Day 1
When people asked me what I was going to do in Finland, they expected reindeers, northern lights, luxury lodges in the wilderness and snow. What do you do in the summer?
From Helsinki we hopped on a short two hour flight to Kajaani airport and drove for three hours through an endless road lined by rows and rows of pines and spruce trees that glistened under the interchangeable crimson sky. We finally arrived into Kuhmo, tucked away in north east Finland, our base camp for the next eight nights. Camp Kuikka was a combination of traditional wooden cabins on the banks of Lake Kuikka usually engulfed in mist. It’s the kind of rustic paradise where mushrooms carpet the forest floor and canopies of pine, birch and spruce trees give the lake its rugged character.
We arrived camp at 9:30pm and after a long day of travel, called it a night. Compared to my other gigs aboard, this one was uncomplicated. Breakfast at 9am, loiter around the lake path until lunch at 3pm, leave to the hides at 4pm and sit still until the sun set at 9pm.
Day 2 – Paradise Hide
We went over the plan for the next 8 days, mainly shuffling between three wildlife hides to stalk Finland’s predators. A fraction of the country’s 2,000 brown bears, 430 wolves, over 180 elusive wolverines and white- tailed eagles that roamed the Taiga while black-hooded crows, ravens and lesser black-backed gulls screeched in the background, non stop. Not to mention, photobombing every photo opportunity.
As we reviewed the ‘weekly sightings’ whiteboard, the excitement was building up. Three consecutive days of wolverine sightings you say?
Every day, before lunch, we made our own dinner: simple DIY sandwiches to pack for the hide. We left to Paradise Hide at 4pm. True to its name, it was a cluster of wooden cabins nestled in the forest. I shared a cabin with six other guests for five hours working profusely to keep my cool as an endless parade of pet peeves shattered the silence. I took notes and counted the bears ambling around to keep my cool. The bears ate in harmony whenever they were not standing up on their hind legs or scrambling for cover. Meanwhile, the wolves were simply being wolves, staring with sharp beautiful eyes and exuding a charisma that left me wondering why they are not respected in Finland.
The crows ruined every photographic opportunity. The lesser backed black gulls, were as irritating as ever. Their incessant food stealing deepened my contempt for these riffraffs. Despite the frustration, their presence added a compelling dynamic to the landscape.
How many bears and wolves had we seen? Not a single one of us came up with the same number. I considered going back through every photo and create mugshots but this was going too far. They are just bears and wolves and I am not great at counting or minor details anyway.
For the first day, it was utter chaos. The bears and wolves circled the carcass between moody skies. Birds dive bombed right into what I thought could have been a good photo when the bears and wolves decided to pose for the camera. Naturally, I missed the few times the bears went full throttle and attacked the wolves. It was better watching live than trying to capture it.
Day 3 – Forest Hide
Yesterday’s drizzle extended to the next morning. Who would have thought that the melancholic mist is what gives Finland its charm? Our plan was to drive toward the Russian border and investigate a local ‘bear den’ discovered years ago by a hiker who got lost, while also learning about hibernation. The forest floor was damp, so I chose to let the others wade in and confirm how deep the hole actually was. I had no interest to get dirty, besides the sprawling variety of mushrooms was much more interesting than a lost hiker’s trailblazing discovery.
We wiled away until 3pm, threw our DIY sandwiches together and headed out to Forest Hide. None of us knew what to expect, but we surely didn’t expect to delay our entry because a few bears were hanging out right next to the hides. We froze as one usually does around bears and patiently waited for them to wander off. Once the coast was clear, we scrambled into the hides and set up.
The sunlight played hide and seek creating erratic lighting conditions that made photography quite a challenge. To make matters worse, my lens was useless. A 100-500m focal length when bears walk right up to you (while you’re safe in a hide) is shameful. We could literally hear them chew, digest their food and perhaps a few things more.
The crows were a menace as usual and played a screeching soundtrack, their calls mutating into impressions of other species. At one point, it sounded less like birds but more like a satellite hovering low right above us. Starrrrrlingk!
Every now and then a loud thud on the roof of our hide would break the stillness. It was a sparrow hawk chasing a crow. I guess we’re not the only ones who find the crows obnoxious and irritating.
Personally I thought the Forest Hide was great for mugshots and I find the line of trees create a beautiful backdrop catching the bears and wolves in their element mixed with unexpected cuteness around the tree trunks.
Day 4 – Lake Hide
Before our 11am lecture, I spent a peaceful morning watching an anxious red squirrel sprint up a tree, obviously terrified by all the camera lenses pointing at it like machine guns. A fleeting bullfinch darted between branches and I strolled around the campground to admire the endless fascinating variety of mushrooms.
I wondered how I was going to spend my time before 4pm only to realize that time kept flying whenever I sat to bird watch (pun intended). After lunch we headed out to Lake Hide. It was a sunny day, meaning the towering trees reflected beautifully on what looked like a massive glassy pond. It was too bright though and I was hoping for some cloud.
Since arriving, we’d been warned that wolverine sightings were rarer than a quiet human and could easily be missed if you dared chew your lunch. It started a bit slow. The bears and wolves made appearances for 20 minutes before vanishing leaving us to sit in silence and stare up at a white-tailed eagled judging humanity from the treetops. At a distance, a sparrow hawk chased a crow. Too quick to capture.
At around 7:45pm a wolverine sprinted around the lake pausing every now and then with suspicious glances and then went away at the speed of light. The absolute peak timing hit just as we were packing up at 9pm when TWO wolverines casually ran out, one of them went up a tree to scope out danger.
Just in case your reference point of a wolverine is Hugh Jackman in the Marvel movie, before booking this trip, I had no idea. Neither did Hugh Jackman. They are hyper-fast, fear mongering weasels that live in the Arctic. I’m from the desert, so what do I know?
Sitting in the hide, the lighting was super bright. The bears and wolves made sporadic appearances from all angles. It was slow until the wolverines shook things up.
