How are you doing, Lake Ounasjärvi?

Ounasjärvi (Lake Ounas) froze on the 1st of November, 2024. Snow fell on it the same day and closed down the view of the shiny surface. The winter of the lake has started.

I have coined Metsämieli  to describe a state of mind that believes - against all the odds - that things don’t have to be this way: the forest mind believes in the possibility of preserving biodiversity despite the onslaught of the global economy on nature. It is difficult to keep the forest mind set intact and on track when, in the big picture, consumption is only accelerating, greed is taking over the minds of fellow human beings, and the destruction machine is rampaging everywhere.

"The unregulated, effectively lawless framework of global finance attracts and empowers a new category of criminals and psychopaths, especially now, with fewer or no constraints on the looting of social wealth and natural resources." (Jonathan Crary: Scorched Earth)

The national park is starting to be surrounded by logging and roads. The latest in this chain: one of the plots of land between the boat peer and the northern boundary of the national park, through which the legendary Hetta-Pallas hiking trail runs, has been bought by a large forestry company. At this rate, the park will remain an isolated island of protection, even though it is well known that the most important thing for preserving biodiversity is the interconnectedness of protected areas.

I don't assume anyone can numerically define when a wilderness - more commonly here known as a kaira – loses its wilderness character. For example, what is the amount of noise that still blends into its environment so that organisms (including us) can feel at peace in the wilderness?

The pine forests of the North are efficient carbon sinks, valuable habitat loss mitigators and essential for local people's livelihoods such as reindeer husbandry, hunting-gathering and nature tourism. Despite this, near pristine forests, where endangered species and indicator species of old-growth forests are found, are getting logged in Enontekiö.

The lake is ice free since 25th of May.

The Hetta region is a cross-country skier's paradise thanks to its extensive network of tracks and the remnants of wilderness still found in the area. Were it not for the systematic trampling of the skiing tracks by snowmobiles, this place might well be in the top three in the world for long-distance skiing.

I have been promoting my business as a carbon neutral option. This is true since my muscle-powered vehicle is a clean way to travel. But I don't really like the term. It is often - intentionally or unintentionally - confused with sustainability, when it actually says very little about sustainability and is in many ways even misleading. Carbon neutrality calculations are distorted, for example, by the idea that a company can compensate by owning forest where new trees are planted. This compensation does not guarantee that the forest will not be logged later.

The cornerstone of tourism in Enontekiö is undoubtedly the unique nature of the area. That's what people come here for: peace and quiet that is hard to find elsewhere these days.

I passionately love the wilderness of Enontekiö and when I'm out in the world I'm ready to join others in saying that there is no other place like it. But -