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 -

Greenwashing is a well-known form of propaganda to make a consumer product or other environmentally harmful thing sound environmentally friendly. My last year's prize of honour for greenwashing goes to Kontio, a manufacturer of luxury log cabins. Their slogan is: "Long live the woods!"

"The silence is almost excessive, as if it has something to hide.

Here are pictures of a road built by a big private forestry operator between Lake Ounasjärvi and the national park for logging along the ski trail leading to the park.

Forest roads may look innocent compared to paved highways. But even those main roads have in the past been similar minor roads. And unlike highways, forest roads are made quickly and by the mile. They are built despite local opposition and with state financial support. They cut through the wilderness, bringing with them logging and lots of small and large motor vehicles.

This is the message that was revealed in a rock in the River Elbe during the dry summer of 2018. It's a famine stone: messages have been carved into river stones in years of famine. That is, a kind of hydrological record of the past and a warning message from the people of that time. The oldest still legible engraving on the Elbe dates back to 1616.

This summer, the boat has not been able to make the familiar river hike. it has made in recent years. The restoration of the boat has taken a little more work than in other springs. It was also difficult to find a window of time when the water level was suitable for river cruising. First the river flooded and then the surface elevation dropped suddenly, unexpectedly. The rapids became rocky and do not offer the thrill of speed in such shallow water, especially for a fully loaded rowing boat that swims deeper than a kayak or canoe.

After the lake Ounasjärvi has opened up from the ice cover, it was time to get the wooden boat ready for rowing. One of the first tasks in spring is thus to apply a new layer of tar.

In this blog, I share some news of the Lake Ounas catchment area from the perspective of a rower, skier, winter net-fisher and data collector of the Finnish Environment Agency. More specifically, geographically the area of my focus is the upper Ounasriver catchment area and my observation point in Hetta. The news I have written here are words that, as an amateur natural scientist and poet, I mix and match, depending on the case. I freely combine accurate measurements with staring mesmerized into the stream and the fire.