Day 31 – to Äkäslompolo, Pallas-Yllästunturi National Park

If every town had the sort of outdoor activity access that Rovaniemi has Health Services would certainly benefit. There are tracks of several kilometres that have lights for the winter. Though cross-country skiing isn’t a cheap sport, people grow up with it here. As the snow comes they naturally change their bikes, walking or running shoes for their skis.

After an explore around the trails I got the bike out for the first time on this course. My hips have been particularly tight in the last few days, and I feared cycling would be troublesome, but it wasn’t so bad at all. It was a slow circuit in a low gear as I brought Roja with me, which I don’t usually do when cycling. He prefers to lead the way. I was quite happy for him to do that, choose the route, and all.

With fine cool weather it had been a splendid morning, and after a late lunch, I drove a couple of hours and and a couple of hundred kilometres north. The roads are noticeably less busy.

I was indecisive about the direction north until the last minute. I had consisted heading north-east to the National Parks close to the Russian border, then up to Inari. But in the end I headed north-west to Pallas-Yllästunturi National Park where I’ll spend a few days before heading up to Inari. From the small town of Ylläsjärvi the route I will take will be close to the old Arctic Post Road, which I have been reading about. It was the first road north, and it’s original route now consists of a few bits of sealed road, but mainly gravel tracks, and forms a long-distance cycle route.

The Ylläs Ski Area is typically ruined by the downhill skiing. The mountain that the lifts are on looks unwell at this time of year, and it’s only west of it that is National Park. I’m parked in the overflow car park of the ski area, just as the National Park, and the hiking and biking tracks start. It was a cloudless sky on arrival at about 5:30 pm, and up at 450 metres above sea level, a bit cooler, at 14C, and no doubt will drop to just a few degrees above zero tonight. A reindeer welcomed us, inquisitive at first about the dog, but then took off.

This sort of weather is perfect as far as I’m concerned, it’s early autumn and the trees just beginning to change colour.