Day 35: Inari

Inari

Latitude: 68⁰ 54’ 21”.

Today’s temperatures (May 8): High 6⁰ C, low -2⁰ C.

MAY 8 - Happy Mother’s Day! Had intended to visit the Sami Museum today, but forgot that it was Sunday and things are closed. Instead take a dirt road nearby along the north side of Lake Inari to the trailhead for Pielpajärvi erämaakirkko (Pielpajärvi wilderness church). Because the name of the church involves the word ‘järvi’, it is a good bet that it is situated near a lake. The hike is 4.5 km, through pine forests, numerous ponds and lakes, and a few streams that connect them. Boulders of every size litter the terrain, up to the size of our cabin.

Though the undergrowth was green, I really did not see any new leaves. That may take a few more weeks to see at this latitude.

There were some great moments of sun that really brought out the color of the forest.

One of the streams connecting two nearby lakes.

Some flowering lichens, that have somehow escaped being eaten by a reindeer.

Finally the church! The last bit was really windy, and the snow got rather deep in the last km or so. I thought that a ‘wilderness church’ would be tiny, but this was a huge building, with pews that could seat at least 100 people, and some seats up on a second floor. The corner supports inside the building were painted in imitation of Corinthian columns, and several bibles lay open on the alter.

I was impressed with Odette on this hike. It was a lot to expect a 9 km walk out of her, but on our way in we asked a couple of times if she wanted to go back, and but she wanted to continue. There were some portions where the snow was deep and we kept breaking through, which got us a bit wet. It snowed a number of times, but thankfully without a lot of wind accompanying it.

Total hike time of about three hours. No animals seen other than a few ducks and a raven, but plenty of reindeer scat everywhere.

Back to Inari for lunch, at a restaurant attached to the Holiday Village Hotel. There are a lot of people there (mostly women), and it looks like a Mother’s Day celebration, as there is an old man serenading everyone with an accordion. Odette has the healthiest kid’s meals I’ve ever seen in my life, with locally caught fish, mashed potatoes, and a green salad.

In the late afternoon I organize an hour session at the sauna near our cabin. It was quite fancy, with a changing room, shower room, and sauna portion with large windows facing the lake. I haven’t been in one for many years. Odette was sure, after seeing a video in the museum in Helsinki, that she would be able to sit there for ten minutes and then go outside and roll around in the snow. In reality, we sat for a long time and I don’t think she was prepared to get that hot. A half an hour was good enough to walk outside a bit in bathing suits and be in the snow for a few seconds, but no more than that. I sat inside for about 45 minutes, and for that I lasted about 30 seconds laying in the snow, staring up at the dark clouds, before I felt the pain. It was probably too much thermal shock to expect my body to tolerate.

Finland I