We boarded the minibus and drove for about 20 minutes to the foot of the fell where we disembarked. Also in the car park was a car with a trailer of dog kennels. It was a dog/husky training group and the dogs when released from their kennels were straining at their leashes to get out and go. The idea was that the group of people would take the dogs for a walk on the fell but make sure that they maintained discipline. This looked like a tough task as all the dogs looked very full of energy but as this is a National Park, they are not allowed to be off the leash. At the foot of the fell there is a small private room for the restaurant on which the roof is covered in moss and twigs. Although we could not see inside, it looked very cosy.
We set off up the hill. The track is mostly covered either in wooden steps or wooden boards so footing was goo although the climb was a little taxing for the ageing knees. Many signs indicated the presence of birds and wildlife but we did not see any as they are well camouflaged. They are mostly a type of grouse or capercaillie which are very diffident to see as their plumage is the same color as the heather or rocks. Our guides were full of information about the area and very helpful. After about 40 minutes of climbing we reached the top which was marked with stone cairns. Previous visitors had piled stones one upon the other to make these little 'Jenga' piles and we joined in by adding some stones to one of them to leave our mark without desecrating the site.
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| MAC adds her stone to the marker at the summit. |
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| Paivi adding her stone to the cairn |
The views were excellent and the sky had cleared although there were mist clouds below us you could still see a considerable distance almost to the Russian border. We could also see far away, the dogs we had seen earlier being exercised and a herd of reindeer on the hill side across the glen. To reinforce the difficulties of seeing the birds there was a sign showing in one side, what looked like am empty hill side and on the other, the well-camouflaged birds ringed in red but almost indistinguishable from the rocks around.
We descended the fell and inspected the smoke sauna and other buildings at the foot including some old gold-panning workings.
Then it was back on the minibus to the hotel where our two guides prepared an outdoor lunch for us by taking log of firewood, paring it with a knife to produce kindling for starting the fire and then using other wood to get a good fire going. We had a mix of reindeer and elk meat served in a pita which was very tasty followed by coffee brewed over the fire. As we sat at lunch a small herd of reindeer passed by below us and crossed the stream.
When lunch was over we went back to our original cabin, collected all our belongings and moved to the Aurora Cabin where we were to spend the last night in Lapland.
We took a nap in our new quarters which are compact but very nice indeed with a glass ceiling allowing sights of the aurora should it appear. The bed is ideally situated under the glass dome and facing in the right direction (north) for aurora viewing. The cabins, although small have a full bathroom, sauna and large bed. They are very comfortable and warm.
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| The exterior and interior of the Aurora Cabin |
We had dinner at the hotel and then took a drive to see if we could find a cloud gap so we could all see the Aurora but struck out again with high cloud.
We returned to our cabin in the hope that we would spot the 'Lights' through our picture window.
Despite our lovely surroundings and excellent view, the Northern Lights declined to appear for us so we slept soundly for our last night in Lapland
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