The Things I Carry

I was packing up the other day when I realized how little of the stuff in my suitcase now were things I started out with.  So I thought I’d go through my bag as I packed things up, and talk about some of the cool things I’ve bought or replaced, and what is standing the test of time.

Inca Trail to Machu Picchu

For those of you who don't know, tomorrow we set off for a 4 day hike through the Andes on the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu. It was one of the first things we decided to do when we were talking about doing this trip, and while we're still excited to do it, the butterflies have set in in the last few days.

We've both hiked 14,000 feet peaks, and I've run three marathons and a 15.5 mile race up the side of a mountain to over 13,000 feet and back.  On paper, we have the street (or mountain) cred. But we've been lolling around cars and boats and airports for the last 10 weeks. The altitude was a challenge when we got to Cusco (we're at 11,200 feet here). So yeah, we are nervous as hell.  One of us has not run a marathon, and has a not completely diagnosed knee injury, so yeah.  Nervous.

But they told us, at our briefing on Monday, that all we needed to bring was our passport and a positive attitude. Both are packed, although we're still wrestling with the second one to get it in our bags.

Here is what we'll be carrying on our backs. Both packs weigh between 10-15 (that's a guess) pounds, which includes two water bottles for David and three for Lana (my bag weighs less otherwise).  We've hired a porter to carry our sleeping bags and bedrolls, which we rented from PeruTreks, the company we're hiking with. The porter will also be carrying things that we won't need from day to day, including toiletries and a couple of changes of clothes. Otherwise it's all coming along with us. On advice of other travelers we've met we rented trekking poles once we got here (alas, there are three sets cooling their heels at home), and upon advice of PeruTreks itself, I rented a pair of waterproof hiking shoes rather than wear my trail running shoes, which will get wet. That last one is not ideal, but we're going with blisters over wet feet. 

We each have rain pants, rain jackets, and rain covers for our bags. Gloves, sun hats, sunscreen, sunglasses, bug repellent, snacks, necessities for going in the woods, if necessary, hand sanitizer, medications and first aid stuff, our Samsung androids, a battery charging pack, headlamps, money for tips and water/snacks bought along the way, our PASSPORTS, and our entry tickets for our second day.

Lana is carrying Mr. Bee, our Steripen for sterilizing water if necessary, the larger share of the medications including her epipen, benadryl and a course of steroids that we really don't want to use.

David's carrying the big camera (might as well get the best shot of Machu Picchu that you can), zip ties and gaffer's tape for repairs, his headlamp (mine is with the porter).

Our bigger bags and all of the things we don't need will be stored at the hostel we're staying with, and we'll come back and stay here another night after returning from Machu Picchu.  All the hotels seem to offer that service, which is great. 

The trip so far hasn't been physically challenging--we've kick-flipped through the waters of the Galapagos and lugged our heavy big bags across the Miami airport, but other than that we've been pretty sedentary. We'll get our chance now, though.  

We've brought our android players, and we will have wifi in our hostel at the end of the trek, so we'll see you on the flip side. Wish us luck!

Lana’s Gear

I’m a little late to the gear party, but I’m finally buckling down and putting together a post of what I’m taking with me.  Brace yourself, this one is going to be a little lengthy. As David said in his post, when we were daydreaming about this trip for months, we read a lot of blogs that had posts about what people took:  their bags, their clothes, their electronics, etc. For some reason those posts are very popular. But they got me through the planning phase, and I took a lot of tips from various bloggers, so I thought I’d throw in my own two cents. We will probably make some changes down the road (this road trip portion of the journey is a perfect time to do that). I’ve already discovered one of my shirts is totally see-through, which prompted a quick trip to Target this morning. When you only have six shirts, and one is essentially sheer, you’ve got to do something about it, and quick.
So here we go. In looking at this picture I’m realizing I have a lot of black items with me, which is good because it goes with everything and generally hides dirt, but bad because we’re traveling through a perpetual summer as we drift from the southern to northern hemisphere. Imma gonna cook. So that, coupled with the see-through shirt, may have this looking a bit different by the time we take off for Ecuador in October, but here’s what I’ve got right now.
 
Starting from top left and going clockwise, spiraling to the center of the photo:
I’ve got a couple of packing cubes from Eagle Creek; the smallest one is filled with knickers (6 pairs);
The largest one is filled with my running kit: 2 pairs running shorts, 1 short sleeve shirt, 1 tank top, 2 running bras, 3 pairs of socks, headphones, RoadID, sunglasses, and running hat, GPS watch (unpictures because I forgot it at home) and charger;
Bottoms in 3 lengths:  1 pair shorts, 1 pair capris, 1 pair long pants that roll up;
A little black dress, a black skirt that can be longer (below knee) or shorter (above knee) if you roll the waistband over, and even a short swim cover-up that ties around your neck. It’s from Patagonia.
A little black cardigan.
Travel towel in pouch.
Cotton hoodie.
3 bras (one black, one white, one nude)
The medium packing cube on the left is filled with shirts (4 short sleeve and 2 now 3 tank tops—that purple striped one is the one you can see straight through. Fun for the whole family!). I have found the Gap Body line of shirts to be easy to wash and quick to dry, and I’ve got a couple of other Old Navy shirts that have a little stretch. Cotton shirts don’t dry as well and they don’t re-shape as well as some with a little lycra
Two long and narrow packing cubes, the one on the left including swimsuits (2), pareo, large brimmed hat (I love the Wallaroo ones made in Boulder), and the one on the right including cold/wet weather gear, including a North Face rain jacket, Lululemon leggings, a pair of lightweight gloves, and a long sleeved hooded running tech tee from REI, good for running in cold weather, or as an additional layer
And in the center, a pair of capri sweats from C9 Target and a racerback Nike tanktop to use as pajama/cover-up when tramping to and from the bathroom in campgrounds and hostels where we have to share a shower. See regular sleepwear below
Cheap Kenneth Cole Reaction sunglasses (unpictured)
Next, the shoes. Starting from the top left and going clockwise:

Running shoes: for our road trip portion, I just bought my regular running shoes (Mizuno Wave Inspire 8), but I’ve got a pair of Salomon trail running shoes that I’ll be taking on the around the world portion.
Toms (love my Toms—they’re so comfy. I’m using my current gray pair on the road trip, but I’m saving a red pair for the RTW leg.)
Keens for hiking, water shoes, etc.
Pair of cheap highly squishable black flats
Flip-flops for showers, hostels, and beaches
I realize this is 2-3 more pairs of shoes than most people take, and I may get rid of the black flats, but they pack so flat it doesn’t make much difference to throw them in.
Next up, toiletries, again clockwise:

Babyliss travel blowdryer. In my normal travels, I often don’t bring a blowdryer because most hotels have them. This one is teeny tiny but it works really well.  And I defy you to find a campground with a blow dryer.
Tom’s toothpaste (using up the big tube)
Folding toothbrush
Brush (this one is huge, but I haven’t found a good small brush)
Suave dry shampoo
Bumble & bumble shampoo and conditioner
Face wipes
Makeup—tinted moisturizer, eyeliner, lipgloss, lip balm
Sunscreens—50 spf, 100 spf, 30 spf for my face
antiobiotic cream, razors, deodorant and soap
Bumble & bumble thickening spray, gel, comb
Two large hair clips, hairbands and bobby pins (in the small tin)
Clippers, tweezers, nail file
Unpictured:  separate kit of medications (benadryl, sudafed, immodium, petpo, maloxx, bandaids), aloe vera gel, bug wipes, sunscreen wipes (we’re big on sunscreen in the Bump household).
All of this fits in my Jansport toiletry kit, which I absolutely love and have had since about 2005. I weep for the day it fails, but for now I always use it when I travel. I’ve tried other similar toiletry kits, but none come close. I can hang it anywhere, there is a separate zipper pocket, a middle mesh pocked and a small top pocket that holds the hook and is great for small things that always fall to the bottom, like hair ties and your toothbrush.
Simple sleep kit:

Coolmax sleep sheet that zips together with David’s made by his seamstress genius of a mother (thanks Jean!)
Pillowcase made from the same material. The pillow will stay behind on the RTW portion, but we’ll stuff the pillowcase with clothes to use as a pillowcase if necessary.
Tank and boxers
And finally (and again clockwise), my gear. Although some of this stuff is really David’s gear, but I’ll be carrying it in my backpack per his backup strategy post. Have you read that one yet? And you’re still awake? I kid, but I’m grateful he thinks about this stuff so I don’t have to.

Secondary backup hard drive and SATA-USB adapter,
Outlet expander with 2 USB ports and 3 plugs
Network cable
Micro USB charger
Camera battery charger
Retractable auxiliary input cable
Lenovo laptop and power supply
Canon 310HS camera
Crappy LG cellphone
Samsung portable media player
Bubi bottle (see David’s post for what it looks like squished down and rolled up)
Headphones
Travel journal and pen
Petzl headlamp
Micro USB charger (yes, another one—one in each bag. Almost everything charges on micro.)
Kindle fire for games, books, magazines, internet backup, etc.
Our bags:
David’s already linked to these in his post, but we each have an eBags weekender bag (mine is the blue one you can see the top of below), which has lots of handles, backpack straps and a shoulder strap to boot. We’ve traveled with them a couple of times and they easily fit in the overhead space on flights. We also each have an Osprey Quasar backpack(the green one at the edge of the shot), which is sturdy but has lots of pockets and a chest and waist strap. I like the cinches on each side which cinch the sides down nicely. I currently have a lot of stuff in my eBag, and my backpack is actually kind of empty, aside from the laptop and my camera. I also picked up an inexpensive canvas/cotton messenger bag style purse at Target, which packs down to nothing but is a lot less conspicuous in cities rather than traipsing around with a backpack. It slings across my waist or can be cinched up under my arm like a regular purse, and it’s got good pockets for stashing various items.

And that’s it. It’s a lot of stuff, and it’s very heavy, so it’ll be interesting to see what we jettison by the time we leave for Ecuador in October. Right now since we’ve got lots of cargo space, it’s easy to just throw a couple of extra things in. But that’ll change.  I know we’ll let stuff go as we travel. So far the only thing I’ve added is a black tank top to camouflage the see-through one.  I know how disappointed you all are.
So I’m curious. You’ve seen and heard what we’re bringing—are we crazy? Is there anything we forgot that we should bring? Or what would you say to donate to the nearest Goodwill and godspeed?  Let us know!

The Rest of David’s Gear

While planning what to take on our trip, I read a lot of gear posts from other travelers.  Some photographer-specific articles gloss over the soft-goods like clothes, but given the volume and weight of the photo gear they describe, I wonder if they’re taking anything but the clothes on their back and possibly a change of underwear that doubles as padding around a particularly expensive lens.  Lana and I settled on six changes of clothes to give us some flexibility on where laundry day falls, depending on either timing or facilities (mostly a good location or weather for drying, as we can hand wash nearly anywhere).  I picked clothes that were quick-drying and light weight/small volume foremost, but also durable, since I’d like them to last a year if possible, and buying 36” inseam pants is tricky in some parts of the world.
I already listed my photo/electronics gear previously, which is all stored in my black Osprey Quasar 30L backpack; all of the gear below fits in my carry-on, a red eBags Mother Lode TLS Weekender.

From middle left, clockwise:

• 2 pair pants (navy and tan; REI)
• 2 pair shorts (synthetic blend, tan—one not pictured, being worn) with custom hidden pockets sewn in by my very generous mother with some assistance by me, on the easier, hand-sewn portions
• 1 pair light running shorts (navy)
• 6 pair ExOfficio briefs
• 6 pair socks (RoadRunner DryMax)
• 6 shirts; 4 short sleeve and 2 long.  All synthetic blends (one being worn; mix of REI, Eddie Bauer, and Columbia)
• 2 tech t-shirts for running or for layering (grey & white, on top of shirts above)
• 1 sleep sack, made by my mother out of CoolMax; it zips to Lana’s to form a double when needed/possible
• 1 pillow case, ditto.  Not pictured; for the road trip, it is also filled with a down pillow
• 1 pair boxers on top of the sleep sack
• 1 mostly crushable, and very breathable sun hat (Henshel Breezer)
• 1 light-weight zippered cardigan fleece (black, below hat)
• 1 pair swim trunks (blue, on fleece)
• 1 rash guard for sun protection while snorkeling, or layering (grey, on top of trunks)
• 1 pair light-weight tights for cold weather (black, in same stack above)
• 1 microfiber towel (top right)
• 1 rain jacket (grey, in stuff sack; Sierra Designs)
• Travel first-aid kit
• Sunglasses
• Travel Braun electric razor (2 AA, so no bulky recharger to pack)
• Bubi flexible silicone water bottle (blue, with silver carabineer)
• Toiletries in quart zipper bag (folding toothbrush, deodorant, soap, shampoo, short comb, chapstick, acid-reducer pills and anti-histamines)
• Toothpaste (using up the > 3 oz. tube on the road trip)
• Travel clothes line (braided elastic)
• Ecco Trail IV low leather and Gore Tex breathable/waterproof shoes
• Nike trail shoes, the bulkiest concession I’ve made; I am replacing my daily 8 mile ride with a 3-4 mile run with Lana each morning
• Bill-capped running hat
• Flip-flops (beaches, public showers)
• Tom’s Cordones, for a flat-packing, lighter/cooler shoe option