In addition to last weekend’s adventure in Eastern Lapland, I also got to visit Pyhä-Luosto National Park and Pyhätunturi, which was the original plan for the weekend. My camera stayed in the trunk of the car during all the excitement, so nearly all the photos in this post were taken by my friend, Onni. Thanks, Onni!

Saturday greeted us with rain and fog. When we arrived at Pyhäjärvi, you could barely see the base of the surrounding fells. The rainy weather spoiled our original plan to spend the night in the fell at Soutaja. Instead, we spent the day touring Pyhä's sights, and by the end of the evening, the misty rain had soaked our hiking clothes through and through.

Every year (except, of course, in this strange year), the popular festival Pyhä Unplugged is held at Pyhätunturi, where renowned artists are brought to perform in the heart of the fell landscape. One of the festival’s venues is located in the magical Aittakuru gorge, framed on both sides by ancient boulders that were broken apart by the Ice Age.

The gorge has excellent acoustics (as a music enthusiast, these things interest me, so don’t be surprised 🙈). A small stage, dwarfed by the massive rocks and damaged by an avalanche last winter, is built at the bottom of the gorge. Apparently, the sound from the stage should carry to the audience seating about ten meters higher, just at the volume of normal speech. We did a few test shouts, but our private soundcheck was interrupted by hikers who had come to see the gorge from above.

The next morning, the weather began to clear, so we set off on our original plan to hike to the summit of Soutaja fell. The fall colors were at their peak, and although this particular fell is usually empty, we encountered a fair number of hikers. It didn’t really bother us, though—under the northern sky, there’s plenty of space for everyone, and the eye is so absorbed by the autumn hues peeking through the boulder fields that you often don’t even notice other people.

Papu is both a good and bad fell dog. She can hike up and down the fell slopes without any trouble, always checking the campfire spots for leftover sausage casings from other hikers and keeping the group together like a true herding dog, barking immediately if anyone falls too far behind. However, her small paws struggle in the rocky terrain, which slows us down. But her size also has its advantages—she’s easy to carry for long distances without fuss, and she doesn't seem to mind the surprise lifts. She just takes in the scenery and sniffs the wind from a new perspective.

The weather and scenery were so beautiful that we took several coffee and berry-picking breaks on the fell’s wide, wooden summit. There was plenty to see and explore.

In the afternoon, we returned to the village, to the area around Pyhäjärvi, where we met local fishermen who had just come back from netting on the lake. Apparently, Pyhäjärvi is overly populated with fish, because in the past, only the best and largest fish were overfished from it. The natural balance of the fish population has been disrupted, with some species reproducing too much, leaving little room for the fish to grow beyond a small size. The lake is now full of small roach and perch, which the fishermen net by pulling fishing nets behind a moving boat in an attempt to restore the water's natural balance.

Since the country's fish consumption has shifted almost entirely to imported fish, the fishermen pull tons of fish from the lake, which is then trucked off as food for the local husky business or dumped in the forest to feed wild foxes. Doesn't that seem absurd? Sometimes the modern world feels overwhelmingly strange, as my mother would say, "That's just the way of the world."

A few locals were there, working together to make canned roach for their own use. With just a few pairs of hands, they managed to clean only a tiny fraction of the massive catch, but at least some of this entirely clean, natural, and domestic fish will be used as food.

We cleaned kilos upon kilos of fish, while at the same time, the fishermen kept bringing in more 50-liter buckets full of fish.

At the end of the fish cleaning effort, we got to taste a real treat—deep-fried roach. It was a completely new experience for me, but unbelievably delicious! I’d happily pay for this dish at a local restaurant. Maybe someone could turn this into a great business idea?🤗

The whole weekend was so packed with people, activities, and new experiences that I felt a bit dizzy from it all as I set off driving back to Kolari on Sunday evening. The long 300 km journey home didn’t feel bad at all. The stunning autumn landscapes, painted in fall colors, and the golden evening sun provided plenty of entertainment for a tired adventurer, and I drove the whole way without stopping.