We Finns seem to have an affinity for tar. Historically, tar was very important – together with the sauna it was a cure-all and it worked brilliantly for everything else, too. Tar was (is) naturally used elsewhere in the world as well, but nowhere has it remained as popular as in Finland. We even have tar flavoured salt liquorice candy (and it’s very good). I haven’t seen any tar flavoured ice cream yet but it’s only a matter of time – after all, the salt liquorice ice cream was introduced a few years ago. The reason I’m sharing this cultural tidbit with you is that the Finns also have tar scented mosquito repellent. I was delighted to find this the last time I was in Finland and I have to say that I love it. It does what it’s supposed to do – i.e. repel the mosquitoes – while the scent doesn’t repel me in the process. The other repellants work as well, but not without offending my nose.Since I only have a small bottle of the tar scented bug oil and won’t be getting any more of it until next year, I’m using it only at special occasions. Like on holiday in the mountains – it’s such a great experience to be back here that I don’t want to ruin it with foul smelling insect repellent! I was surprised to find though that the mozzies weren’t out in the same numbers as back home, but it didn’t really matter… it was like wearing tar scented perfume, LOL!

The place was Ramundberget. It was such a contrast to the hustle and bustle of the winter when even the over-flow car park was filled. Now I had the whole place to myself and during my hike, I didn’t see another soul. I didn’t even see any footprints on the trail, just reindeer hooves everywhere and then finally the reindeer themselves, hundreds of them. I followed the Sveån creek up, caught some nice waterfalls on the way to the tree line and also a bit of snow. Now that I was clear of the forest and the ground had levelled, I wanted to see if I could find a view towards Skarsfjället. I headed to the Röstvålen peak nearby and got a closer look at the distinctive triangular peak of Skarsfjället than I had ever seen before. The weather was not too bad but there were a lot of clouds so the shadows were constantly changing the scenery, had to wait a while until the Skarsfjället peak was lit to photograph it. I would have wanted the whole mountain in the sun, but that was an impossible request – just simply too many clouds around.

Happy anyway, I followed the Pilgrim Trail back to Ramundberget and found the place even more deserted than it had been when I had arrived.