Stuck at home for the next 30 days during the government shutdowns? Spend the next thirty days preparing for your next trip and improving your self, mentally, spiritually, and physically in these ways. Top tips include how to create a travel journal and itinerary, how to research locations and hiking trails, remaining in shape through home workouts such as yoga for the next outdoor excursion, reorganizing and cleaning your travel gear, and more.
Guest Blog Introduction
Ema Gavrilovic is a freelance writer based in Chicago, Illinois. After finally becoming licensed as a clinical therapist Ema chooses to pursue her passion for all things outdoors, travel, and adventure and avoids the daily grind of a nine-to-five. If she is not researching new ideas and writing in the local coffee shop or library, one can find her training in ballet, practicing yoga, or reading a novel.
If you’re like me, you’re probably stuck at home instead of adventure-ing. Your travel plans were cut short from the shelter-in-place guidelines put into place, and the nomad in you itches to break the quarantine to escape overseas. Well, take this time as a blessing to physically, mentally, and spiritually prepare for your next abroad trip! Instead of typing this in a cozy corner of the local cafe drinking a banana chocolate latte, I am laying on my cozy white day-bed with a cute mug of tea next to me. And guess what? If this is the best that shelter-in-place laws offer, then let’s embrace it.
Choosing to decompress, cleanse, organize, prepare, and revitalize during our time under quarantine begins now.
Physical Space
After every trip, I take the time to check over and clean my adventure gear. This is the perfect idle-time for you to do the same. Stomp out and brush off any accumulated mud from those worn hiking boots, clean out the bottom of that dusty backpack (and maybe sanitize it from all the airports it’s been through?), wipe camera lenses shiny, and take note of any dwindling inventory (how long ago did I open this water purifying iodine bottle?). Mud splashed on the tent from the sudden downpour? That’s fine, just hose it off in the yard. Cleaning out my travel items not only satisfies my cleanliness side it also lets me literally close the chapter on my last adventure, to begin afresh on my new one.
Also, if you’re like me, you carry your camera everyyyywhere. If you’re also like me, you take weeks (or even months…) to look over and edit your photos. Now is the perfect time to finally sit down in front of your laptop and open Lightroom. As the digital nomad that you are, NOW there exists no excuse of why Instagram isn’t updated with embellished photographs of your latest “office” views.
Physical space also includes yourself. Take this time to remain active and physically fit for your next trek up the steep rocky mountains and rolling buttes. Remaining in tip-top shape will save you back and hip pain from heavy backpacks later on. Remember, it’s easier to maintain all the cardio gains and stamina you got from your latest travel than it is to train from square one. You’ll have more freedom choosing which routes to explore when you know you have the physical capacity to excel at them.
Even if right now you can’t enter the gymnasium for those group cycle classes, home workouts are a fantastic excuse to work on what you prefer. Lower back hurting from your last outdoor trip? Focus on exercises to make it feel better. Lower back hurting from sitting in front of Netflix this past week? There’s a remedy for that, too. Get up and move! Currently, companies are making available free workouts on Instagram and Youtube. Yoga home practice always inspires me to move, as do daily nature walks around my neighborhood. What inspires you?
Mental Reflection
I don’t know you, but I personally need to take time to journal itineraries for each upcoming trip. Knowing which hiking trails I’ll attempt when traveling solo is important for my safety. How long is each trail? Is there a water source nearby? What conditions does the trail have? How difficult should I expect it to be? What details does the map show? I research details ahead of time. I also end up always finding alternate trails and routes for the unexpected.
Once, I was to travel to different Utah national parks. After some research I found that long-term road construction was blocking too much of my preferred area, so I chose to hike in a different park altogether. The more you prepare now, the more you will be happy with your next trip. Think of this step as a phase of “remote work” for your next solo travel.
Some informative sites to help you gather your thoughts include TripAdvisor and AllTrails. TripAdvisor reviews allows you to read what other travelers think about a certain spot, hotel, or restaurant, and you can even book your flights from it. AllTrails provides hikers with reviews of trails, locations of trailheads, maps, and more.
Spiritual Takeaways
When was the last time you took a moment to just… breathe? Was it during your last yoga practice at the now-closed gym? Or was it during your latest travel? Or, now? Why do you choose the places you choose? What scenery calls to you? Have you ever stopped to reflect on your lifestyle and get to know yourself better? Take this period of self-isolation and expand it to a time of self-reflection. Journaling at this stage can spice up the process: the lessons your subconscious evokes onto paper may be a moment of self-discovery. Crack open a notebook, and momentarily ease your thoughts onto the tip of the pen, and let the rhythm of the pen-to-paper guide your flow.
The break in between trips is vital to recover and discover things you didn’t before realize. Sometimes, finding this break is difficult. So, take this confinement to truthfully gain knowledge about yourself.
So there you have it. Instead of gravitating to a frustrated couch potato position during the quarantine, instead positively reframe your thoughts during this time to help you physically, mentally, and spiritually. As I finish typing this, I remind myself to take a brief stretch break. After all, I should finally start on those months-long awaited photos just sitting in my memory card.
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