Lockdown is tough. It can’t be denied. The control (or lack of), the worry, the restriction of outdoor activities and most of all not getting to see our loved ones. But we know it’s for a much greater cause – by doing this, we are literally savings the lives of those around us and further. The adventure community just needs to get creative with our lockdown activities.
It doesn’t mean there aren’t tough days though. I’m an incredibly positive person, and I’m good at seeing the upside to most things. But even I have had a good cry during all this, and I’m heavily craving hugs from my family and friends. Keeping a positive mindset is what gets me through tough times though. The same as on expedition: it’s a mental challenge, and getting through it and out the other side is something to be proud of in itself.
So what can we do to keep our adventurous minds moving? With expeditions cancelled, gyms closed and outdoor activities limited, I’ve conjured up a list of tasks and hobbies to keep me occupied during this time. It’s a couple of arms in length, but I wanted to share with you a few of my favourite lockdown activities for adventurers!
1 – Plan your next big adventure
All this time, when you would usually be at the pub, in the gym or socialising with friends? Why not take some of that time and research your next big trip. Whether you’re wanting to tackle a classic expediton like Everest Base Camp, or if you want to create your own challenge in your local hills, now is the time to plan and prep. Have a look at accommodation, budget, kit needed, timescales. Read blogs from people who have done similar challenges, even reach out to them on social media to answer your questions. Get a big notebook and write it all down. Then, once life has taken a bit of normality again, all you’ll need to do is pick your start date!
2 – Training
A big goal of mine is to actually boost my training during lockdown! With no distractions (i.e. friends asking me for a last-minute drink, “just one”, that turns into five!), I can concentrate on training for upcoming expeditions. Even if you have nothing booked, this is a great time to experiment with different exercises, to find your own zen, your own routine that works for your goals and your preferences. I’ll have a whole seperate post soon about the things I like to use for home training. But there are plenty apps out there to help. My favourite is Centr – for an incredibly reasonable price, it offers a variety of workouts, recipes, blog posts, meditations and yoga. If you’re less keen on apps, you can hit up YouTube for exercises too. Even my usual walking group pages have turned into a temporary glossary of various trainers sharing their favourite at-home exercises for hikers!
3 – Bring the outdoors indoors!
So you can’t go hike the mountain like you planned, and you can’t go on the camping trip with your friends. In situations like this, it’s time to get creative, and find ways of bringing the outdoors into your own home! Have a garden? Get working on your veggie patch. Or set up your tent and have a back garden camp!
No garden? Me either. How about working on growing some plants in your home? Or practicing some recipes that would be perfect for future camps? Make sure you follow me on Instagram, as I am hoping to get camping myself in the coming week…in my own home…and it’s gonna be awesome. This is the time for thinking outside of the box! 🙂
This is also a prime opportunity to give all your kit a deep clean. Your tent and it’s poles. Your walking boots. All your backpacks and trainers. Your climbing harness, shoes and gear. Make it fresh and immediately ready to grab and go when the time comes!
4 – Mindfulness
It’s not all about the physical training. It’s important to train your mind too. This is an anxious period we are in, and on top of that, it can be easy to feel bored, going stir-crazy in your own home, feeling trapped. Practicing mindfulness is all about accepting the emotions that we inevitably have. But instead of letting them control our days, we acknowledge them and allow them to pass. Apps such as Headspace are wonderful for meditations to suit your mood. Yoga is also a great practice to bring the mind, body and spirit together (I’m obsessed with Yoga with Adriene). One of my favourite mindful moments of my day is first thing in the morning. I wake up, open up my curtains and window, letting the light and fresh air stream in. Especially when it is a sunny day. I’ll then grab a bowl of fruit and a cup of tea, and simply bask in the sunlight, letting it warm my skin. I might read a book or magazine. Or I’ll simply breathe the fresh air, take in the sun’s energy, and take this moment to start my day on a positive, peaceful note.
5 – Find your Flow
I promise this is a legit contender for lockdown activities for adventurers. Bear with me. I am reading a book called Ikigai at the moment, all about longevity of life. The author repeatedly writes about finding our flow. This is when we completely lose ourselves in the task at hand, not thinking about anything external. Simply pottering on, satisfied and peaceful in our own mind. We all have had that feeling at one point or another. When we don’t even notice time. We are so absorbed with what we are doing, and we come out the other side feeling refreshed and calm. Most of us will find this in hiking. So for lockdown, why not try and find another activity that gives you the same feeling? I find my flow when I am writing (like right now!), colouring in, reading, singing and playing guitar. You could try crafting kit to help you on adventures. A sketch of your favourite mountain would make a great piece for your wall. Try out different hobbies to help you find your flow. Even if it’s just temporary until you can get out on the hills again.
6 – Scrapbooking
I bet you have a ton of photos from previous adventures, either sitting in a box or on your phone. Am I right? Thought so. You have lots of time on your hands, so grab those photos, print them out (or order prints online) and make yourself a scrap book. You can use it to inspire yourself when thinking of future expeditions. Above all, scrapbooks are a brilliant reminder of goals you have achieved and challenges that you have overcome. Making or reading through a scrapbook can be a great mood-booster when you’re having a down day.
7 – Films, Books, Magazines and Podcasts
Lockdown activities for adventurers don’t have to be particularly adventurous in themselves. You have to make sure that you take time to chill. I didn’t get dressed until around 3pm yesterday. It was wonderful. Lots of time on your hands doesn’t mean you have to fill every second of it with something productive. When do we EVER just relax and take time for ourselves, without feeling the guilt? Many of us (myself majorly included in this) make ourselves feel guilty about taking the time to do sweet nothing. But I am consciously making sure I don’t do that. Instead I want to embrace having time to watch films, read books or magazines, and just relax. This can also be a great way to fill your adventure needs!
For movie inspo, Free Solo is on Disney+ (who are offering a 7 day free trial at the moment). And Netflix is streaming both Everest and Losing Sight of Shore – a superbly raw and awesome film about a group of women rowing San Francisco to Australia!
Adventure She magazine has just released a fresh issue (for which I have written an article too!). The magazine is FULL of motivational stories from adventurous women, and is only £15 for four issues, an absolute bargain!
A couple of my top favourite books would be Wild, the book behind the blockbuster; and One Man’s Everest, an autobiography from Kenton Cool, one of my favourite mountaineers.
My absolute FAVOURITE podcast is definitely the Tough Girl Podcast. Sarah Williams, an upbeat, incredible adventurer herself, interviews women from all over the world who are tackling kick-ass challenges. From cycling around the world to epic sailing voyages, there is something for everyone in there. She also runs her business from Patreon sponsors, so I’m sure she would LOVE your support at the moment, whether becoming a new listener or even joining as a patreon!
8 – Learn something new
Books and YouTube are great resources for learning new skills, as well as online courses. There are books galore on flora and fauna, bush-craft skills and other adventure activities that you can read. I’m personally going to get myself a basic survival skills book! And you can get these instantly online through your Kindle or Google Books (no waiting for delivery!). YouTube has explanations for cleaning your boots, walking in crampons, navigation, climbing knots – I literally think EVERYTHING is on YouTube! Of course, some skills will certainly need a practical course or tuition to make sure you’re doing it right, but the internet is a great place to start at the moment.
9 – Think of your future
Maybe you’re in a dead-end job, and have always wanted to change your vocation. But how do I do it? Are there any jobs even available? What skills do I need for the job? This is your time to take your future in your own hands, and really research. The same as planning an adventure, write a list of all the questions your have, or the career paths that you are considering, and reach out through social media to folk already doing it, and look up articles. Maybe you want to be an expedition leader? Or you want to move into the charitable sector? Maybe you want to retrain as a lawyer, a nurse, a paramedic? Or have you dreamed of starting your own business, selling unique teas, a boutique gift shop or your own crafting hub?
Whatever your decide to do, it’s important to embrace this time as a gift.
And I do not mean that disrespectfully. The world is in a state of turmoil at the moment. It’s scary, my heart goes out to everyone who is affected and their families, as well as all the key workers still out there battling every day. It can be incredibly overwhelming though, and there is nothing wrong with trying to see some light. It’s the best thing for your own mental health. So take heed and use the gift of time as a way to better yourself. Have you got any goals you’re working towards at the moment? Let me know in the comments!
If you enjoy reading my blogs, do make sure you have subscribed via email, it would mean a lot to me! And if you are feeling super generous, you can always buy me a coffee on my Kofi page! (I won’t be working from coffee shops for the time being obviously, but as I have been placed on furlough from work, you can bet I will be spending a LOT of time of my blog, to get quality posts out to my wonderful readers!)
