I find myself trudging through a thicket.
That was not quite the plan. It is my first time in Pirttiniemi, and I do not yet know where the paths leading into the heart of the forest begin. At the bottom of an odd-looking pit, there is litter. Is this really where I am supposed to find mushrooms?
Then the thicket opens into spruce-dominated forest. Pirttiniemi is located next to the Kelloniemi industrial area, but within moments it feels as if I am far away from the city.
I scan the ground for mushrooms, which are what drew me to Pirttiniemi in the first place, but I only see a couple of small milkcaps and a single bright red russula. The bilberries are almost ripe.
I head towards the water and realise I have reached the shallow Telkkistenlahti Bay. The water does not look inviting, as a clearly visible mass of blue-green algae has washed into the innermost part of the bay. Dead “algae”, or cyanobacteria, from which blue-green algae gets its name, draw a strong blue line along the shore. The water level is low, and the ground by the water’s edge is muddy. I walk around the bay, reach a small point of land and sit down on a lakeside rock.
Kallavesi opens up in front of me, wide and friendly. A pleasantly cool breeze blows by the shore and keeps the mosquitoes away. I cannot help thinking what someone sweltering in the heat of Central Europe would pay for this experience.
Only one other person has wandered onto the point besides me. As I hop across the rocks, he calls out that I should be careful. Later we meet on the path, and he says he considers this the best place in Kuopio.
It is easy for me to understand what he means. In the forest, the atmosphere is almost like Puijo, but the closeness of the water makes Pirttiniemi especially appealing. There is, however, more litter and fewer services. Two unofficial-looking campfire spots have been built on the point by Telkkistenlahti. The smooth rock and the lapping of the waves make you want to sit down for much longer.
Still, I have to keep going. I walk back around to the other side of the bay and start climbing a steep slope, which later turns out to have been a mistake. The differences in elevation rival those of Puijo. There are more rocky outcrops than one would expect from looking at a map, and on top of them the scenery changes again. There are plenty of bilberries on the rock, but unfortunately the trees block the best views.
I find a few orange birch boletes, but still no chanterelles or porcini mushrooms, which are what I came looking for. So I begin to zigzag up and down the slope in the hope of finding mushrooms. Later I read that there used to be a small ski jump on the high hillock in Pirttiniemi.
Climbing the steep slope takes its revenge over the following days as severe muscle pain. My deep abdominal muscles are not used to sudden, strenuous exercise, and I can barely get out of bed.
The easiest way to reach Pirttiniemi is on foot or by bicycle via Vesitie, along the road leading to the innermost part of Telkkistenlahti. The road is suitable for cycling, but on the point itself there are some roots and uneven ground. The nearest bus stop is about one kilometre away in Itkonniemi. There is no actual parking area, so cars have to be left farther away.
After nearly twenty years of living in Kuopio, I cannot help wondering why I have never visited Pirttiniemi before. I decide to come back once my muscles have recovered. Maybe I will find those chanterelles after all.