When it comes to packing, most travelers would agree: If there are regrets, it’s usually from packing to much, not too little. It stinks to pack, haul, un-pack, and re-pack a bunch of stuff you don’t need. This article shares everything I packed for over 30 days of travel through Cambodia and Vietnam. Lessons learned…
This article picks up where “Preparing to Section-Hike the A.T. through Shenandoah National Park” left off. There, I covered long-range planning tasks including training, testing gear, determining water and resupply points, and completing a backcountry permit. This post moves on to those final-stage tasks that I always think should be quick, but rarely are: shopping…
Originally published November 14, 2012 Like most people (adults?) going to Philmont, Julie and I spent a lot of time exploring strategies and tactics for equipment. Much of our equipment was close to twenty years old (pre-kids backpacking days) so we knew a major refresh was in order. We leaned towards the ultra-light approach and…
I've written a surprising number of articles about packing for our 6-week Ireland trip, including how I choose clothes and pack lightly, how I choose and pack toiletries, my initial packing list, and my final packing list. In this post I give you our line-by-line list complete with weights and notes. I'm sorry the "tables" are…
Chris and I have been traveling for over 4 months now and our crazy adventure is drawing to a close. When we pull into our driveway in just 8 short days, we will have traveled over 7,000 miles by car, backpacked 140 miles, passed through 20 states, and explored bits of 3 countries. I’ve learned…
I previously posted articles detailing the clothes, toiletries, and backpacking equipment I planned to take to Ireland. The items listed would suffice for a normal trip, but I’ll be backpacking for 4 weeks and my pack was too heavy. After carefully rethinking and then discarding or replacing items, I got my pack down to 19.5 pounds carried weight. This…
Sometimes it can be challenging to write an article, but this time I couldn’t even decide what to title it! We will be in Ireland for a total of 6 weeks and the final 2 weeks will be familiar, traveling by car and sightseeing. During the first 4 weeks, though, are we backpacking, hiking, trekking,…
I wasn’t planning to write this article, but a recent email from a friend revealed I’m not the only one who broods over lotion and shampoo and travel containers. While I haven’t asked Chris specifically, I’d bet dollars to donuts he devotes a tiny fraction of the time I do to this subject. What can…
I used to be a disaster at packing. I’d start out with good intentions, but then the “what-ifs” set in and I’d throw in clothes and shoes for every possible weather/activity combination. Chris is a seasoned traveler though, and started working on me and the kids 15 years ago. Rule #1: No checked bags, period.…