46 essential items for hiking in the far north

I miss that crisp and fresh air of the Scandinavian, Russian, Alaskan or Canadian north! Not only that essential asset but also the mountains, the forest and that healthy clean water that can be found in a solitary mountain stream! I long for a place with very little people, a chance to see wildlife and an opportunity to dig into those thoughts about life, which can be developed where there´s no time or space to find anything else. All this can be just found in the far north, above the Arctic Circle.

I had such a response on this article I wrote last year, 25 essential items for the beginning adventurer, so I decided to share this packing list with you, that I have compiled before setting off. It is based on living up there plus 25 years of experience. And it is a list I send to all my clients I take up north for teaching them the trade of living in the northern wilderness.

It is based on the knowledge of flooded rivers, still deep snow at high altitude, possibly continuous rain, mist and difficult orienteering. We are talking May and June. Right now!

The list is based on two people sharing stove, tent, axe, saw and gas.

  1. Backpack
  2. Raincover for backpack
  3. Garbage bag plus 2 spare ones, to pack all things in and tucked in the backpack
  4. Tent (3 season)
  5. 3 season sleeping bag
  6. Therma Rest plus a traditional foam pad (Not the thickest)
  7. 2 layered Gore tex jacket with hood and trousers
  8. Gaiters
  9. Boots (we will go for boots and use gaiters and duck tape to keep the water out whilst crossing)
  10. Trainers or type Teva sandals
  11. Trousers
  12. Long sleeved shirt
  13. Vest
  14. Underwear (3 pairs, one long john and two shorties, we will wash along the trek)
  15. Socks
  16. Tophat
  17. Baseball Cap American style or similar (light is strong on the mountain)
  18. Gloves
  19. Warmer style top hat
  20. Towel (small one)
  21. Toiletries (personal use ,e.g  small soap, tooth paste, toothbrush, 2 rolls of toilet paper)
  22. Medical bag  (aspirin, bandaid, bandage, rennies, Compeed, tape for feet, mosquito repellent, Volcan knee cover)
  23. Sun lotion, small tube
  24. Lip balm
  25. Sunglassen
  26. Plastic cup, utensils ( I only bring a spoon)
  27. Stove and gas
  28. Lighter
  29. Jukka stick
  30. Leatherman tool
  31. Food for ten days
  32. Compass, preferably a Silva
  33. A SPOT Tracker (it also has a device to transform the Iphone into a sat phone)
  34. Map
  35. Mapcover in plastic
  36. Headlamp
  37. Camera
  38. Binocular
  39. Mobile phone (Iphone has a GPS)
  40. Satellite phone (for security since most mobile phones won´t work for most of the time when far from civilization)
  41. Dry bags to carry these items in
  42. A book
  43. Axe
  44. Saw
  45. Walking pole
  46. Snowshoes

And there´s no doubt that light weight makes a difference.

Have you always nurtured a dream doing an Expedition that will change your life for the better? An Expedition that will create global attention? An Expedition to places which is considered off limits to most human beings?

Read more here at http://www.mikaelstrandberg.com/strandberg%C2%B4s-expedition-logistics/

 

 

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