looking at Helsinki from an other direction than normally - from the sea! We had also the opportunity to listen to our guide Timo telling stories of the people been living here and the history of the area. Thanks to everyone, it was great to have you with us!