Cuckoo Calls and Endless Trails

Led by the cuckoo call through the deep green forest in the national park

Before I started my summer vacation, we had some really hot spring days, and what better place to spend it than a cool, fresh forest. I went with my three children and my friend to Sipoonkorpi National Park. It covers an area of 24 square kilometres (about 9.3 square miles).

We walked through a beautiful, lush green forest, heading towards a lean-to shelter where we planned to eat our snacks. We stopped to marvel at a beetle, a boggy forest area, and various types of horsetails. My 6yo daughter started last summer to excitedly learn how to tell different horsetails apart, and she’s continuing that this year. She’s quite good at it, and I’m learning more too.

Wood anemones had already been blooming throughout May, and lily of the valley had just pushed up its bright, tightly rolled shoots from the ground.

At the beginning of the hike, the forest was mixed woodland and partly boggy. Sphagnum moss had taken over the wet areas. I had no idea how long this hike was going to take.

The forest gradually turned into a coniferous forest, and before we knew it, we had already arrived at the lean-to shelter. I don’t think I took a single photo of the shelter itself. There was another group there as well. The fire was already lit, and all we had to do was place the food we had prepared at home onto the grill.

My friend made us coffee. He has a habit of making coffee in a pour-over style. He brings coffee beans and a portable coffee grinder. Coffee prepared this way is really good, and it’s a nice change from how I usually make it — either campfire coffee in a pot over an open fire or instant coffee on a gas stove.

With very good hot coffee, I lingered on the cliffs, enjoying my current nature living room. My 9yo son was whittling sticks, the little girls were playing together peacefully, and my friend kept an eye on the food cooking. I felt deep happiness. No rush, we had all day. No chores, since we were far from home.

Throughout our stay, a cuckoo was calling in the distance. It would occasionally pause for a short break of a few tens of seconds, but otherwise it called almost continuously.

Then our food was ready. Grilled vegetables and halloumi tasted so so good.

After eating and enjoying a relaxed break, we continued our journey with the intention of heading back to the parking area. I chose the trail which looked most appealing to me. (Wrong choice!)

Soon I fell behind the others with 6yo, because we were so excited about everything we saw. We stopped to admire a large Sphagnum moss hummock. My 6yo also likes moss, especially Sphagnum.

She also collected and compared different sticks. One was a good sword, one a gun, and another a magic wand.

We caught up with the others and took a short drink break. Walking had made us quite warm. We noticed that even here, the streams had dried up. Nature has been very dry. The water levels in the lakes are low, and the lack of water is also visible here in the forest ditches. We really need some proper rain!

At this point, I fell behind the others. I admired the cliff walls and ferns slowly awakening in the dim light. It felt wonderful to be left alone for a moment, able to simply observe and take photographs. From further ahead, I could hear the children’s excited shouts. I was completely in my own world, feeling like a completely different person. This is yet another good reminder that parents should allow themselves moments alone, even when they don’t feel the need for them.

From the cliff, a steep set of stairs descended into a damp, shaded spruce forest. The ground was covered in decaying wood, and huge bracket fungi grew everywhere.

As I descended, I felt the air grow colder. I could smell wet bark and cold earth. I would probably have continued along the main trail, but I noticed these abandoned, moss-covered stairs off to the side. I absolutely wanted to go and see them more closely, but on the way the interesting mosses kept stopping me every few steps.

There was Rhizomnium punctatum, I think. And I also found Sphagnum wulfianum, which I had not seen before. It made me so excited that I ended up writing about it afterwards.

A moss from another century

Rhizomnium punctatum

Sphagnum wulfianum, Wulf’s sphagnum, Finnish; pallopäärahkasammal

As I set off again at a brisk pace to catch up with the others, the terrain also began to rise. With that, the greenery returned. The forest seemed to awaken again into brightness, and each new bend in the trail looked more beautiful than the last.

I caught up with the others just before we reached the huge Högberget cliff. At that point, I realized we still had about an hour and a half of walking ahead of us. I had chosen the trail without looking at the map (as I usually do), and we had ended up heading back via a very long route. The time was getting close to children’s bedtime, and I wondered whether the youngest would manage to keep walking. For a moment, I felt a bit despairing.

Then we noticed that the cuckoo we had been listening to even on our way back was sitting in a tree at the top of a cliff. It was still calling, and it felt as if it had been guiding us all day to end up right here, on the highest cliff in the area.

In Finnish, this bird is called käki, and the cuckoo’s call is described as “käki kukkuu.” In Finnish, “kukkuu” means the same as “peekaboo” in English. So to Finnish ears, it was as if the cuckoo had been calling “peekaboo” all day, and now we had finally found it.

It lifted our mood, and we kept going feeling a bit more optimistic.

From the highest point of the cliff, we could see all the way to the city of Vantaa. The contrast was striking: after all, we were in the middle of a quiet and remote national park. I thought it would be quite amazing to spend a night up there in a hammock, sitting in the evening, watching the city lights — and listening to “käki kukkuu”.

Then we started descending again, continuing towards our car. We tried to pick up the pace, which was difficult because the final stretch of the trail was so interesting. Huge boulders, paths covered in roots, and beautiful natural details.

In the end, my worry about the children’s stamina turned out to be unnecessary. The youngest, 4yo, was still running energetically at the end of the trip, and none of my three children had any difficulty managing the walk.

Altogether, we spent five hours on the hike and walked 6 km, most of it on the way back. Everyone fell asleep easily once we got home. Trips like this are a real highlight of my life.

If you’d like to support my little forest corner, you can buy me a coffee🤎