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. Of course, in the slightly higher altitude, there was still a lot of snow covering the trees, but the empty branches, without snow, where also without any kind of frost or something that you would make them look like in winter. In the lower altitude, around Hetta and the lakes, the trees already lost most of their snow cover and thus also their winter charm.
As a consequence, I had kind of mixed feelings on that trip. Too fresh are still the memories of the beautiful and cold winter nights, when I also visited places like Pahtajärvi. On the other hand, the advantage of this season, when also the light is back, is that the cross country trails are (mostly) well prepared. This day we had really new tracks, where for most of the distance we have been the first to press our ski poles in the snow and to leave some marks, showing that the trails are in use. Another advantage: Even when you are not able to leave early enough and besides having a cloud covered sky, there is still enough day light for a skiing trip. Attached are some images of this short trip ..
