This was my entire room at the Tundra Lodge. It took something pretty exciting to entice me to agree to live like this (communal bathroom,too) for a week.
However, the wild Polar Bears outside my window were pretty exciting.

With all my stuff (mainly camera gear), I couldn't get the door open more than 8 inches - just wide enough for me to squeeze my body in sideways. Total walking/standing space was about 24 x 24 inches. What you don't see in this image is my Pelican Case on the left with a small waste can next to it. In order to have room to stand up, I had to stuff my boots into the waste can (the silver of one of my boots is barely visible on the lower left). My coat and clothes were on two hooks on the wall over the Pelican case & garbage can/boot holder.

The cot was so narrow that you had to lay on your back with your arms tight against your body. I found doing that for very long sheer agony. I don't mind roughing it during the day, but I like a comfy bed at night. The matress was an extremely thin piece of foam on a board & impossible for side sleepers. After fighting this for the first night, I discovered that I could create my own additional sleeping space. Putting the bed pillow across my soft sided camera and computer bags, I made a soft side extension to the bed. Then I could lay on my side and stretch my arm out at night. That stuff was already crammed into my "room"; so why not put it to good use? Of course, my arm almos touched the opposite wall. VBG. I don't know what anyone else did, but everyone I spoke to complained about the beds. I was fine after the first night.

This photo was taken when my large, soft sided camera bag (extra bedding by night) wasn't in the room. So things look rather spacious. VBG.
Despite all: yes, I would do this again - if I could experience as many Polar Bears as I did this Fall http://www.pbase.com/britestar/image/119988579 Unfortunately, this was not a typical year; so there probably won't be as many bears next time.

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COPYRIGHT 2009, Elizabeth Bickel. All Rights Reserved. Any and/or all usage or copying of photos, without express written permission from the photographer, is prohibited by law.