Exploring Kelvenne – Island of Sandy Shores and Forest Paths
Tent trip to long ridge island in Päijänne National park
Midsummer is here and me and my two oldest kids packed our packs and went to a lake trip.
Kelvenne is one of my favorite islands. I visited there for the first time last summer. We docked our boat to long shore and played with sand and water all day. We had a tent where we slept, but also we slept in the boat. During the summer I got to know all the different beaches of the island and went SUP-boarding in the most inland-reaching bay (and also accidentally dropped my phone there, but my better half dived to get it. Thankfully that happened in that bay where the water is not deep. Lake Päijänne is almost 100 meters deep.)
So, this time we got a ride by my dad’s boat. He dropped us off at Hinttolanhiekka. Hiekka means sand and that it is — a sandy beach. After we have got our clothes wet (kids always go into water before changing swimsuits) we headed to path that goes to pond in the middle of the island.
Path was lovely. Sunlight filtered through pine trees which grew on top of the esker. The path followed the esker, running along its base. Kids climbed to top of the esker using a fallen tree. We had no rush — just time to walk as slowly as we wanted and notice all the beauty of nature.
We arrived at the pond. Actually, it isn’t a typical pond. It is called a ”suppa”. A suppa means a kettle hole, it is a relic of the ice age. A large block of ice has melted and left a hollow into the terrain. The result is a pond resting at the bottom of a deep hollow. There was also a suppa without a pond. We started to wonder, why some kettle holes have ponds and some do not. Interesting question and it has something to do with the soil type.
We spotted a Herculean carpenter ant crawling along a fallen log. They're among the largest ant species in our forests and every time I see one, I’m amazed over again by its size. (It’s my hand in the picture.)
When we get back to the beach, we set up our tent in a small beachy spot in the forest. Kids played in the water and I made dinner on a gas stove using a raedy-made pouch pasta meal. Then my 8-year-old washed dishes, but that escaleted into construction play. He made houses to his village by using camping plate as a sand mold.
Late at night we drank hot chocolate and kids went to sleep in the tent. I had my own me-time: just me and Päijänne.💙 (And a goosander-mother with her ducklings. They settled right by the tent on the shore to stay overnight.)
After we were back on the mainland, we jumped into the car and drove to our cottage by the shore of Lake Päijänne (also) to spend the rest of Midsummer as a whole family again. SUP-boarding, sauna, swimming in the lake and sitting on the dock while the sun was setting and the water birds started their nightly voices. Happy and wild Midsummer to you! 💚
