Time is approaching quickly until my arctic adventure is taking place. To be precise: today in four weeks time I will be on my flight to Kiruna. That is 28 days. I am anxious. Slightly scared. I feel not prepared. The arctic countdown is real. And since writing things down while I think through them is my way of keeping my sanity this is what this post is ging to be about. Ha!
As you remember it is not the first time I took that approach to organize my adventure. Lets have a check-in before I share about my anxiety.
Travel & Insurance Preparations
Here is a list of things I still have to do and all the things I already did:
- ✔ flights are booked.
- ✔ travel insurance is arranged.
- ✔ all invoices for the tour paid.
- Hotel room for first night in Kiruna needs to be booked.
Base camp cabin is not yet free for move in. I should have booked that back in December. It’s 250€ a night now. Awaiting feedback from the group if there are certain hotels the other participants stay in. We all arrive a day early due to the flight connection. - Rescue insurance needs to be signed up on.
I will do this once I am back from my anniversary trip. But only because it is for a year and our plan is to spend our next anniversary trip in Switzerland and I will have a few more benefits I could use next years. I have sourced and looked at it all I just need to hit the sign up button. - Drop off bag with guide.
I have the chance to have some of my stuff put in the van that will drive up. This way I don’t have to carry it and I can also add a few things like food/medicine that might be tricky to get through security. I plan on dropping this of February 20th.
Shopping & Equipment Preparations
I went shopping and have gotten a bunch of stuff for Christmas.
- clothing: ✔ one set of ski underwear 260mg Merino, ✔ 3 light merino socks ✔ 3 heavy merino socks, ✔ three merino slips, ✔ two merino sports bras, ✔ merino hat, ✔ merino head band, ✔ glacier sunglasses, ✔ teddy fleece
- cosmetics: ✔ suncream 50 LF, ✔ Carmex chapstick, ✔ cold cream, ✔ toothpaste pills, ✔ bar of soap, ✔ deodorant cream
Things I still need to get
- fleece gloves.
The ones I had in mind won’t work. Also I need some working for touchscreen so I can take photos with the phone without freezing my hands off. - second set of merino base layers.
ordered through the guide. Will be able to test fit February 20th. - power banks
I have to order them. I have evaluated which ones I want. I will get one with lots of power and one that I can also use after for my business travel. I am hoping this will be enough. Three power banks seems a bit over the top. Any experiences? - back pack
Right now I have no option to carry my stuff to the Arctic. I won’t be taking a suitcase and need a back pack. I need one for all my business travels as well so I should invest some time here and make a decision. Not looking forward to this. - medicine.
I need more migraine pills and luckily snatched an appointment at my neurologist on February 13th. I will also need a medication schedule in order to get my supply across the boarder. Better safe than sorry.
I will also add some vitamins (magnesium and vitamin D).
And I am wondering if I should carry any sort of cold medicine since I am struggling so much.
Things I am pondering to get
- snow boots.
I am currently wearing my hiking books which work but do not have the best grip on icy conditions. Since I only need them for the plane and in Kiruna I might be ok. IN base camp they will work and after that I will get everything. However I do not own snow boots so this would be something I can use in future winters as well. For now I am keeping my eye open if I find a good deal but most likely will make do with what I have. - Thermo pants.
I realized that I won’t be happy arriving in jeans. So I bought some fell lined jeans only to realize in the past two days that they do not keep me warm in -6°C windy weather. So I am now wondering if I should get these thermo outdoor hike pants. Or should I just wear some regular wollen pants and my base layer underneath?
Personal things I plan on bringing
I will not be taking a lot of personal items to the adventure. And I have the chance to leave some of the things in base camp which I will do.
Personal things I plan on taking to bring on the arctic adventure
- iPhone
I finally committed to getting a new phone. I will only take this and no camera. It’s a bit hurtful but my camera would nit work in the conditions anyways. - Notebook and pencil
I figured it would be a good thing to sit down – if time allows – and write some sort of diary/journal. I am also wondering if I should prepare some sort of prompts like: describe the color of the sky. - Apple Watch
I would love to bring my Apple Watch and apparently I could still track my daily exercises aka route when having the phone turned off (that is what the apple support chat just confirmed.) Still not 100 sure it makes sense though. Thoughts? - Food.
I will bring some beef jerky and electrolytes in order to stay in good blood sugar and not trigger a migraine. Maybe add a chocolate bar for motivation.
Things I plan to take mainly for travel days and will leave in the base camp
- Kindle
I will have some layover time where I can read. Also in the hotel. However I recently learned the entire group will be in the same flight so I am not sure how much time I will actually get. Maybe the kindle app on my phone would be enough? Thoughts? - Headphones
I do not think I will need or want to listen to music/ausdiobook during the trip. Apparently many people have an issue with the silence. I feel mentally strong and actually look forward to the silence only interrupted by the sounds of crushing snow.
Current anxiety and fears I am having
I would be lying if I said there are no fears and anxiety. My biggest issue is that I am struggling with my immune system and health. Every time I do a tiny bit of strenuous workout I am falling ill again. And I am really really scared that my immune system cannot handle it and I will be down after day one. And then what? It is not that I can go warm up and take all the meds.
The second thing I am struggling with is my fear of not being fit enough and the weakest link in the group. For one I already have the issue of migraines that make me a bit vulnerable. But it would be hard on me if I am also the one who is physically not up to the task. I mean I did get in shape and feel better than I have in many years but I am far from fit.
Another fear I am having is that I will not fit in the provided clothing. I have prominent hips and I always struggle with fitting in pants and coats going over my butt. I guess I will eliminate all that when I go to see the guide and test the stuff on February 21st.
One very practical anxiety I am having – which I am trying to push away every time it comes up – is how will I use the bathroom in the arctic? Not only is peeing an issue with all the clothes I am going to wear… And then I will also have my period. Great. I am trying to tell myself I can move it my period back a few days. Last month it worked. If I manage that for another month it might work that it will start right when we get back. Only thing is lethal phase is obviously not my physical strongest phase. Wehre we are right back to the second worry. Sigh.
And then there is my migraine. That is always a possibility but I am hoping it’s not happening. I know I need to just ignore the possibility and not worry about it but it is hard. It could derail this trip quickly if I had a migraine.
Please chime in with your opinion regarding the things I am still pondering to get. Any other helpful tips from people living in cold conditions? Any journaling prompts I should scribble down and recap on the blog? Any help in causing my fears?
