Running water

Holiday day 8
A day for optional activities.
Most chose a day dog-sledding but we didn't fancy a whole day and certainly not the price!
Fat-biking was another option but the varying temperatures meant the trails weren't good so 3 of us opted for another snowshoe, and were very glad we did.
There's a long distance trail in the area called the Bear Trail and off it is the Little Bear Trail, a circular route of about 10k which starts by Oulanka Base camp.
The first point of interest was the renovated mill where this pic was taken (it wasn't fully daylight at the time) and then up above the river with great views along it. There was a waterfall where the top layers were frozen, frozen lakes and lots of ups and downs. At 3 places there are fire places and we stopped at one, lit a fire and cooked sausages and drank soup before continuing.
There are lots of ups and down and several sets of steps (most of which could be by-passed on snowshoes) but one provided the hardest part of the whole week. There must have been at least 300 steep steps that were covered with a ramp of ice and how people managed in boots and no spikes, as the snowshoes have, I don't know.
There were also 2 river crossings by suspension bridges (see extra for one) and plenty of viewpoints - a great day out.
Back at Base Camp dusk was falling and we had to wait for the others to return but there was a place to sit and free tea/coffee so that was no hardship, then back to our lodge.
The evening meal was fresh, hot-smoked salmon (see extra) with potatoes and salad, followed by pancakes we cooked ourselves, all by candlelight.
The Northern Lights came out again and we saw them briefly but hadn't enough clothes on to stay out long.