Taking the Pahtajärvenreitti to Närpistö Laavu And Wondering: Is It Already Spring?

Crossing Pahtajärvi
Crossing the frozen Pahtajärvi

After skiing towards the South the day before, we decided to also ski a bit towards the North and visit the Närpistö lean-to shelter (once more), along the Pahtajärvenreitti. Like the days before, it was again rather warm (especially for mid February), and I had the feeling it would be some time in the middle of spring. Why: Because it actually was pretty warm (just a few degrees below zero), the the snow felt wet and not winterly, but maybe even more because of the way the trees looked like. Continue reading “Taking the Pahtajärvenreitti to Närpistö Laavu And Wondering: Is It Already Spring?”

On the Sammalvaara Skiing Trail to the Postitupajärvi Lean-To Shelter

Lean-to shelter at Postitupajärvi
Lean-to shelter at Postitupajärvi

A nice skiing track in the Hetta region is the Sammalvaaran latu (Sammalvaara skiing trail), which is a bit West of the main tracks from Hetta to Pyhäkero and Sioskuru, and which has two lean-to shelters along the trail: the Rautujärvi laavu, and the Postitupajärvi laavu. The latter one was the target for this short skiing trip, which we choose for having our lunch that day. Continue reading “On the Sammalvaara Skiing Trail to the Postitupajärvi Lean-To Shelter”

Skiing in the Sun Again! Pahtajärven Polku in late January

Skiing in the sun, on Pahtajärven Polku
Skiing in the sun on Pahtajärven Polku

Mathematically, the sun should be back in Enontekiö since 5th of January, however, it took until the 19th, when I was finally walking again in direct sun light for the first time since Kaamos (= polar night) is over. Unfortunately, that day the walk to the bus station – which brought me into the natural brightness of the big yellow thing – took me just a few minutes, so I haven’t been able to spent a long time in the sun. Nevertheless, after I have been away for a week, I gratefully took out my regular cross country skiers, for a short run in the sun when it returned. Continue reading “Skiing in the Sun Again! Pahtajärven Polku in late January”

During the Polar Night to Hannukuru: Skiing, Sauna, Full Moon, and Northern Lights in Pallas-Yllästunturi National Park

Northern Lights in Pallas-Yllästunturi National Park
Northern Lights and Full Moon at Hannukuru

After a very busy December the idea came up, to find some relaxing days in the Pallas-Yllästunturi National Park – or more precisely – to visit the Hannukuru area for a decent sauna turn in the middle of the wonderful nature, and in the middle of the polar night. The plan was to take our (borrowed) forest skiers to go to Hannukuru for a relaxing sauna evening, and to return back home the same way. Fortunately (I have to say), a heavy snowfall made us stuck in the beautiful Hannukuru valley, where we experienced a most wonderful night under the clear full moon sky – topped with some northern lights, just after the snowfall ended. Continue reading “During the Polar Night to Hannukuru: Skiing, Sauna, Full Moon, and Northern Lights in Pallas-Yllästunturi National Park”

Moonlight Skiing to Pahtajärvi

Pahtajärvi
On the summer hiking trail with forest skiers to Pahakuru

The clear ski on Friday revealed the strong brightness of the moon just a few days after it was full. With such an amount of light available, I wanted to take advantage of the beautiful weather and decided to go to the Pahtajärvi laavu for some late night dinner. Since the sun is almost gone anyway, the moon will be the only light-ball shining from the sky in the next few weeks. Of course the clear sky came along with cold temperatures (down to -30°C), but that shouldn’t keep me off from a short skiing trip. Continue reading “Moonlight Skiing to Pahtajärvi”

Sunrise today at 10:12. Sunset today at 14:10. Length of day is 3 h 58 min.

JyppyrävaaraThe days are getting shorter quickly and the Arctic night seems to become tangible. Currently the day length decreases by ten to eleven minutes every day (The headline, by the way, I stole from todays weather forecast site of the Finnish meteorological institute).

The other information I found on that site, which however also was obvious by looking out of the window, was that today was a clear sky. Continue reading “Sunrise today at 10:12. Sunset today at 14:10. Length of day is 3 h 58 min.”

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