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Reitti hiking trail network - Facts Access From the capital of Finland, Helsinki, it is a 235 km trip to the western central town of the REITTI hiking trail network, Pori, and this flight takes a good half an hour. By train and by coach, the journey takes about three and a half hours. The starting point of the hiking trail, Preiviiki, is located on the beach, 14 kilometres away from the town centre of Pori, and you can get there conveniently by bus. The eastern starting point of the trail section introduced here, Joutsijärvi, is also easily accessible by bus, the ride from Pori taking only a good half an hour. The Best Hiking Season and the Duration of the Hike The hiking season in Western Finland is long, ranging all through the snowless time from mid-April to the beginning of November, through three sharply differing seasons of the year, that is. In spring, the hiker sees the wake of nature after the long winter, whereas in the autumn, the preparation for winter dormancy by the broadleaved trees through the colour saturated foliage drop period "Ruska" Season. In the summer, the sun just does not set at all, therefore you can hike all through the night, but there are most mosquitoes in the middle of the summer, which are found bothersome by some. These mosquitoes, also called the "Air Force of Finland", disappear wholly in the cooler spring and autumn periods. For hiking along the 130-190 km long Preiviiki-Joutsijärvi section it is reasonable to allocate 5-8 days of time. From Joutsijärvi on, you can continue hiking to the very eastern central city of the trail network, Tampere, then the distance hiked will be about 270-290 km, and the trip takes about 12-14 days. Accommodation and Services There are different accommodation alternatives along the REITTI trail network in abundance starting from the humble open sheds and wilderness huts that you can use freely whenever you wish free of charge to the quality rental cottages, farm accommodations, big camping centres, and hotels. There are also other services, such as guides, rental accessories, as well as transportation and catering services easily available. Internet and the Maps The REITTI natural tourism area is introduced on the Internet in Finnish and in English at the location www.reitti.org , where you can find for example a map of the whole area reaching a precision of scale 1:20 000. On these pages, you can also order paper-printed maps of the different subareas. Hikers' Gears In scarcely populated Finland people have traditionally been hiking rather autonomously, that is they carried all their accommodation and catering equipment geared up, along with them. This is how you can also do along REITTI, but if you wish, you can also advance without the carrying, since transportation, accommodation, and catering services are available in abundance. Elevation differences are very small, and the terrain is mostly easily penetrable, therefore it is sufficient to use light hiking boots. In the winter, temperatures may drop below -30 ºC, and in the summer respectively, temperatures may rise near to +30 ºC. In summer, for the mosquitoes sake, it is good to use protective clothes or mosquito repellents. Medical Care Provisions In the regions along REITTI there is particularly well developed infrastructure including the provided medical care services. This hiking trail network has also got its own rescue code system that helps locate the site and accelerate rescuer access. Others In continental Finland there is a rule of the so called every man's rights, based on which a hiker can trespass in the terrain freely excluding for example yard areas and fields. Short term camping is also allowed, but for lighting your campfire you will always need the landowner's permission. You can also pick mushroom or berries freely, for example. More about the every man's rights at the location www.reitti.org.
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