Hiking for the Arctic

Hiking for the Arctic

Find out all about the fantastic project that I’m setting up:

Hiking the 800km of the Nordkalottleden Trail along with my two dogs, on my own and entirely self-supported to raise awareness on the undergoing climate changes. 

Departure August 2015.  


In 2010 I did a 500km and 35’000 meters up trek on my own and entirely self-supported. Find out about the Alptrekking 2010

It was an amazing experience and it truly felt that I could do it again and again! I already traveled through Australia on my own when I was 18, went to Mongolia on my own at 19… So following this Alptrekking adventure, I wanted to do something bigger, tougher ( !) but this time bringing along all or part of my family.
 
And we very quickly found an idea…an expedition that would take place in the North in winter... Well, indeed, why not add extreme cold weather conditions to make things even funkier?? At first the plan was for me to run-bike-ski from Geneva to Murmansk in the far north of Russia with Marc following me with one of his specially designed vehicle. Hey hey! Quite big wasn’t it?! It was initially planned for winter 2013-2014. But many things – from our professional life to some more personal events didn’t make it possible then.

The project was still in my mind though! It never quite completely left my thoughts. I was longing for more – feeling more and more acutely the need to do something crazy again, something that hasn’t been done before – or such a long time ago that no one would remember ;-) Of course I’ve kept on running ultra trails and took part in some pretty crazy events! But still, I needed more!

So I set up a project called: the Great North experience that would consist in several expeditions, polar races and other adventures in the North, from Scandinavia to Russia and further. 
The first of the series was the Rovaniemi 150, a 150k polar race in Finnish Lapland in February 2015. Now I am up to Number 2: The Nordkalottleden Trail!
 
Since 2012, I've decided to run or walk to raise funds for charities or for causes dear to my heart. My last race, the Rovaniemi 150, was to support an animal rescue centre in Switzerland. It has been a real success!  I really enjoy running for others; it is inspiring and give me the impression to useful in some way, to bring some contribution to the global well-being on this planet. 

This time I would like to do this expedition to raise awareness on the situation in the Arctic. In Rovaniemi, I have had the chance to visit the Arktikum Museum which really impressed 
me. I felt that I had to do something, to play even a small part in this larger issue of global warming and massive undergoing changes.Climate is warming. It triggers major reactions. 

The Arctic is calling. All together we can all be part of the answer.
 

Follow me and my team on this blog and find out how we will sort out the many different issues and challenges that are awaiting us: 

defining the best way to get there and back, sorting out the dogs care and feeding, training, sponsorship, dealing with food supply … to mention only but a few.

The project is really special to my heart as it brings in common my personal and professional skills as well as my keen interest in travel, nature, animals, adventures and outdoors.
On my return, the plan is to write reports or articles, even maybe a book (if there is enough to say!) on this adventure to share it further. I would also like to give lectures or talks.
It’s definitely an amazing challenge on many aspects! But it is also the promise of a fantastic story on the relationship between human, animals and nature. I’m really pleased to share it with you all from the beginning! The workload is huge! And I’m already enjoying every bit of it!!

Our sponsors

Check the following pages and posts:
Training - Scouting trip - Planning - Nordkalottleden Trail - History of the Nordkalottleden  

 

Hiking for the Arctic Hiking for the Arctic Reviewed by Rachel FB - The Striders on November 18, 2018 Rating: 5

1 comment:

  1. Dear Rachel,
    thank you very much for your lovely book. Best wishes accompany you and the dogs from us here at the anthropology research team of the Arctic Centre, University of Lapland.
    Happy new year!
    Florian Stammler
    http://arcticanthropology.org

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