Arctic Circle Trail (Greenland) Solo Hiker Packing List

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I’ve just completed my solo self-guided hike of the 100-mile (160 km) northern route of the Arctic Circle Trail in West Greenland! Over the course of 8 days in late August, starting in Kangerlussuaq/Kellyville and ending in Sisimiut, it was necessary to be completely self-sufficient. There are no resupply points or shops of any kind on the remote Arctic Circle Trail, so hikers must carry all of their food and collect water from natural sources. The only amenities are the occasional hiker huts where weary walkers can shelter from bad weather; otherwise, it’s expected that you will pitch your tent. It’s also important to be prepared for constantly shifting weather, temperatures, and wet terrain conditions.

As a result, my backpack was heavier than usual. As a solo hiker, I’m not able to split my gear up with another person to help bear the load. Considering that I had to be prepared for just about anything, though, I’m pleased that I got away with packing relatively little. For future ACT hikers worried that perhaps their layers won’t be warm enough for Greenland, their waterproofs won’t be tough enough, or their food choices won’t last long enough, I thought I’d round up what gear worked best for me on the Arctic Circle Trail so you can compare with your own kit.

Preface: Weather and Conditions During my Trek

As a disclaimer, obviously everyone’s experience will vary wildly depending on the year and season.

I hiked from August 21-28, 2024. I chose to go late in the summer in the hope that water levels would have dropped by then, making for easier river crossings. I hoped the bogs would be drier and the bugs would be less active. I didn’t want to go any later because of low temperatures and potential snow – which ended up being a good choice. Snow fell on Sisimiut unseasonably early this year, 2 days after I finished the trail! 

Hikers who completed the trail earlier in the summer were posting all over the official ACT Facebook group saying the trail is “90% bog,” which really freaked me out in advance of my hike. I struggled through non-stop rain and boggy terrain when I did the West Highland Way in 2019 and have dealt with foot problems ever since; I really didn’t want to have wet feet for 90% of the ACT.

I don’t know if those hikers were just exaggerating, had bad shoes, or if my decision to go in late August remedied the problems they experienced, but I’d say I only had annoyingly wet feet for about 3 of the 8 days, the last 3 before arriving in Sisimiut. It rained all day on Days 6 and 8 and I had intermittent rain here and there on Days 1, 3, and 7. If you hike during a particularly wet year or have worse luck with rain, it’s possible you may struggle more than I did with damp feet.

A special note on wet feet – I was most afraid that Day 4 would spell total carnage because, on the typical 8-day itinerary, this is the day of the biggest river crossing. If you are worried the crossing might be too high, which I was because I’m 5’5” and it rained the day before, you can take a detour from the main trail in order to find a bridge over the river. However, this detour is known for being extremely boggy, unmarked, and difficult to navigate. I downloaded a GPX track of a suggested route to the bridge and I brought water shoes to change into, so I thought I’d fare better on the detour. Still, because of the way people described it, I was imagining calf-deep wading through a swamp for a full hour or more.

In reality, it was just the same spongey, squishy ground that you will have already become used to by Day 4. When you step, water seeps up through the ground and onto your shoes, but it was less than ankle-high and never came up over the tops of my boots. I didn’t bother to change out of them and into my water shoes. A lot of the bridge detour was even dry! The navigation difficulty that people warned about was accurate; I needed to reference my map every 2 seconds. The bog itself, though, was not the hellscape they fear monger about (someone even called it “the detour from hell”), at least not during my trek.

Curious about history, archaeology, wildlife, and other context around the Arctic Circle Trail and life in West Greenland? Check out my post about all the non-hiking-related information you might enjoy learning to enhance your trek. I also have a cost breakdown of what you can expect to spend on this adventure.

Keeping Gear Dry on the Arctic Circle Trail

If it’s cold and cloudy, which it will be for at least part of the time, it’s almost impossible for wet gear to dry on the ACT. Even if I hung socks or pants up to dry inside a hut all night, warmed by the body heat of 6 sleeping hikers, by morning there was still very little progress.

I would recommend bringing as many pairs of dry socks as possible, being extra precious about keeping things inside your backpack dry (especially whatever you want to wear to sleep in), and coming up with a good strategy for the 4-5 river crossings (Days 6, 7, and 4 if you don’t take the bridge) and 1 swamp crossing (Day 1). I’ll talk more about river crossings and bogs in my packing list sections about shoes and pants below. You could also bring along a couple laundry clips so you can hang things up to “dry.” There are paracords strung up in the huts, and I like to find ways to hang things inside my tent too, if only to keep them from dampening the floor.

Recently, I’ve only been bringing one pair of pants and one shirt to hike in for trips that are about a week long, unless I also bring rain pants. The weight savings are significant enough for me to accept being dirty and gross. However, on this trip I brought a second outfit along in case my main clothes got soaked through and I had a hard time getting dry and warm (what if I fall in a freezing river? What if I fall in a river while it’s snowing?). I never wore it, so maybe it wasn’t justified. It’s up to you whether you want to prioritize weight savings or “just in case” scenarios. I did end up being happy to wear it around town while everything else was in the laundry in Sisimiut, though. I did not ship any belongings ahead to Sisimiut from Kangerlussuaq, which is common among hikers who have extra luggage they don’t want to hike with.

I know I’m writing a lot about being wet and miserable, but don’t let that discourage you! I’m only coming at it from this angle because there’s no useful advice I can give about the wonderful, clear, sunny days. My trek was incredible overall – it may be my favorite trail yet!

Polar Bears

I did not carry anything as a bear deterrent. When I was researching for this trail, I read that polar bear sightings are so unlikely in this part of Greenland that it’s almost laughable to even ask about it. Of course, in June just before my hike, there was a polar bear sighting near the Canoe Center. I started to learn that in fact, there is actually at least one polar bear sighting per year. It’s not always directly on the trail, but if a bear can be sighted near Sisimiut or Kangerlussuaq, who’s to say it couldn’t wander over a few kilometers to the ACT? After I finished my hike, I learned that there had been another polar bear sighting near the Canoe Center while I was out there, although by then I’d made it pretty far past the Canoe Center already.

Bear spray is illegal in Greenland, despite (limited) studies showing it’s effective on polar bears. The advice is to use a rifle or signal flare instead, but unfortunately it’s very difficult to get your hands on either of these things in Kangerlussuaq and authorities seem to go out of their way to discourage hikers from bothering to try to get one. These weapons would be prohibitively heavy and cumbersome to hike with, anyway. Ultimately, all I had was a knife.

With all of this in mind, prior to my hike I let the paranoia grow in my mind and I became legitimately worried about polar bears, and frustrated that there seems to be nothing I can do to prepare or protect myself. I learned that polar bears are very different from grizzly bears or black bears, so all of the bear awareness knowledge I’d learned over the years about hiking in bear country in the USA was really not applicable to polar bears. Packing your food Leave No Trace style doesn’t matter, trying to “look big” and yell at them probably won’t matter, etc. While grizzlies and black bears generally shy away from people and will run off if encountered, people say that polar bears actively hunt humans.

Once I stepped foot on the trail, though, all of my fear melted away. I can’t explain how or why; perhaps I had simply gotten it all out of my system, or maybe I was too busy admiring the beautiful caribou and landscape, or was preoccupied with handling the elements and the terrain. Whatever the case, I never got that “being watched” feeling or felt nervous for even a second. I think the best thing you can do is just put it out of your mind. There is no use in worrying about something that you can’t do anything about – worry should only be reserved for situations where the anxiety can motivate you to make proactive, safer choices.

One thing you can do is make sure you have an emergency communication device like a Garmin InReach Mini. If by some insane chance you do spot a bear, the advice is to call it in via SOS immediately and consider taking a rescue evacuation.

Arctic Circle Trail Packing List

In my descriptions for each item, I will include honest notes about any failings. If I could do it again, I might switch out some gear for alternatives. Overall, though, I became emotionally bonded to this kit over the course of the hike – every piece was of vital importance, protecting me, feeding me, or keeping me warm. That’s one of the aspects of long distance hiking that I love, how much the basic things matter. You’re reminded how precarious life must have been for our ancestors, who could be in big trouble if an important tool breaks.

*I am not sponsored by any outdoor gear brands.

Clothes

Patagonia Torrentshell 3L Rain Jacket

The Patagonia Torrentshell 3L Rain Jacket was impermeable and kept me dry throughout the trek. I splurged for it especially for the Arctic Circle Trail because my old Mountain Warehouse rain jacket was much too heavy and I couldn’t stand it anymore; it weighs about 2 lbs, which is insane if you’re trying to be anything at all close to a lightweight backpacker. The Torrentshell is 12.5 oz, and in comparison to competitors like the Arc’teryx Beta, it was the most affordable option I could find with a respectable 50 denier, 20,000mm waterproof rating. For help in comparing with other jackets, read more about Patagonia’s waterproofing performance standard.

Because it feels extremely light, I was worried it wouldn’t be hardy enough to take on extreme conditions, but this concern was unfounded. The only issue I ever had was that after many hours of rain on Day 8, some water made its way down my sleeves at the wrist and got my inner layers wet. Maybe I could have cinched the Velcro at the wrist better; I had loosened it to get my gloves on but didn’t cinch it back after taking them off.

Patagonia Nano Puff Synthetic Mid Layer

I’ve had the Patagonia Nano Puff for five years now and it’s been one of the most versatile pieces of outdoor clothing I own. Though it gets very warm, I still worried that for Greenland I might need something even more “heavy duty” for warmth, but the Nano Puff ended up being enough.

Because it’s synthetic, the Nano Puff dries quicker than a down jacket would if it gets wet, which was particularly important for the Arctic Circle Trail. I don’t own any clothing or gear made of down. I often wore the Nano Puff underneath the Torrentshell, though, so it only got damp at the sleeves at the end of Day 8 when I accidentally let rain drip through at the wrists.

The Nano Puff is highly compressible and light (10 oz), so it’s easy to store away in my backpack 50 times a day as the weather constantly changes. I was always stopping to take it off, put it back on, take it off, put it back on…

Smartwool Merino Baselayer

I also brought a thin sweat-wicking polyester base layer for hot days (lol), but that’s the one I never wore. I was all about the Smartwool base layer every single day.

Merino wool is great at keeping you warm on cold days, cool on warm days, and relatively odor-free. I’ve worn this on many hikes around the world over the past six years.

Outdoor Voices RecTrek Tri-Color Zip-Off Pant

Knowing I’d need to do several river crossings and potentially wade in bogs, I relied on the Outdoor Voices RecTrek pants which zip off at each color block. I’ve worn them in rain before and knew they’d hold up well in varying weather, although they are only marketed as “water-resistant” and not waterproof. I needed to take advantage of the zip-off feature from the get-go; on Day 1 of the Arctic Circle Trail, there is a bog crossing that was waist-high for me. 

As an aside, I would not recommend leggings for the Arctic Circle Trail. Leggings are generally too tight to pull up your leg, so you can’t complete a river crossing without them getting wet. Even on days without river crossings and days when it doesn’t rain, on the ACT you will still be walking through sections of trail lined by tall, wet bushes which scrape against your legs and get you soaked. Having wet, skin-tight fabric rubbing against you all day is bad news and could create uncomfortable rashes. If you do want to wear leggings for warmth, maybe wear rain pants over them.

I’m sad that it seems Outdoor Voices is phasing many of their products out. If you’re not able to get ahold of this exact model, check out other zip-off pant brands.

REI Co-Op Rainier Rain Pants

I switched into the REI Co-Op Rainier rain pants for Days 7 and 8 after my zip-off pants had become cold and wet and wouldn’t dry. They are lightweight and could fit over another pant layer if you want to wear something underneath for warmth. They zip down the sides which is also great for river crossings, they don’t absorb water, and they dry quickly. I maybe could have just worn these every single day.

Wrightsock CoolMesh II Double Layer Quarter Length Socks

Wrightsock double layer are just my go-to socks for all scenarios, they are great for avoiding blisters. They don’t have any particular applicability to the Arctic Circle Trail. I also kept a pair of warm wool socks dry in my pack to wear at night.

Prior to the trail I ran around Copenhagen (Greenland flights depart from Copenhagen or Reykjavík) looking for waterproof socks such as Sealskinz or other neoprene socks, but none of the outdoor stores in the city sell them. In general I’ve heard that waterproof socks can be hit or miss, some people swear by them while other people think they feel too weird and don’t work well. For this reason I was wishy washy about the idea and didn’t plan far enough in advance to test out different brands and potentially find a pair I like back home.

Beanie and Cap

I rarely wore my brimmed baseball cap but I wore my warm beanie every day. One thing I found myself wishing I brought was a buff to wear over the lower half of my face to help keep warm when it was windy.

In a similar vein – I never once wore sunglasses or applied sunscreen, which is really saying something, because I have had skin cancer issues and am a huge stickler about sunscreen.

Sea to Summit Bug Net

Oboz Sawtooth X Mid Waterproof Hiking Boots

My poor Oboz 🙁 I really love these hiking boots for most terrain, and mainly I chose to wear them again on the Arctic Circle Trail because I’m already so comfortable with them. I wasn’t trying to experiment with something new for such a big trip. 

Trail runner fetishists have been trying to convince me to switch to trail runners for years now and I have held out because I like a super rugged, durable, and heavy (gasp!) shoe. Oboz Sawtooths put on a solid waterproofing front too, though of course no shoe will ever be fully waterproof. After hiking in the rain on my recent Kyrgyzstan trip, other hikers kept remarking that I had “magic shoes” because mine were the only ones that were still dry.

But I already knew what the problem would be. Once water gets into “waterproof” boots, it’s not getting back out. They will hold the door for as long as possible, but once the levee breaks, it’s all over. That is exactly how it played out. The inside of my boots were mostly dry for the first 4-5 days, but once I hit that really boggy stretch at the end of the trail and water seeped over the tops of my shoes, it got pretty swampy in there and my boots never dried out. They needed a full two days in the Sisimiut Youth Hostel’s boiler room to finally come back to life.

I concede this one to the trail runner camp, you guys win. While trail runners get wet much faster, they also dry much faster and you might be able to start each day anew.

As an aside, though, I did read one other trail report where a hiker said if he could do the ACT again, he would wear higher boots instead of trail runners! Perhaps he felt boots would have staved off water longer. Maybe it’s a grass-is-always-greener situation, and ultimately we’re all equally doomed.

Keen Whisper Sandals

I used to travel with Chacos sandals because they double as camp shoes and can also be used for river crossings, sort of. I ultimately decided I don’t like them for river crossings because my foot slides around in them when wet, especially if a heavy current is trying to pull them off my feet. I fell in a river in Yellowstone while wearing slippery Chacos.

This is why I recently bought Keen water shoes as an alternative, and they’re the opposite. They’re not great camp shoes because they’re hard to get on and off, and after using them in a river, they don’t dry very quickly, so now you’re wearing wet shoes at camp. But they were excellent for the river crossings on the Arctic Circle Trail because they stay securely attached to my feet, are very stable, and have great traction for stepping on slippery rocks. I met another hiker who ended up falling into rivers twice on the ACT, but this didn’t happen to me.

My river crossing strategy on the ACT was to always stop, take off my socks, hiking boots, and zip off the lower layers of my pant legs, change into the Keen water shoes, cross, and then stop on the other side to switch back. I used a lightweight quick-drying hiking towel to dry my legs and feet before putting my socks and shoes back on, which helped me warm back up and recover from the freezing water. This was time-consuming but I don’t care. I’m really not messing around when it comes to wet clothes and shoes, especially since I was not wearing trail runners. 

I know some people just charge right through water without making a single change – they allow the pants to get soaked and the socks and shoes to be totally submerged, and they wear the same pair of wet socks every day. They think this makes them badass devil-may-care ultralight dirtbags. What it is is a recipe for toenail fungus, trench foot, or hypothermia. I understand the argument that everything is just going to keep getting wet anyway so why bother, but I think it’s important to do what you can if there’s a possibility to preserve even a tiny degree of dryness.

Gaiters

Despite what I just wrote about doing everything you can to preserve even a tiny degree of dryness, I didn’t wear the gaiters I brought along for the Arctic Circle Trail. Long pants can protect your legs from splashes in the same way, and nothing can protect the tops of your shoes from getting water inside if you’re stepping into a deep bog. Gaiters are highly recommended by other ACT hikers, though, so take my opinion with a grain of salt. 

I’ve read that some hikers wear plastic bread bags inside their shoes but over their socks, and these come a good way up the calf. That seemed kind of genius to me and I almost tried it out on the ACT, but was discouraged by other people who said it will make you slide around in your shoes and will trap sweat if worn too long.

I briefly even looked into stocking foot hip waders for the ACT, like fishermen would wear! I think this is how hardcore you’d have to go for your foot waterproofing efforts to make any real difference, but it felt like overkill.

Black Diamond Midweight Softshell Gloves

Every time I’ve ever brought gloves on a hike that wasn’t snowy, I have always regretted it because I either don’t need them at all, or I get so frustrated by taking them on and off to snap photographs that I neglect to wear them even though they might have made me more comfortable.

On the Arctic Circle Trail, for the first time I was glad I packed gloves and I wore them on multiple days. The Black Diamond Midweight Softshell gloves were warm, water resistant, and only slightly annoying to take on and off. I made a friend on the trail who unfortunately left her gloves behind at one of the huts and had to go without for the rest of the trail. She survived with all her fingers, so I suppose it’s not a “must,” but she was definitely bummed out and cold.

Make sure you pack gloves that are waterproof! I made this mistake years ago on another wet trail – I only wore warm glove liners that were not waterproof and they quickly became unusable in the rain. I met a hiker on the ACT who just made this same mistake.

Gear

Sierra Designs Flex Capacitor 40-60L

I wrote a full review of my Sierra Designs Flex Capacitor and I still stand by it after the Arctic Circle Trail. At the very beginning of the ACT, I thought maybe it was too small and I should have invested in a 70L or larger pack because I was carrying so much food, and in fact I wished I could carry more and felt limited by the Flex Capacitor. But after a few days of eating, the pack was more manageable and not busting at the seams. In the end I also realized the amount of food I brought was perfect. If I had a bigger pack, I might have brought too much extra that I didn’t need. 

Nemo Hornet 2P Tent

I have written about my Nemo Hornet before and it also held up well on the Arctic Circle Trail. The inside of my tent never got wet and the wind never brought the house down. This is a semi-freestanding tent. One interesting thing about the terrain on the Arctic Circle Trail is that sometimes the upper layer of ground is very soft and spongey and your stakes will go in easy (and will feel like they might pull back out too easily too), but underneath there may be a layer of rocks, so that suddenly your stake comes to a grinding halt halfway down. When I felt like a stake wasn’t totally secure, I would try to place a weighty rock over the lines for some additional support anchoring the corners down.

You can wildcamp anywhere in Greenland and don’t need any kind of permit to camp along the Arctic Circle Trail. There is a hiker hut at the end of each stage, and these are also free and do not require any registration. However, the huts can only sleep a few people and you may not arrive in time each evening to snag a spot. You should plan for sleeping in your tent.

I camped 4 nights and stayed in huts 3 nights. While the huts were cute and novel, and I was especially grateful to stay in them at the end of a couple bad weather days, I kind of wish I had avoided them completely. One hiker who was sick with a respiratory infection kept staying in the huts, and by the time I realized he was contagious it was too late. I had to hike out the last few days with a raging cold. I do not recommend the experience of sneezing into a bug net or ascending mountains without the use of your nose. Couldn’t that turn into pneumonia out in the freezing rain and wind? It also annoyed me that everyone in the huts always decided to wake up, pack, and leave en masse together in the mornings, matching each other’s schedules, and then they’d all be orbiting and leapfrogging each other all day. I’m a fast packer and can get out the door like 20 minutes after waking up, so I tried to do that on my hut days to escape the hoard. The point of this trail, for me, was not the people – it was supposed to be about the silence, the solitude, the remoteness.

A few campers may decide to pitch right around the hut, which makes sense because the views from the huts are nice and you may have reason to want to be near other people sometimes – maybe being near the hut makes you feel safer during crazy weather. However, in case it needs to be said, don’t pitch your tent directly next to another wildcamper. I once hiked 2 additional miles past a hut to find a nice, secluded little private camping spot for myself, and 3 hours later a big group of 8 loud hikers all decided to pitch right on top of me. You come to one of the least populated, most remote countries in the world, have all the space in the country available to you, and you decide to pitch right next to the only other person camped in a multi-mile radius? What is wrong with people?

There are so many awesome potential wildcamping spots, the world is your oyster! It can take some patience and discernment to pick a good one, though. Not every spot will check all the boxes: flat, shielded from wind, not too boggy, near enough to water to fill up your thermos but not near enough to attract swarming bugs, private for when you need to dig a cathole, a beautiful view, and located at an appropriate stopping point. So many times, I had to pass by a gorgeous, perfect camping spot because it was only noon and I had more mileage to cover.

Nemo Azura 20 Degree (-6.67°C) Synthetic Sleeping Bag

I probably would have been more comfortable with a warmer sleeping bag, maybe a zero degree. My core was always warm but my knees and butt were randomly cold sometimes. It was not the end of the world. This is the sleeping bag I always use and I was not interested in investing in a new one; buying the new rain jacket and water shoes was a bigger priority for me. If you sleep cold, though, or if you’re going in September and expect snow, you may want to level up if your bag is 20 degrees.

Personally, I prefer synthetic materials for my puffy jacket and my sleeping bag because synthetic dries quicker than down if it gets wet, though I know down is lighter and more compressible. That said, I’ve never actually had an issue with my sleeping bag getting too wet; I’ve always been able to protect it pretty well, and this was also true on the ACT. If you use down I think that’s fine for this trail. However, I would rethink bringing a quilt. I know they are more lightweight, but you are not going to want that draft coming through at the sides. Every time even a centimeter of my skin was exposed by my mummy bag, I could really feel the cold.

REI Flash 2 Sleeping Pad

No problems with the Flash! It’s the blow-up kind, so the potential issue that could arise in a worst-case scenario is if it pops, then you’re sleeping on the cold ground. I have some gear patches just in case, but I have never had an air leak in 6 years of using this pad. Unfortunately this model has been discontinued, but the takeaway is that I was not uncomfortable with my usual sleeping pad in the Arctic desert. The ground can sometimes be rocky, but you can always find a nice soft, flat place to pitch.

MSR Pocket Rocket 2 Camp Stove, Stainless Steel Cup, Plastic Spork, Lighter, Jetboil Fuel, Food

I usually don’t like to bother with expensive dehydrated camp meals and I just bring non-perishable foods, like tortillas, peanut butter, nuts, fruit leather, and protein bars. In the desert Southwest in the United States, where I do a lot of hiking, water is harder to come by and I don’t want to waste it on hydrating meals. 

In the case of the Arctic Circle Trail, though, I did not want to risk underfeeding myself and hitting a wall, and water is not scarce. In Copenhagen prior to my flight, I hit up Spejder Sport and Friluftsland to find dehydrated meals and ended up purchasing 9 of them. I also found my usual non-perishable snacks at a grocery store, although the protein bar selections weren’t awesome (maybe fly with your favorites from home). I boiled water with my stainless steel camp cup and ate with a cheap but durable backpacking spork.

The MSR Pocket Rocket stove can be used with any fuel brand that’s an 80/20 ratio blend of IsoPropane and butane. Some brands have a 70/30 ratio, and that works too, but 80/20 is recommended.

At the grocery store in Kangerlussuaq there is a shelf of large fuel canisters. Other hikers have reported various brands, but when I arrived, the only brand being sold was Outfit, which I had never heard of before. The label around the can had no information about what the propane and butane ratio was. I’m sure it would have been fine because so many other hikers use it with various stoves, but I was glad to find Jetboil fuel available in the free hiker bin at the Kangerlussuaq Youth Hostel instead. This is definitely the right ratio and has the correct screw-top to work with my stove, plus it was the appropriate small size for a solo hiker. Thanks to whichever hiker left it behind for me to use! You may also find free fuel at some of the huts (definitely at the last hut before Sisimiut) or at the Sisimiut Youth Hostel on the “free food” shelf in the kitchen cabinet.

I did my grocery shopping in Copenhagen because I figured groceries would be more expensive in Greenland, plus what if I arrived and it turns out they don’t have everything I need at the grocery store in Kangerlussuaq, which is a very small village? Supposedly they run out of some items frequently. Better to be safe than sorry and get everything before arrival, except the fuel, which you obviously can’t fly with. Note that you can’t bring animal products into the EU, including dehydrated meals with meat or dairy, so I did not buy meals in the United States (actually Kyrgyzstan is where I was just beforehand).

When I got to Kangerlussuaq, though, I was surprised to find that they have a lot of my usual snacks – tortillas, peanut butter, granola bars. I didn’t see many dehydrated meal options. If you are starting in Sisimiut and hiking west to east, this is a bigger town with multiple grocery stores, including a small Spar near the Sisimiut Youth Hostel and a large Brugseni near Hotel Sisimiut.

Headlamp and Flashlight

I never needed to use any kind of light source, but it did actually get dark at night from about 10:30pm – 7:30am, so the headlamp (I have Black Diamond) and backup flashlight suggestions on the “ten essentials” list could still be worth it. After a really rainy, freezing, windy Day 6, I stayed in one of the huts. At 3am a group of hikers arrived wearing headlamps – I have no idea what held them up for so long but it must have sucked lol.

Nalgene Water Bottles

I carried two water bottles but didn’t fret if both weren’t full at all times. There are so many water sources every single day in the form of lakes and rivers, and you don’t have to filter the water, so it’s easy to scoop up some more whenever you need. 

Leki Journey Lite Trekking Poles

The Leki Journey Lite poles are the same poles I have always used. It was very useful to have trekking poles on the Arctic Circle Trail for the river crossings and to help steady myself in slippery mud. If you’re curious about how to fly safely with poles and other hiking gear as part of your checked luggage, I have an article about packing for multi-activity adventure trips.

There is one bog crossing on Day 1 where the water is murky and you can’t see the bottom, so you don’t know how deep it is. Use trekking poles to feel around and get an idea of what’s going on under there before you take a step.

Pack Cover, Plastic Bags/Dry Bags

A rain cover for your backpack is obligatory. Even though there was never a full-on thunderstorm downpour situation on the ACT, that consistent, sustained light rain adds up quickly.

After a pair of socks got thoroughly drenched and it was time to retire them, I’d store them in my pack in a plastic bag so they wouldn’t get all my other things wet. Some people like to put all their dry clothes in a dry bag for extra protection, but I like to be able to shove my clothes down around my gear in my backpack like Tetris and dry bags compact my clothes into one immovable block.

I also use four plastic ziplocks to store: 1) food, 2) toiletries, 3) trash, 4) electronics. Be sure to read up on proper waste and trash disposal on the Arctic Circle Trail.

Trowel

You’ll need a trowel for digging catholes, but you should pack out toilet paper and wet wipes.

Three of the huts have indoor dry toilets, but once they are 1/3rd full, it’s hikers’ responsibility to tie it up and replace the bag, which sadly nobody does, so the toilets become overfilled with waste and unusable.

Garmin InReach Mini 2

On most of my hikes, I like to track my route using my Garmin InReach Mini so I can look back on it later, or so Search and Rescue authorities can know my last known location in an emergency situation. On the Arctic Circle Trail I didn’t want to use up the battery by tracking all day, so I only turned it on for maybe 20 minutes a day.

If you’ve ever hiked some of the famous trails in Europe like the Tour du Mont Blanc, West Highland Way, Kerry Way, Hadrian’s Wall, Wicklow Way, Malerweg, Alpe-Adria, etc, you know that they often go through towns or near bus stops where you could potentially bail out if you had an issue. This is not true on the Arctic Circle Trail, which is a true wilderness route. Once you start, there is no way to bail except by rescue.

GoalZero Power Banks, Type C Power Adaptor

There is only one opportunity on the Arctic Circle Trail for hikers to charge electronics. At the Canoe Center, which is the hut you reach at the end of Day 2 on a typical 8-day itinerary starting from Kellyville, there is a solar-powered charging station which you can use with a European-style 2-prong 230V Type C power plug (remember to bring a travel adaptor if you’re coming from a country that doesn’t use Type C). Be sure to read up beforehand about how to operate it. From reading the official website, I knew that when you’re done charging your device, you should switch it to “Charger Only” rather than leaving it “On” or turning it completely “Off” because this is how it gets revitalized by the solar panels so the next person can use it. While I was there, I noticed that other hikers kept leaving it turned “On” when not in use, which is wasteful and could spell disaster for another hiker if they planned to rely on this resource. 

As such, it’s probably not a good idea to totally rely on the charging station being operational. I’m sure enough cloudy days could also mean the solar panels are sometimes not as powerful. For me, it worked great and very quickly brought my phone back up to 100%.

I also brought two GoalZero Flip 36 power banks. I can usually get maybe 3 recharges out of one of these, which is why I purchased a second one for this trip. I wasn’t sure I could last 8 days (or longer if something bad happens) on only 3 recharges, especially if I have to check my map a lot or can’t restrain myself when it comes to taking too many pictures. In the end, I only had to use one of the GoalZero power banks one time! My initial phone charge lasted the first two days, and then I recharged at Canoe Center. That lasted me 3 days, and then I recharged with GoalZero at the end of Day 5. That lasted me through Day 8. 

If you also want to plan for more than 3 recharges, as an alternative to having two GoalZero Flip 36’s, you could just buy one Anker or Nitecore power bank. These get more recharges but are also heavier and expensive.

Remember that you cannot check lithium ion batteries with your luggage on a plane, they must be carry-ons. In case they explode, flight attendants can do something about it if they’re in the passenger area but not if they’re in the cargo hold!

I left everything I didn’t need for the trail behind in storage in Copenhagen using the Bounce App, so I didn’t have a carry-on. After checking my 60L backpack, anything else I needed was just shoved into my jacket pockets to go through security – the GoalZero power banks, my credit cards, and my passport.

Offline Maps and eSIM

I always use the GAIA GPS application on my phone for offline navigation because I like their topographical maps. Be sure to download the official Arctic Circle Trail gpx tracks before setting out, including the bridge detour if you think you might consider taking it, and upload these to your app of choice. If you use GAIA, you should also save a map that encompasses the route.

I did not buy the Cicerone guidebook for the Arctic Circle Trail, nor did I purchase the three physical ACT maps that are available online (1, 2, 3) and at stores in Kangerlussuaq and Sisimiut. If I had gotten into trouble out there, I’m sure this information is the first thing they’d have reported about me in the news.

If you usually use Apple Maps for navigating around towns, switch to Google Maps for your time in Greenland. I found it was much more accurate and detailed in Kangerlussuaq, Sisimiut, and Ilulissat.

I use Airalo eSIMs everywhere I go. Airalo has worked great in Jordan, Turkey, Kyrgyzstan, Portugal, the UK, France, Spain, Italy, etc. It worked again in Greenland, though of course only when I was in towns at the start and end of the trail and not when I was in the wilderness (or if it did work on the trail, I didn’t know because I kept it in airplane mode anyway to save battery). However, I ran into an issue in Greenland because it turns out every business only offers up a local phone number to contact via voice calls. Some of them don’t have email addresses or websites, none of them are on WhatsApp, and my attempts to send iMessages bounced. With a data-only eSIM, this was a problem. When I needed a taxi to Kellyville from Kangerlussuaq airport and another from my AirBnB to the Ilulissat airport, I had to ask a tourist information desk agent or hostel receptionist to call them for me. Airalo was still useful for letting me use all of my apps though, like Google Maps, Safari, Google Translate, Instagram, Mail, AirBnB, etc.

The Greenland eSIM is also more expensive than any other Airalo eSIM I’ve gotten in the past – $9 for only 1 GB and 7 days. I had to top up a few times.

The local solution is the Tusass Greenland Travel SIM. It’s not necessarily a better deal – $37 for 3 GB for 7 days, or a whopping $74 for 20 GB for 2 weeks – but it includes unlimited voice calls in Greenland. There are Tusass stores in Kangerlussuaq, Sisimiut, and Ilulissat.

Obviously there are other things I brought which didn’t deserve their own paragraph on the list – sleep clothes, a knife, a writing pen (to fill out the form at the Canoe Center to help ACT volunteers understand how many hikers are on the trail per year), glasses and extra contact lenses, band-aids, wet wipes, chapstick.

If you are thinking about bringing something different than what I’ve listed here and have any questions for me about whether it might work well in this environment, feel free to comment or reach out! I wish you an incredible adventure in wild Greenland, and I’ll be praying to the tuurngait helper spirits to guide you and bring out the sun.

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