As we were loading equipment into the container on the truck, one of them picked up a package containing 25 of our demarcation signs (the ones we're putting on trees, to demarcate forests important to reindeer herding). Petteri asked him to give them back, but was pushed away. I was videoing the situation, when one of the other "Anti-Terror" guys swung a demarcation sign at my face. I raised my hand to block the blow, but my arm was grabbed and twisted behind me. I managed to wriggle free, just as Ric comes to my aid. Ric took the sign away from the guy, who tried to grab Ric's neck, but then gave up and left.

We went back to work - there was a round of applause from the other camp, as the thieves brought back their booty. Petteri watched and filmed them breaking the package open and sharing out the signs, which disappeared into the cars that were parked along the road. He then phoned the police - worried that this was the start of something worse.

When the truck was ready to go, we walked down the road towards the other camp, Timo and JJ directing the truck as reversed down the hill. As it turned in front of the "Anti-Terror" camp, the guy who had stolen the signs stumbled out in front of the truck, holding one of our demarcation signs towards the cab. Written on the back it said in Finnish, something like "Greetings to the old girl from the neighbourhood".

Way never know what he meant by that.

As the truck pulled away, someone pelted the windscreen with something - it looked like some kind of cream and berry mixture. Yoghurt? I tried to get a photograph of Timo, the departing truck, and the beautiful sunset - but suddenly, I had someone standing in front me, covering the camera lens with his hat, and trying to grab the camera. I backed away, trying to keep the camera moving so they couldn't get it. One of the really really drunk guys who had stolen the signs ran towards in a rage, picked up some snow and threw it at us.

Things were getting out of hand. I could see Tapeni Pennanen, camp organiser trying to get his men back under control. We backed up the hill, returned to the Forest Rescue Station and waited for the police.

When they arrived, they didn't waste time, or words. One of them marched down the hill with Petteri, with a policewoman and me in tow. Very quickly, one of the signs was spotted in the back of a car, and while no one claimed to own the car, several people felt it their duty to tell the policeman what the law was. One guy in particular claimed that he'd been a security guard in MacDonald's and he knew about this kind of thing. The policeman wasn't having any of it, opened the car's boot himself, and handed the sign to Petteri. A few people pushed in, saying that the sign had been taken down from a tree - but as Petteri pointed out, any of the signs we had put up on trees had been drilled, so that we could tie them. This sign was brand new and undrilled.

As the policeman and Petteri moved away and discussed matters - such as who had down the thieving and assaulting, the more drunk people were piled into cars, and driven out of the camp. In a matter of minutes, there were just a handful of people still at the "Anti-Terror Info Center". Because of the trouble we had reported, some of activists arrived, and pulled in, got out, and looked around, amazed, by the lack of anything going on.

The last few "Anti-Terror Info" centrists left... the police left, and most of our guys left again - six of us stayed at the camp, with the two remaining containers. It was incredible to sit out by a campfire, with no threat of masked men, and no infernal racket from sirens - just to be able to sit and enjoy the silence of the forest. Even at midnight, the sky is still blue here, and there's only about one hour of real night.

Later, around 2:30am, we were in the truck, taking another container out of the camp. On the road towards Ivalo, we noticed a car behind us - the same silver pickup truck that's been tailing us for weeks. And it followed us all the way to Inari.

- Dave

Loading up the equipment container

From right, the three drunk guys who stole the signs

Our truck turns and tries to depart, but some geezer gets in the way

You're not taking a photo, sonny!

The photography they didn't want me to take: Sunset in Nellim

Dismantling the Forest Rescue Station

Loading the container onto the truck

Petteri and Sini by the fire. It's 12:30am and the sky is still blue

JJ, Timo and Marc by the fire

Sini, the rock imp

Nothing like a good fire, eh?

Photos: © 2005 Greenpeace/Dave Walsh