Niillas' life path, as he says - is that of the activist, especially in the Sámi cultural debate. From a Sámi reindeer herding family in Norway, he's also a photographer, video maker, writer, yoik-singer, traditional healer and leader of rituals. Mardoeke is from the Netherlands, and has worked for the Green Party but now a traditional healer and helps make a bridge between the non-indigenous and the indigenous worldviews.

But back to the singing - here we were, all of us, trying follow the inpenetrable lyrics of the wolf yoik - which was created by Niilas' great grandfather. We do our best, at worst providing a soft choral melody behind the harder style of Niillas' singing. About two hundred metres away is the loggers'- in previous nights, they had tried their best to spook us - howling like wolves, and banging metal; prowling about in the trees during the few truly dark hours and revving their snowscooters as they passed by. I wondered what they thought of us - now here were we, howling like pack of wolves, to the east, south, west and north while Niillas tapped on the the noaidi (shamanic) drum. Outside, but the snow is indecisive, sometimes falling vertically as rain.

The yoik is a form of music particular and important to the Sámi, a kind of ancient aboriginal song from the northern part of the world. Yoiks are often an expression of directness, and can be about people, nature, animals, and they paint a picture using words, rhythm melody, and gestures. There tends to be use of repetition, often with alliteration using small, but meaningful words, to create solidarity, and to break down distances between people. But there can also be uses of irony, and double meaning...

Afterwards, we're served luppo soup - made from the lichen that groes on the pine trees in these forests. It's the same food that reindeer eat - except that they eat it raw. This meal is a collaboration between Mardoeke and Rossano, our ace Italian Forest Rescue Station chef. The result is delicious, hot broth, with a creamy, earthy taste.

Later, I fall asleep outdoors, under the tarpaulin we've rigged up as a kind of bivouc, with the snow pitter-pattering on the top. The night silence is occasionally broken by sounds from the loggers camp - doing their best to keep us awake. I'm worried about being a bit cold - it's a damp night. Instead, I'm too warm, and end up piling up my layers into a massive pillow.

In the morning, the snow is still sticking to the trees. From my sleeping bag, I have matchless view of a frozen world.

- Dave

[Will upload an mp3 of the yoik later this week!

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Squeezed into the kota, © Greenpeace/Dave Walsh

Niillas does the wolf yoik, © Greenpeace/Dave Walsh

Nellim forest - view from the sleeping bag, © Greenpeace/Dave Walsh