High Cliffs and Crusty Growth on the Rock Face
If you enjoy observing nature up close — down to the moss level — this post is for you!
Finland is often called the land of a thousand lakes — but the truth is, it has over 180,000 lakes! The deepest — and second-largest — lake is Päijänne, which has such clean water, you could basically drink it just like that. (Not recommended though.)
At first, Päijänne National Park might look like just endless water and islands — but it’s anything but boring! The park is full of eskers, rocky islands, diverse nature, deep, clean waters and long sandy shores.
The national park was founded in 1993 to protect rare and unique nature, geological formations, and the area's significant scenic value, offering visitors breathtaking views and diverse natural habitats.
The park includes over 50 islands to explore. This time I visited this amazing, high and rocky island where steep cliffs rise from 15 meters deep, fresh water. This remote island is part of the park, one without trails or campfire spots — just pure, untouched nature. It’s clearly a rarely visited place.
How did I end up there? We were out on a motorboat, boating around the lake to find some interesting place and also looking for a good place to sleep next night. We just saw the island and I wanted to look closer. My partner threw the paddleboard into the water for me and I jumped on it. We said bye and I paddled towards this mysterious island.
From the boat, I had seen that there was some unusual moss growing on a rocky wall. It was like a thick pillow from a mossland’s bed. So that was the first place I stopped. I stepped to the wet rocky bottom and with the paddleboard still strapped to my ankle, I stretched out against the rock. I found out that it most likely was a red bogmoss, Sphagnum capillifolium, (Finn. kangasrahkasammal) but in an unusual form: greenish and dry.
Higher up, it mixed with Cladonia stellaris, star-tipped cup lichen. In Finnish, this lichen is called palleroporonjäkälä, which literally means 'roundling reindeer lichen' because of its ball-like shape.
This steep cliff was not a good place to dock my board. So, I got back on water and paddled to find a better landing spot. I tied up the board and started climbing along the rock. Slowly — but not because it was hard, but because of all the exciting species I saw during the climb. Like the light yellow lichen Chrysothrix chlorina, on the rocky wall, and Nephroma arcticum, the arctic kidney lichen, which is quite a rare find this far south in Finland — as far as I know.
At the very top, on the rock, the view was wonderful. Full of sunlit green. The day was hot, but up there the wind was giving fresh air. It was strangely quiet. Birds were absent, as they usually are on these dry, high islands, at least in my experience. This top of the island is almost 20 meters above Päijänne’s water level, and almost 100 meters above sea level.
I was able to see our boat where the rest of my travel party was spending time. We waved and I took a couple of pictures and just enjoyed the views before I started to climb back down.
When I finally stepped back onto my board, the second part of my journey began. My intention was to paddle along the island’s shoreline, and we were meant to reunite on the other side of the island.
Thinking about how low the rocky walls must reach is exciting. If the water is dozens of meters deep, it must be a hell of a rock formation that this island is built on. It would be fascinating to see a 3D model of the underwater parts of Lake Päijänne.
I was already excited about those cliff plants, but when I explored the coastline, I felt grateful of being able to go places like this. I know it’s a privilege to get to see nature like this. That is one thing that makes me want to share these pictures and stories — so that everyone can see how wonderful places this side of the earth has!
I was surprised to see labrador tea growing in such a dry place. I usually come across it in wet swamps. It curved above the red bogmoss pillows alongside small pine trees. Crowberries (Empetrum nigrum) also grew there, adding their own lovely texture to this rocky wall that looked like a painting.
Waves hit gently to the rocky wall while I observed closely this colorful growth. Sometimes I stepped to some ledge to see closer. I could see the rocky island stretching deep beneath the surface, as far as I could see. What if there is a cave no one has ever found? What if inside this island there’s an empty space where you can breathe — and where some enchanted mushrooms grow, lighting the darkness with their wild glow?
Then my own journey was finished and I reached the boat. I jumped into the water for a swim — the return to the hot boat felt hard. Sometimes it feels weird to realize you have so much water below you. When I think about it too much, I get shivers and want to get up quickly. But ignoring these thoughts helps. Usually I don’t let myself think about that at all.
I decided to tie the rope from the boat to my board, and my partner gave me a little extra speed. What a blast! I’ve included a couple of short videos in the end of this post — perfect if you’re into any kind of water sports fun!
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I love your articles and photographs. I swim all year round in Wales and take my waterproof camera with me everywhere. The carpet of mosses and the beautiful island are fascinating. I recognise some of the mosses I have seen here.
Loved your mossy journey!!!