Part five of my monthly countdown on prepping for Denali. And the final episode on this series. While writing this, there is less than a month before departure. So this is the grand finale. What did I do last month? Or maybe more important, what will I do this last month?
Physical preparation
Last month my training schedule did not change a lot anymore. I focus a bit more on endurance workouts. The 2 hour hikes with backpack are a pretty good exercise. First couple of times were pretty hard, especially for my hips. But I did improve and the hikes are okay now!
Cycling is getting more fun, because of better temperatures and longer daylight. I enjoy these sessions a lot and am really surprised by the improvement I made in overall strength the last months.
Equipment
Complete! Well, almost. Just some little last things are underway as we speak.
The expedition
Still need to book a hotel in Anchorage. Will do this pretty soon!
So what’s up for the last month?
Well, first and foremost: not getting injured, and be sure I’m fully rested when I get on that plane!
If I wouldn’t be in a great shape now, this would be big problem. There is simply not enough time left to change that. But, luckily that’s not the case as you can probably tell after all these episodes on Prepping for Denali. I will just continue to train like I’ve been doing for months now. Sure there will be this voice in the back of my head telling me to take it easy. But I don’t think I will listen.
The 2nd week of May I need to go to Lisbon for a business trip. This will take 4 days. 4 days where I need to find a way to do some training. Probably the gym in the hotel and maybe some good hikes on the beach (or anybody who want’s do to some rock climbing, let me know!).
And of course, the big get-all-your-gear-and-start-packing fest will start! I have checked the Alpine Ascents Denali gear list a million times by now, and I am pretty sure I have everything. There are just some small decisions left to make on what clothes to bring or not. I will definitely post some packaging pics as the fest started!
And last of all, there is still this half planned hike in Iceland. Nothing new here yet. It’s still to far to says anything useful about the Laugavegur-trek. I think I’ll send an e-mail to safetravel.is just before I leave for Anchorage. This way I can get a last minute update.
So, to wrap it all up; I feel I am ready and can’t wait to finally leave. Right now, it’s just some small details that need to be done. There is not much that can stop me now!