I spent the other week with my family in Kilpisjärvi, the north-western edge of the Finnish Lapland. No major hiking was planned but to do some nice day walks in the area, visit Norway couple of times and enjoy the luxury of a rented cottage.
Saana, one of the highest peaks of Finland (1029m, not the second on the list as I had thought for some reason. Thanks Mark!), seen from our cottage window. There is an easy hiking trail up to the summit, which I did last time we where in Kilpisjärvi five years ago. Unfortunately this time the weather got so cloudy and foggy, that after the first day there was no good visibility to climb up there again.
The weather turned out to be very dark and cloudy the whole week in the Finnish side, so we decided to cross the border to Norway where everything would be better except the prices. We drove until reaching the sea at Skibotn village and followed then the Lyngen fjord to the opposite shore. From there begins a nice hiking path up to a beautiful valley.
This valley has a very special meaning for me because there I saw for the first time real mountains. Being surrounded by this grand beauty back in 2008 I got the “hiking bug”. It was cool to visit the place again. We were also very lucky with the weather that day as the light illuminated perfectly the yellow trees all around.
The following day we visited Norway again. This time we headed more to the north along the same fjord. We were aiming for a spot where one could see unobstructedly the open Arctic Ocean. After couple of hours of driving we found it as the mountains and island finally gave away for a clear view. As we sat there on the rocks having a coffee moment, I saw some dark shadows moving in the water. I screamed to everyone, “look dolphins!” A group of harbour porpoise were swimming just in front of us. What a luck!
I lured the magpie that lived around the cottage for a photo before we left the relaxing silence of Lapland behind. It was a nice week although it’s a long ride to get there and then back home.
Long Distance Trail 
A very nice series of walks – the one up to the valley in Norway looks very nice. I’ll have to check that out sometime. Lovely photos, too.
But Saana isn’t Finland’s second highest peak – it’s way, way further down the list, around 20 if I recall.
Hei Mark,
Thanks for your comment and correction. You’re absolutely right. I’ve never checked the list and I don’t know from where and why that thought has come to my head that Saana is the second… maybe because in the elementary school I remember teachers used to talk only about Halti and Saana:D
Thanks!
-Antti
It is a beautiful area, isn’t it! I visited Kilpisjärvi with surrounding in the summer (should write about that in my blog…). I’d love to see the area in the autumn, too, but unfortunately my job interferes with my plans! 😉
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