Day 32 – to Äkäslompolo, Pallas-Yllästunturi National Park

This is an unseasonably fine and warm spell of weather for the area. I was chatting with a couple of local hikers this morning and they said that usually there had been several frosts by now. As regards viewing the Northern Lights, I’m currently on the wrong side of the mountain, the ugly ski area blocks the view of the night sky to the west and north.

I planned a route into the National Park today and it was very rewarding.

Just before the start of the path I wanted to take is a waterfall where quite a few people had ventured to, but were to go no further. Amongst them was a school group, 10 year olds. One boy approached me and asked if he could stroke the dog, and before I knew it I was an extra-curricular attraction for practicing English.

At the top of Kellostapuli I met the only other hikers I saw all day, a Finnish couple on vacation for 5 weeks in a self catering cabin close by. They choose this time of year as it’s so quiet, between the seasons. They also told me that the name of the mountain translated as The Clock Tower, apparently because of its shape, though I couldn’t see that.

The treeline here is about 450 metres asl, and after that it’s boulders, so moving, at least for me, is a lot slower.

There’s a bigger path, that serves mountain bikers as well, that goes around the mountain, and we joined that and completed the circuit.

A couple of bikers past us, and stopped quite frequently, so again, we got chatting. They were on e-FatBikes, the sort I’ve seen a few on at Rovaniemi also. These were owned rather than rented, a Finnish brand, marketing at about 5000 euros. To rent, they are 60 euros for three hours. They do look good fun, but weigh probably more than 30 kilograms. Their range is about 90 km, and it is possible to carry a spare battery. Because the tyres are fat, they are only front suspension.

I do consider riding electric off-road bikes to be a different sport to mountain biking, and probably will, in a few years, join the masses, but these fat bikes are another sport again really. Obviously here they are good for snow as well, consequently they’re isn’t really a market for them in the UK… yet.

Back at the van it was an afternoon of Test Cricket, catching up on book reviews, and researching some options for the next few days.