Packing for Norway

A year and half after our little pandemic wedding, H and I are going to Norway. We’ll ride our bicycles from north to south, eating lots of pastries and making friends along the way. We’ve got tickets through Oslo to Kirkenes, a commitment to doing as we please, a loose intention to pedal from Kinnarodden to Farestad, and a rough itinerary for the first week.

We don’t, however, have anything packed yet. Here’s what we think we’ll bring.

Food

Not much in this department, unfortunately. The elk and venison jerky I made for the trip is disallowed by european customs, and we’re planning to buy groceries as we go. We will, however, need things to hold, cook, and eat them with.

Cookware

A 1.6l MSR pot will do most of the cooking for us, but we’re scheming. What if we cut the handle off a deep fry pan, and packed it along too? Between the two, we’ll have a lot of flexibility. Cheese grillers and tomato soup, even, or whatever the equivalent is in a country with scarce subtropical fruits.

Food Storage

Bear cans are huge, but they don’t leak and double as fantastic seating. If we can fit one on a rear rack, it’s coming along.

Playing with fire

Canister stoves are super practical, and I love our little Olicamp Kinetic. I don’t love the amount of waste they produce, though. Toting butane canisters around looking for a recycler isn’t great. We’re going to play with a twig stove on this trip, and see how often we can skip the fossil fuels.

Water

We’re expecting a wet trip, and we should be able to cover ground quickly enough to reach water regularly. A gravity filter for camp, and chlorine drops for day use will make for convenient meals and limited water weight on the bike.

Shelter

Our old faithful tarptent double rainbow will do for sleeping, but this is a vacation so we’ve got a “cooking shelter” along. Lightweight tarps have gotten super expensive over the last few years, so we’re trying out the ground-cloth from a four-person tent as a substitute. Reasonably compact, durable, and plenty of tie-off points.

Electronics

Phones for navigation, bike lights for visibility, and a small laptop for communication will draw a lot of power. Solar’s out because Norway, and generator hubs weren’t in the cards. We’ve got a couple of fat power banks, and a crazy power-strip/converter-thingy to handle the 240->110v stepdown and the frequency difference to boot.

First Aid, Repairs, and Tools

We’re going pretty hard on this stuff. Getting stuck or hurt up on the tundra just doesn’t sound like fun.

Clothes and Toiletries

We’re hoping three shammies will give us enough depth to mostly avoid soggy mornings. Contacts and sunglasses are 1000% better than glasses in the rain, so that’ll be the norm. And of course, silk floss.

Funtimes!

Two small backpacks for short overnights, plenty of reading material, and journals to write in. Add in a couple of tin whistles and a pair of pink goggles, and it’s going to be a blast!