Well, here we are, 18 weeks (126 days) from the departure date for Iceland. Time is both flying by and crawling at the same time.

Since I last updated, I have received the tent I ordered and was able to test it and the insu-lite pad in similar temps as we should be experiencing when in the land of Fire and Ice. The tent worked beautifully. It set up easily and provided me with the necessary headroom to actually sit up when inside, something many tents in its class lacks. Hopefully I will get a chance to test it in some heavy winds as well so I will know what to expect. I have a feeling that Iceland will not always have the best of weather conditions.

I was also able to test my old mummy bag and the new insu-lite pad. The pad provided relative comfort when sleeping on the ground and the bag kept me fairly warm in through the sub thirty-nine degree night. I will note that my feet never warmed up. I will have to test it again while sleeping with socks on before the big trip. I am a bit worried that if the summertime temps fall below the thirty-nine degree mark that I will be slightly uncomfortable during the few hours of sleep we will be getting during the short Icelandic nights.I will likely look into getting a new bag before the trip. I have my eye on a piece of military equipment that is rated (and thoroughly tested) at -30 degrees. Overkill?  Probably, but at least I’ll be nice and toasty.

After my previous Iceland update, my good friend Jayson Olson of Cocktail Confessions posted a comment where he suggested purchasing a small “FLIP” style video camera for the trip. The two he mentioned were the Sony Bloggie and the Kodak PlaySport. Both offer HD video options. The Sony is readily available on the market and has been out long enough to get some decent reviews. Unfortunately the Kodak doesn’t release until April, but thanks to the PMA trade show last weekend, I was able to get one in my grubby little hands and play with it while I was at the show. I really liked the Kodak and the fact that it’s waterproof up to ten feet gave it a leg up on it’s competitor. Needless to say, I came home that night and pre-ordered one. I can’t wait to use it and see if I can figure out how to upload video to my site so that I can share my trip with you.

We still haven’t added another new member to the crew, but Steve still assures us that his brother will be joining us on the trip. If it’s only the three of us, I’m not sure what we will do. I’m guessing that we will have to rent a second vehicle and split the total rental cost three ways. Having a second truck really does add a lot of safety and security to the equation. If we don’t have two, I will be pushing to get the Land Rover Monster that Geysir offers. I’ll probably be out voted though. That thing is damned expensive to rent for two weeks!

All I have left to do is continue saving money and possibly getting another sleeping bag. Beyond that, I have most all the camera gear I plan to take and the video gear just needs to arrive. I will probably pick up a few spare batteries for the Kodak camera as well. I have a feeling that electricity will be scarce while we are wheeling in the tundra and Highlands…

Well it has been a little over a month since my last update and I’m happy to say that the trip is starting to come together. Current count has us at 20 weeks until the trip, 141 days to be more precise. The time just can’t move fast enough!

Not too much has happened over the past month, but a few things worth mentioning have. Spert and I have had a few talks about the trip, covering a variety of topics. Necessary equipment, truck rentals, books, maps and GPS routes to name a few. The rentals will be through Geysir Rentals. Their rates seem high, but after checking around they are right in line with their competitors. We decided to go with a Russian made SUV called a Lada Niva (Lada for short.) The Land Rover Defender “Monster” we had originally planned on renting was just too much money. The Russian Lada is much more affordable and, from what I’ve read, is a very capable off road vehicle. Hopefully the reviews are correct.

We also confirmed our third traveler, which was very exciting. Yesterday Josh called as he was researching flights. He booked his tickets shortly after we hung up. It is very exciting to see things starting to take form. We still don’t know who else will be going, but Steve says his brother is still in. I doubt the same can be said about the others mentioned in the prior post.

With some help from Klaus Jensen, a friend (who lives in Iceland) I made via Facebook, I was able to get an idea of how much some basic camping gear would cost once we arrived. With decent sleeping bags starting at $180 American, we decided to pack as much as possible and just pay the airlines. It will be cheaper in the long run. I actually found Klaus while I was searching for pictures of the Icelandic Highlands. Back in May of last year, Klaus was invited by some of his friends to ride along and photograph one of their 4×4 outings. His photos and blog about their trip made for a good read. I look forward to meeting him in person once we arrive. I definitely owe him a meal and a couple beers!

The decision to take camping equipment with us made me inventory and assess the gear I own. Keep in mind, when I camp, it is usually done at the end of a fun day of four wheeling. I drive to where we make camp and I drive everything back out when we leave. Little consideration is given to weight and size. I pack what I need and off I go. Now, all of a sudden, I am having to think more like a backpacker and less like an off-roader. Needless to say, my assessment brought me to the realization that I will be making some purchases before the trip. The old four man tent is looking a little big and the new eight (yes, I said eight) man tent Shea and I recently purchased just isn’t gonna cut it. It’s way too big and heavy. Instead, I will need a much smaller tent of the one-man variety. After loads of research and many reviews read, I decided to go with the Eureka! Spitfire-1. It was considerably cheaper than many of the tents in its class and was a bit roomier as well. Couple that with the great reviews and it was a no-brainer.

My good cold weather sleeping bag is also too big to take along. Luckily I still have my old mummy bag from back when I actually was a backpacker. I didn’t know if I would be able to fit in it so tonight I dug her out and tried her on. Fortunately, after losing just shy of a hundred pounds, I was able to get her zipped up with some room to spare.

One more item I deemed necessary was a good, inflatable, insulated pad that was also compact and light weight. Tonight I found what I was looking for at the local Sport Chalet when I discovered the Pacific Outdoor Equipment Ether Thermo 6. It’s about half the price of its main competitor, twice as thick when inflated, and it packs down to about a third of the size.

Now that I’ve put together the basic gear, I will need to try it all out and this weekend’s trip out to the Mojave will provide me with the perfect opportunity. The winter temps in the local deserts are very similar to those of Iceland in the summer; mid to low forties at night, upper sixties in the day. If ‘m not too lazy, I’ll do a write-up of that adventure when I return.

I just noticed the time. The good news is that it is now tomorrow which means there’s only 140 more days until the trip..  The bad news is that it’s now tomorrow and there’s STILL 140 days left…