Safe Return Doubtful

Äkäslompolo has less than 500 permanent residents but is an almost all year round destination for outdoor enthusiasts. It is most popular as a ski resort, the nearby Ylläs ski area has a total of 330 km of cross-country ski tracks, and 61 Alpine ski slopes with 29 ski lifts. For the rest of the year Äkäslompolo is popular among hikers, anglers, canoeists, and mountain bikers. If it has an off-season it is that short time before the snow comes when the weather is cold and wet, and after the snow has gone, when it is wet and the mosquitoes are thriving. There are many holiday cabins, so much so that the town seems far bigger. In the wider Ylläs region there are 25,000 beds, and the town will have five times as many visitors as permanent residents in the height of the season, with its workers included. 

This last weekend was fine, though cold for the time of year, and with a north wind. Though the temperature climbed to a pleasant 8C in the day, the nights went down to minus 3, and then on Sunday, minus 7. I needed to use the campsite, as was low on electric having driven very little in the last few days. These autumn weekends are busy with motorhomes though. The campsite price should have been 25 euros, including electric, and a very decent sauna and shower block. But, with the cold weather, they upped the price to the winter rate, as the large motorhomes come in their masses needing electricity for their heating and large TVs. If the temperature had been the average, they could have dispersed around the area to the ski car parks. Instead therefore, the price was 40 euros. I had a chat with the owner and told her all I needed was a top up, nothing like the large motorhomes take, and she agreed to just charge for one night. These days I feel more so than ever that single occupants are discriminated against, but rather than rage, I like to say I will accept the rate, wherever I am, and make the point; sometimes that works well. 

Rua’s training is going well, overall.. I came away with a series of dog training videos of which I have only used a couple so far. He had a good grounding at the Lodge, where he met almost all the guests. As a consequence, he has struggled to walk past people without expecting to be made a fuss of, and he is too big to be jumping up at people now. That has been a key focus, and there is some improvement. He walks off the lead as much as possible. He won’t chase reindeer, though he did at first. He comes when called, and is happy to go on lead if someone is coming. A couple of times in recent days though I haven’t seen approaching hikers, and he has not jumped at them. I can’t guarantee yet he will always behave like this, but it is a start. 

In Äkäslompolo there are a lot more people, especially on the campsite, and a lot more dogs. The weekend was an opportunity to get him used to a lot more activity around the van. 

When it’s cold I can’t let him play outside as the van sidedoor needs to be open, so organised activity, walks, are the answer, and having him tired at the right time, for the rugby for example, which on Saturday was from 5 pm, with the start of the Prem Cup, then the Test from South Africa. It’s good to have the Prem back, though it isn’t back fully for three more weeks. The Friday night games are a highlight of the week, so over the summer weeks I have had to find other entertainment, for example, in the last few weeks, some of the best Hammer House of Horror films from the late 60s and early 70s. Something about them really appeals, their camp nature, the very British attitudes, the ridiculous colour of the blood, and most of all, rather like Python, the fun they must have had making them, which bubbles over to the screen. 

Monday morning, this morning, I drove south out of the National Park to the area around Miekojärvi lake, near the village of Sirkkakoski.

It’s about twenty kilometres north of the Arctic Circle, but gentler hills, with more land suitable for farming. There’s a day of heavy rain expected this evening and tomorrow, so an end to the cold and clear weather for a few days at least.