The Sauna Trail – Details, episodes & analysis

We wrap up our episode series about our return to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. This week we leave the Keweenaw and drive east to the central part of the Upper Peninsula near Republic Michigan which is in the Michigamme River Basin. We invited my family to join us in the U.P. again to see the beautiful and rocky region around Republic and, of course, to experience an excellent log sauna… My brother and his family took us up on the offer! And they are joining us on the podcast! Welcome to Greg, Clarissa, Norah and Everett.

CHAPTERS

00:00 Introduction

01:49 Welcome to our guests

03:58 The drive to Republic (log sauna on the side of the road and Carla's Inn)

04:55 Dangerous Cave rental

07:19 Exploring the area, Big Bay, Logging roads, Marquette

08:38 Kayaking

18:34 Log Sauna Review

23:51 Greg and Clarissa's sauna journey and their home sauna

29:52 Outro

Back to the Yoopers Part II - Episode 25We continue our adventures in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan! We’ll be sharing about a second historical site we visited, a few more culinary gems we discovered, a beautiful walk we took at a nature sanctuary, and another sauna experience on the west side of the Keweenaw peninsula.Websitehttps://www.thesaunatrail.comInstagramhttps://www.instagram.com/thesaunatrailFacebookhttps://www.facebook.com/thesaunatrailLocalshttps://thesaunatrail.locals.comMusicDirge of the Night by Tied With TwineCHAPTERS00:00:00 Introduction00:01:11 Yooper Pasty and the Wood-burning Sauna Facebook group00:02:02 Hanka Homestead00:06:22 Freda, Apple Cider and the Octagonal Sauna00:09:21 Chutes and Ladder Park00:10:05 Smoked Fish00:10:40 Calumet Brewery Ruins00:12:15 Haven Falls Park00:13:01 Jampot Monks Baked Goods00:14:30 Copper Harbor & Hunter’s Point Park00:15:48 Black Creek Nature Sanctuary00:20:24 Cedar Bay Sauna00:26:15 Outro

In this episode, we are joined by Angela Meredith to discuss the Scandinavian Christmas Bazaar in Cokato, Minnesota. We also pay a visit to what might be the oldest sauna in North America, and another at the Koinonia Retreat Center! Join us this week in our adventures in central Minnesota. 

Scandinavian Bazaar Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/CokatoScandinavianChristmas/info/ 

Music

Dirge of the Night by Tied With Twine

Website

https://www.thesaunatrail.com

Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/thesaunatrail

Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/thesaunatrail

TikTok

https://www.tiktok.com/@thesaunatrail

Locals

https://thesaunatrail.locals.com

(00:00:00) Introduction 

(00:02:51) Finding the Scandinavian Christmas Bazaar 

(00:08:55) The beginning of the bazaar 

(00:12:51) The sauna raffle

(00:17:14) The Cokato Laestadian Lutheran Church

(00:22:06) Angela’s sauna practice

(00:35:34) Cokato sauna tour

(00:38:25) The family camp on Elbow Lake

(00:46:03) Young Living essential oils 

(00:51:04) Koinonia Retreat Center

(00:59:41) The oldest sauna in North America?!

(01:01:09) Outro 

We have a VERY special guest joining us in this episode — the author David Salmela! He and his wife Anne agreed to come on our podcast and talk about their Finnish heritage, what sauna meant to them growing up, and some of their favorite sauna memories. Join us this week as we laugh over coffee, poetry, stories, and sauna!

David Salmela author page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B01N8Y45XO/allbooks?ingress=0&visitId=94b52742-b6c7-4194-9d9e-bad884a61f95&ref_=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_2 

Music

Dirge of the Night by Tied With Twine

Website

https://www.thesaunatrail.com

Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/thesaunatrail

Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/thesaunatrail

TikTok

https://www.tiktok.com/@thesaunatrail

Locals

https://thesaunatrail.locals.com

(00:00) Introduction 

(02:27) Finnish background 

(04:52) Sauna practices and nudity 

(12:53) David’s books 

(15:51) The ‘other’ David Salmelas  

(18:49) Sauna memories and social sauna

(23:25) The Sauna children’s book

(25:37) Visiting David and Anne Salmela 

(32:13) Self-published books and writing

(37:37) Outro 

This episode marks our introduction to the wonderful world of sauna books! We’ll review the history of notable English language sauna books, give you an overview of the different categories of sauna books, highlight a few unique or odd ones, share some of our favorites, and even read some excerpts. If you’re someone who likes to go deep and get geeky, this episode is for you!

Sauna Exists, Therefore I Am abridged PDF: https://www.saunaist.com/sauna-exists-therefore-i-am 

Music

Dirge of the Night by Tied With Twine

Website

https://www.thesaunatrail.com

Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/thesaunatrail

Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/thesaunatrail

TikTok

https://www.tiktok.com/@thesaunatrail

Locals

https://thesaunatrail.locals.com

(00:00) Introduction 

(02:40) A history of English language sauna books

(11:47) Sauna book categories 

(21:34) Reading excerpts 

(33:09) Outro 

This week we’ll be discussing one of our favorite parts of the sauna trail: community connections! We’ve met so many wonderful people over the years through sauna – both online and in-person. Join us this week as we detail how our trail connected us with so many others! 

Wood-Burning Sauna Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/WoodBurningSauna 

Sauna Digest: https://saunadigest.com 

NASS website: https://www.saunasociety.org 

Music

Dirge of the Night by Tied With Twine

Website

https://www.thesaunatrail.com

Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/thesaunatrail

Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/thesaunatrail

TikTok

https://www.tiktok.com/@thesaunatrail

Locals

https://thesaunatrail.locals.com

(00:00) Introduction 

(01:31) Recent sauna trail happenings 

(02:50) Facebook sauna group 

(06:39) Sauna Digest 

(09:40) North American Sauna Society 

(12:24) Our favorite connections 

(16:05) Outro 

This episode fulfills a promise we made a few weeks ago – we’re finally making good on our word to talk about our first barrel sauna experience and trip to the north shore! We also try a hotel sauna again, after being on the sauna trail, and share our thoughts. Join us as we get back on the trail this week! 

360º Sauna Photos 

https://www.thesaunatrail.com/sauna-photos

Larsmont Cottages

https://odysseyresorts.com/larsmont-cottages/

Music

Dirge of the Night by Tied With Twine

Website

https://www.thesaunatrail.com

Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/thesaunatrail

Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/thesaunatrail

TikTok

https://www.tiktok.com/@thesaunatrail

Locals

https://thesaunatrail.locals.com

(00:00) Introduction 

(01:48) Lake Tahoe 

(06:29) Our first barrel sauna 

(13:19) Larsmont Cottages 

(25:19) Outro 

This week we’ll continue the theme of having your own sauna by discussing what accessories you may want to purchase. We’ll talk about our sauna accessories, then move on to what we recommend for YOUR sauna. 

Copper Dipper: https://www.saunaplace.com/product/copper-dipper-19-1-2/ 

GOSHI Exfoliating Shower Towel: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0897859VJ/ 

Cottonique Drawstring Shorts: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00FFSLSYE/ 

Grip Stainless Steel Bucket: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07P6DNKCG/ref=twister

Bonny Doon Farm Lavender Soap: https://bonnydoonfarm.com/product/lavender-soap/ 

Kreamy Soaps Pine Tar Olive Bar: https://kreamysoaps.com/collections/medicinal-soaps/products/pine-tar-olive-bar 

Noda Horo Pochika Milk Pan: https://www.amazon.com/Japan-Noda-Horo-Pochika-Enamelware/dp/B000M84F6A/ref=sr_1

Music

Dirge of the Night by Tied With Twine

Website

https://www.thesaunatrail.com

Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/thesaunatrail

Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/thesaunatrail

TikTok

https://www.tiktok.com/@thesaunatrail

Locals

https://thesaunatrail.locals.com

(00:00) Introduction 

(01:52) Highlights from Sauna Week  

(07:40) Why do we need sauna accessories? 

(08:14) Cold plunge tanks 

(09:10) Metal buckets 

(09:41) Japanese milk pots

(10:33) Ladles

(11:44) Essential oils

(12:53) Textiles

(13:42) Sauna hats 

(15:08) Exfoliating materials

(15:41) Soaps

(18:13) Wood chopping 

(21:35) Chairs 

(22:36) Flashlights

(22:51) Foods 

(25:29) Vihtas/Vastas

(26:48) Wooden buckets 

(27:38) Sauna stones

(28:42) Music

(30:26) Outro

In today’s episode we'll be sharing our tips for building or buying a sauna. If you’ve been bitten by the löyly bug and want to get your own Finnish steam bath, this practical advice will get you headed in the right direction so you can hopefully avoid the most common pitfalls.

Jim Torolla’s sauna story: https://saunadigest.com/jims-sauna-4365ec6aeb03 

Wood-Burning Sauna group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/WoodBurningSauna

Wood Fired Saunas group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/803801150047727 

Sauna Design, Construction, Use, and Enjoyment group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1023314014708398 

Randy Leppala's website: https://sites.google.com/view/our-sauna/

Sauna Subreddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/Sauna/

Trumpkin’s Notes on Building a Sauna: https://localmile.org/blog/2020/11/05/notes-on-building-a-sauna/

SaunaTimes: https://www.saunatimes.com

Finlandia Foundation: https://finlandiafoundation.org

Saunalogia: https://saunologia.fi/in-english/

Nils Shenholm's company: http://www.saunavermont.com/about.html

Music

Dirge of the Night by Tied With Twine

Website

https://www.thesaunatrail.com

Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/thesaunatrail

Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/thesaunatrail

TikTok

https://www.tiktok.com/@thesaunatrail

Locals

https://thesaunatrail.locals.com

(00:00) Introduction 

(02:20) Basic Principles 

(06:43) Principle #1: Heat 

(11:47) Principle #2: Ample Ventilation 

(14:30) Principle #3: Drainage 

(15:41) Principle #4: Cold 

(17:35) Principle #5: Consider the Space 

(18:59) Summary 

(22:08) Why Build?

(27:50) Why Buy?

(39:41) Recommended Kits and Heaters

(45:01) Common Myths and Mistakes 

(51:13) Recommended Resources 

(54:08) Outro 

In this episode we summarize the journey so far, bringing you up to speed if you are new, and providing a good review if you have been following along. We share our thoughts on each sauna thus far, what we have learned from starting a podcast, and the lessons we have picked up along the sauna trail. 

Music

Dirge of the Night by Tied With Twine

Website

https://www.thesaunatrail.com

Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/thesaunatrail

Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/thesaunatrail

TikTok

https://www.tiktok.com/@thesaunatrail

Locals

https://thesaunatrail.locals.com

Timestamps:

(00:00) Introduction 

(02:03) Episode 2 - A Fateful Search 

(03:37) Episode 3 - Getting Naked

(06:41) Episode 4 - Kinda Rustic 

(08:12) Episode 6 - Generations 

(11:00) Episode 7 - Savusauna

(16:06) Episode 8 - Where the Finns Are

(20:49) What we’ve learned 

(22:36) Outro