Take Only What You Need to Survive

Have you seen Spaceballs? If not, let me tell you a quick story. The characters' flying Winnebago crashes in the desert and they have to walk to try to get help and the main guy (Bill Paxton) tells the princess that she should only bring "what she needs to survive." Later as he is trudging through the desert with a heavy box, he looks inside and it is a huge hair dryer. He admonishes her and she states that it is her "industrial strength hair dryer" and she, "can't live without it!" 

I stole this photo from my own blog, circa mid 2000s. 

The first time I traveled abroad, I carried two huge suitcases. Granted, I was going to live in France for three months, but looking back, I now know that I did not need a fraction of the things I brought. Oh well; you live and you learn, right? 

In early 2024, when I decided to get rid of everything, I made a list of the things that I "can't live without." Obviously these are different for everyone, but my list was actually not as long as I thought it would be. Of course, I then had to whittle everything down from a 1,200 SF house with a backyard and a garage to...just a bike, which I explain a little in this post. When I created this post, I had two funny comments. One was from NGS, who asked me to break down all of the clothing items that I had in my bag, and then after I answered, Jenny piped up to ask me to confirm that I only had one extra outfit aside from my riding outfit. So I decided to break it down even more and go over all of the clothes that I've had in my clothing bag for the last several months. 

First let's talk about base layer tops! 

From the top, L to R: (1) a tank top I just recently stole from my friend's outgoing Goodwill bag, because I was tired of wearing active tops! It will be going back into the Goodwill back soon. (2) a Smartwool mountain biking shirt, well used! Also I have a story about this! 

Bottom row, L to R: (1) I started this trip with just this one salmon Smartwool tank top! (2) Along the way I picked up the green Icebreakers top. 

A quick note about these tops; all three (except for the top L) are made from merino wool. This stuff is NOT cheap. However, I got all three on sale and they do live up to the hype in that they (a) don't smell, even after days (weeks?) of wearing them, (b) are lightweight and (c) wick moisture and/or dry easily! This was so nice to be able to rinse them out at the end of the day and have them be dry by morning. The only negative I have found is that the thinner ones don't hold up too well to daily outdoor use, but I will talk more about this at the end of this post! So, I may be a convert...but I still don't know if I can stomach paying full price (around $100+) for a t-shirt. 

Now let's talk about jacket layers. 

Top row, L to R: (1) Patagonia Houdini windbreaker. I talked about this in last year's gifts for active people post. I love this windbreaker. LOVE IT. It is a great extra layer when needed, or can be worn over a t-shirt to block the sun. (2) Mountain Hardware Ghost Whisperer. This is so light and warm, but actually have not worn it a lot on this trip (thankfully!!) I often wear it when I am doing laundry, as it is my only clean item! 

Bottom row, L to R: (1) Outdoor Research Aspire. Not really the color I would have picked, but this jacket keeps you dry! There is nothing worse than riding or hiking in the rain, and this actually made it bearable! (2) Uniqlo zip up sunscreen hoodie. This is basically my "nice" outfit at the moment! Pair it with black leggings and I am practically ready for prom! 

Last but not least, accessories and pants. 

Left panel, top to bottom, L to R: all of the accessories! Arm sleeves, cycling gloves, buff, socks, bra, waterproof gloves, neoprene socks, beanie, lightweight gloves. And yes Jenny, I only have one pair of socks and no underwear! :) 

Right panel, top to bottom: (1) cycling shorts, (2) capri pants. 

What have I used the least? (1) neoprene socks, (2) waterproof gloves, (3) arm sleeves. I am happy about this, as it means that it has not been horribly cold! What have I used the most? I wore the Smartwool mountain biking shirt pretty much every day for about 40 days, then the Icebreaker shirt after that for about two and a half months. Unfortunately, the Smartwool top faded a lot, so I emailed them and they gave me a refund! So now I have a credit to get something else, which I am very glad about, as that shirt is not really fit for going out in public! 

And there you have it; that is literally what I need to survive. You can of course find the rest of the list of items I carry here. 

If you could only bring an under the seat backpack on a weekend trip, what are your essential items? Do you own any merino wool items? 

This post is part of NaBloPoMo. You can find the rest of my posts for this challenge here. You can find the list of participants and their information here. P.S. This is a draft I started in August 2023! Better late than never! 

Where Do You Keep That?

Happy Thanksgiving to all of my Canadian friends!

P.S. I made this using AI. I know! I am addicted.

After seeing a lot of people (see some examples here for Stephany, Engie and Elisabeth) post about where they keep things in their house, I thought it would be fun to do this too! However, as you know, I sold my house and got rid of all of my things, and so most of the things on the list I no longer own or keep anywhere! However, here is the original* list, which before I sold my house, I could sum up into four main places: Did not own, kitchen junk drawer, bathroom drawer and garage. (*from Engie)

Kleenex | Medicine | Band-Aids | Heating pad | Nail polish | Winter hats/gloves/accessories | Scissors | Tweezers | Slow cooker/air fryer | Dirty towels | Tape measure | Gifts bags/tissue paper/wrapping paper | Library books | Bookmarks | Pens | Suitcases | Water bottles | Dog leash | Jewelry

Did not own: Kleenex | Heating pad | Nail polish | Library books | Bookmarks | Dog leash 

In kitchen junk drawer: Scissors | Tape measure | Pens

In bathroom drawer: Medicine | Band-Aids | Tweezers | Jewelry

In tote in garage/in garage: Winter hats/gloves/accessories | Gifts bags/tissue paper/wrapping paper | Suitcases 

The only things that could not be summed up was the slow cooker/air fryer, which was an InstantPot and was in the cupboard above the fridge, dirty towels which kind of seems like a strange category because....the laundry basket...and water bottles, which were in the cupboard with the cups/glasses. 

However, since Engie asked me about to provide a bikepacking packing list and I haven't done it yet, I thought it would be fun to go over where my CURRENT stuff lives and what it is! Here is Bob with all of his bags. 

                                             

The bags are as follows: (1) Handlebar bag, (2) Fork bag x 2, (3) Top tube bag one, (4) Top tube bag two, (5) Feed bags x 2, (6) Frame bag, (7) Rear bag, (8) Hydration vest not shown, (9) Fanny pack not shown, and (10) my body not shown. 

(1) The handlebar bag contains my tent and a pair of flip flops. I also strap my rain jacket to the daisy chain on the front of this bag for easy access. You may have seen in some photos that I also strap extra food on here from time to time. 

Fritos for later

(2) The fork bags are for food; the left one has my cook kit, coffee fixings and any dinner/breakfast foods and the right one has snack foods. 

Cook kit: stove, gas, pot, lighter.
Not shown: spork and Swiss army knife

(3) Top tube bag one has things I need right away and may use several times per day, like bug spray and sunscreen. 

(4) Top tube bag two has the snacks for the day, portioned out so that ideally I do not need to get into either fork bag during the day. 

(5) Feed bag number one has a one liter water bottle; feed bag number two usually has my phone in it so I can access it easily. Or if I put my phone in my fanny pack, I often will put fast action snacks like gummy bears, Twizzler nibs or grapes in feed bag number two. 

Cherries? Yes please!

(6) The frame bag has bike repair items (multi-tool, brake pads, lube, spare nuts/screws for my rack, zip ties, rag, tube repair kit), my tent poles, my bike lock and my water filter. I also sometimes keep extra water in here in a one liter foldable bottle. 

(7) The rear bag has all sleeping items including air mat, sleep sack and sleeping bag. It also has most of my electronics, an emergency/first aid kit, toiletries and any clothes I am not currently wearing (usually a puffy, spare bottom/top, underwear, but during summer, also includes a beanie, and waterproof gloves and booties, which live in my handlebar bag when it's cold out). I also have a spare/emergency credit card and an extra bike tube in this bag. 

Toiletries: no tweezers or scissors here!

All packed up!

(8) The hydration vest I wear, and it has things I may need frequent access to like Advil, toilet paper, a charger for my phone, my passport, a pen, post cards/stamps, emergency cash, gloves, buff, arm sleeves, and wind breaker. I also have a 2L water bladder for when I am in very dry places, but I have not had to use it very often. 

(9) The fanny pack stays on me at all times and has my wallet, headphones, floss stick (yes, I reuse it), Chapstick and two emergency tampons (since the rest are deep inside my big bag). I used to also keep earplugs in here, but to be honest, I have not needed them (knock on wood!) lately, so I took them out.

My wallet here only has two credit cards, an ATM card and my ID. I have an extra credit card, my Costco card (priorities people!) and my Global Entry card stored in a separate place, and I keep my passport on me inside my hydration vest.  

(10) On the top I usually wear a sports bra, a short sleeved merino wool shirt with a sunscreen hoodie if it is cooler, with options for the windbreaker from my vest if needed, or my rain jacket if it is especially cold or wet. On the bottom, I alternate between cycling shorts (chamois) and Adidas capris. If it is very cold or wet, I wear rain pants over those, and I wear socks and regular trail running shoes (not cycling shoes). A pair of cycling gloves and a helmet tops off my ensemble. 

Same shi(r)t, different day!! 

So, there is where everything in my current life lives! I guess from the original list, the only things I still have are: Medicine | Band-Aids | Winter hats/gloves/accessories | Pens | Suitcases (do my bike bags count?) | Water bottles. 

Do you keep your dirty towels somewhere besides the laundry basket? Feel free to pick a few other things off the list and tell me where you keep them! Does anything I carry (or don't carry) surprise you? 

Pack Your Fears

In the hiking world there is a saying, that we always pack our fears. This means that if you are afraid of being cold, you will overpack clothes; if you are afraid of running out of food, you will overpack food. My brother carries a lot of (too much?) water; my Dad carries a large first aid kit; my hiking buddy Bugsy carries a lot of bug repellent (hence the trail name). Here are a few things that I carry too much of and how these translate to my fears. 

Headphones. I am afraid of running out of entertainment, so I have four pairs of headphones. Yes, four. One pair is wireless, but these require being charged, and they need Bluetooth, which runs my phone battery down faster, so I rarely use them unless I am near a town and know I will be near another town soon. They are not critical when it comes to things I need to charge, so they often stay packed. I also have three pairs of wired headphones. Overkill as they may be, I do not really want to ride for several days without an audiobook, plus they are small, and I just cleaned out my entire house and I had three pairs that still work, so I brought all three of them. Side note and tip: when traveling internationally, it is still a good idea to have a wired pair for the flight so that you don't have to use the crappy ones that the airline gives you. Obviously I have thought about this a lot, eh? 

Food. I am afraid of being hungry. Actually, I am not afraid of being hungry, but am afraid of not having food when I am hungry. I am also a bit of a food hoarder, and will stock up if I am in a town or if something is on sale. Obviously this works a lot better when you are living in a house with a fridge and cupboards, but I still justify it and will carry a lot of bars "just in case." I am a lot better at this when backpacking, as I will pack exactly for the number of days that I will be hiking +1 for emergencies. When cycling you are going through towns every few days and it is a nice treat to go to the grocery store, and so I treat myself by overbuying food. 

Food haul!
The cookies on the bottom right are so, SO good.

Water. I am afraid that the next stream will be dry. I usually carry two liters at all times. However, I dislike filtering and I guess I would rather carry more weight than waste more time filtering over and over and over, so if I am in a town with potable water, I might "camel up" as they say (drink as much as possible then fill all of your bottles for the journey). However, I am sure someone has done a study about the efficiency of time comparing the extra time it takes when you are carrying more weight vs. the extra time it takes to filter. 

Filtering water (PC: Broksi)

Chapstick. I am addicted to Chapstick. I brought two on this trip: one main one and one spare, and then my friend K handed me one in Oregon and I decided to keep it, because you know, they might not have Chapstick in Canada, or Montana... not! I have heard stories about how the menthol is actually addicting; I don't know if that is true. I do know that I do not love most brands. I don't want spicy or fruity Chapstick. I want the Chapstick brand, the black one, or the blue in a pinch. You may think I am cheap and gift me with a nice tube of Burt's Bees. I don't want it. I am not cheap. I am particular about my Chapstick, so I carry extra. 

Sunglasses. I am blonde and blue eyed, and even on a cloudy day, I need to wear sunglasses. Luckily, my eye scan has been good over the years, probably because when I am outside, I am wearing sunglasses 98% of the time. For this reason I did bring an extra pair with me. However, the first pair was getting all scratched up and I finally ditched it, so now I only have one. Eeeek. What if I lose the second pair, now my only pair? It will be a rough day, but I will probably live. The next town is only a few days away, hopefully. Luckily I do not mind looking like a dork, and will wear whatever glasses are available (gas station, here I come!) 

Same shirt; different glasses. (+Emi the dog)

Navigation. I guess I am afraid of getting lost (although I don't THINK I am!) as I have maps on my phone, a Garmin navigator and a Garmin satellite messenger/tracker. It kind of makes me laugh how many electronics I have; however, Navigation is number one on the Ten Essentials list Ten Essentials list of things that you should always bring hiking with you (even on day hikes!), so I just consider this good practices. Actually food and water are also on that list, so maybe I am just following the rules! 

As a P.S. here are a few things I do NOT bring a lot of. Underwear (I am happy to bring two and wash the one I am not wearing each day, or go commando), socks (same story), bras (same story), multiples of clothes (currently one have one of each layer, and one dry emergency outfit), first aid (if it's not something that duct tape/Lukotape and a bit of gauze can fix, I am probably screwed anyway). 

What do you overpack when you travel? And does this translate to a fear that you have? 

Wind River Range -- Part Two -- Logistics

Planning a week long hiking trip is fun, if you are an excel nerd, or maybe a chemist, or an outdoor enthusiast. Okay, never mind, it is actually fun no matter what! For me, planning is part of the package that makes up the perfect gift, a trip of a lifetime. I am not going to go into that here; you will be able to read more about that in part three, the trip report. For now, I will just say that the work that goes into something, be it the planning or the hiking or the sweat and the tears, or the cold nights and long days, makes the reward all that much more sweet.

The Plan: So the first thing I had to do was figure out where I wanted to go. I had been wanting to hike the Sierra High Route (SHR), which is an off trail route in the Sierras, for some time. However, it is about 200 miles long and at my estimate, I could hike about 20 miles per day, which would put me at 10 days, or too many days to do the trip on a one week vacation. So I looked for other options and found the Wind River High Route (WRHR), which is in the Wind River Range of Wyoming, very close to Jackson, Yellowstone and the Tetons. However, I will admit, I had never heard of this section of the Rockies before. However, this route, which was also off trail, was closer to 100 miles, which I figured I could do in one week. So, I invited my ultrarunning friend Dr. G and the planning began.

The Route: We used the Andrew Skurka guide, along with CalTopo maps and the app "Offline Maps" which has USGS topo maps that you can download to use offline. Skurka gives you a few GPS way points but the route is not mapped out for you. Dr. G loaded the waypoints into the Offline Maps as well. We also had a compass and paper topographical maps.

The Big Three: Next, it was time to get my gear list together. Luckily, I have a skeleton list already made out for other trips, so that part was not too much reinventing the wheel. However, this time, I wanted to finally buy some of those elusive lightweight items that had been on my wish list for so long. The main one was a sleeping bag. They say that there is a "big three" of hiking: the sleeping bag, the sleeping pad and the tent. These items, aside from food, are generally the heaviest in your pack. I had been shopping around for a lightweight but not super expensive sleeping bag for years and had even bought one once which turned out to not be warm enough. This time I bit the bullet and spent a little more in the hopes that this time I would have the sleeping bag of my dreams (see how I did that?)

I bought the following and will likely review them at some point: Western Mountaineering Ultralite 20 degree sleeping bag (29 oz), Hyperlite 2400 Southwest Backpack (28.6 oz), and the Therm-a-Rest NeoAir Xlite Small size (8 oz). Dr. G carried a two man tent, which weighed about 2 lbs (32 oz). Therefore, my big three + my backpack only weighed about 4 lbs, or if you include the weight I carried to compensate for not carrying the tent, it was about 5 lbs. To put it in perspective, my old backpack, which I love and have used a lot, weighs about 5.5 lbs empty. Yes, I said empty!

The Clothing: For clothing, my plan was to wear the following: running shorts, short sleeved running shirt, underwear, bra, socks and Saucony trail running shoes (Nomad). I would carry the following: Mountain Hardware windbreaker, long sleeved running shirt, Montbell rain jacket, rain pants, beanie, buff, gloves, MH down jacket, sleeping shirt (long sleeved), NorthFace tights, extra underwear, socks & bra. All of the clothing I carried (not counting clothing worn) weighed about 39 oz or 2.5 lbs.

The Other Stuff: I also had to bring toiletries, kitchen items (pot, pan, spoon, bowl, fuel, matches etc.), first aid, dry bags, water purifier, electronics (phone, charger, headlamp, camera etc.) and other utility items (knife, rope, compass, trash bag, whistle etc.). All together these weighed about 4 lbs.

Base Pack Weight: This is all things, excluding consumables, which include food, water and fuel. My goal was to keep this weight under 20 lbs, as I estimated food would be about 1.7 lbs per day x 6 days, which would be about 10 lbs, and I wanted to keep my pack under 30 total lbs. My total base weight ended up being about 11.5 lbs!! I was very excited about this.

The Food: This was the most fun but definitely the most time consuming portion of the planning. Oh my, I just said "portion." Ha. Seriously though, the goal is to carry the most amount of calories in the least amount of weight. We planned to try to have approximately 3,000 calories per day worth of food, which would hopefully be no more than 1.7 lbs per day. This sounds easy, right? You just load up your pack with Top Ramen and PowerBars, right? Nah. My goal was to have food that: (1) is nutritious, (2) tastes good, (3) is inexpensive (no $8 Mountain House meals), (4) can just have hot water added to it to cook and that (5) has some variety.

So I did a lot of weighing and calorie counting and math and came up with this food plan: Breakfast consisted of either muesli or oatmeal with milk, nuts and freeze dried fruit. Both were about 700 calories. There would also be coffee, with powdered milk and sugar, which would be about 80 - 100 calories. Lunch and snacks would consist of various nuts, bars, jerky, and dried fruit and would consist of about 1,200 - 1,600 calories per day. Dinner would consist of a curried top ramen dish, a mashed potato with bacon dish or a rice and beans dish, each clocking in at a little over 700 calories. I also brought olive oil to supplement, which is about 100 calories per serving. All in all, the goal was about 2,600 - 3,000 calories per day.

The H2O: I brought a 1.5L bladder and a 0.5L soft flask for water. Each liter of water weighs about 2 lbs, but my plan was to try to carry the least amount possible and fill up frequently, so as to keep the pack weight down.

Total Pack Weight: My food ended up being about 1.4 lbs per day. This, plus an estimated liter of water, would bring my total starting pack weight to about 23 total lbs. HOWEVER...Dr. G carried the tent and I carried some of his food, which brought my total up by about 4.5 lbs bringing my actual starting pack weight to 27.5 lbs.

The Verdict: This is the lightest I have ever been when doing a multi day backpacking trip. I lugged over 40 lbs up Mt. Whitney for a one night trip. I will (hopefully) never have to do that again. The pack felt comfortable and even when climbing up a steep rock or going through a tight squeeze, it was not too cumbersome.

A couple of things I would probably leave behind: the olive oil (it leaked plus we never used it), the all purpose soap (I did not shower, bathe, or use soap to do dishes or clean clothes like I thought I might), my sleeping shirt (I slept in my hiking clothes, although it is nice to have a possible dry shirt if needed), sports bra (I wore one and brought a spare and ended up wearing neither in the end) and my just-in-case tank top (it was never warm enough).

A couple of things I might bring some of / more of: gauze (I had tape but no gauze and I got a pretty big scrape which could have used a bit bigger of a cover), socks (I brought one spare but having wet feet is a pain), a different water carrying system (more on that in the trip report) and a different/newer charger (my solar charger is old and ran out of juice fast, plus it was not sunny so I could not recharge it).

A couple of things I could not have lived without: this Picaridin bug lotion (NO bug bites when applied, even with mosquitoes SWARMING), Advil, Neosporin / Bandaids / Leukotape (as mentioned above, I got a scrape and it was nice to have something to clean it), earplugs (my tentmate was a snorer, plus the sleeping pads are loud) my new sleeping bag (fabulous! We spent one night in a snowstorm and I was not cold at all), maps/compass/GPS (after all, this was an off trail trek), Garmin 910ST, camera (I took about 800 photos), Yaktrax (I almost left them behind), and nuts (fat, protein and carbs all rolled into one, which keeps you feeling more full throughout the day).

In the end, I ate every speck of my food, except for the olive oil and one packet of Justin's Peanut Butter. I also used everything in my bag, except for the few things mentioned above and any emergency items (rope, knife, first aid). There was nothing that I really missed or really felt was dead weight. I felt that the packing ended up being pretty much perfect. I may try to compress a few things down a bit more with a compression sack so I can fit a little more if I am hiking for more days. I also need to figure out my water system and probably configure one extra pocket on the front of my pack (my pack has two hip pockets but no chest pocket). Otherwise, things are looking pretty good!

Have you ever planned for a long hiking or backpacking trip? Or maybe a long vacation? What is your logistical planning strategy?

Ye Olde Hovel

Today is officially "Talk Like a Pirate Day". I'm not really good at accents though, so I will probably just write normally. I think my title is about the extent of my knowledge of Pirate Speak. Oh and, "aye matey" and "arrrrr". FACT: My local library has a language program and you can learn to talk like a pirate, this month only.

**Q-What's a pirate's favorite letter? A- Arrrrrr**

**Q-Where do pirates go for a drink? A- The bARRRRR**

(okay, that's all the bad jokes I have for today)

_____________________________________________

If you know me, or have been reading for a while, you may already know that I pretty much live in a hotel. If you don't know me, let me quickly explain a little. I work a job that takes me to different places in the US, usually for a few months at a time. So, once we figure out where we will be, we move in to "our new home", whatever hotel is available in the city (or tiny town) that we will be working in. Usually this is anywhere from 90 - 350 days a year. 

Sounds great, right? Vacation, 350 days a year, you say? Where do I sign up? 

It is great sometimes. I don't have to pay for cable TV (although I rarely watch TV anyway), electricity or heat. I have a gym, a pool and sometimes a hot tub at my disposal. I don't have to wash my own sheets or clean my own toilet. These things can be good. Sometimes you get to stay in Five Star Hotels.

However, Hotel Living is not all it's cracked up to be. For example, sometimes you don't have a kitchen. When this happens, you end up cooking a lot of things in your coffee pot or microwave (which usually is not very healthy). Sometimes living in one room all the time kind of gets to you. You have people over, where do they hang out? On your bed. That can be kind of weird. 

Also, moving around a lot means you work with different people and live in different cities every 90 days or so. It is hard to make connections with people in 90 days. It is hard to establish a routine, to join a soccer team or a running club or even a gym. It is hard to eat healthy. Things are all done in "single servings", like Brad Pitt says in Fight Club. Single serving coffee, single serving shampoo, single serving friends. Just when you finally start to get to know your boss and how he operates, your coworkers and your surroundings, you move once again to somewhere else, to another hotel, where you have a different boss, new coworkers and have to figure out once again where the nearest grocery store is. 

I don't have much stuff. One suitcase. What fits in one suitcase? One pair of running shoes, flip flops and one nice pair of shoes. One dress. Two pairs of jeans and some shirts and sweaters. Each time I move, they move with me. I am a turtle, with my house clothes on my back.

Even though I don't have much stuff, it seems like a lot when you have to pack it all up. I work out of my room, so any time I want to go out of town for the weekend, I have to pack up my "office" as well as my suitcase, and leave it at the front desk or a co-worker's room while I am away. This makes weekend trips a little harder. 

This time I have a kitchenette, which makes it nice as far as eating healthy. But I also have to pack up food etc when I leave. So each time I am going to go somewhere, I try to "eat myself out of house and home", so to speak. I try not to buy anything new, only to use what I have. This makes for interesting meals. I think I mentioned before that I sometimes eat chili every day because I am cleaning out the fridge. Sometimes, even the backup food (ie non perishables) finally gets eaten. 

I also have to leave myself notes. I have had to buy at least three razors, since I tend to forget them in the shower. If I am leaving early in the morning, I get my coffee ready and then pack it away.

Oh, the joys of hotel living.

What do you do to prepare when you are going to be away for a while? Do you stay in hotels a lot? Do you like it? What's your favorite part of hotel living?

The Whole Pack-age

When traveling, you sometimes go through many different climates, especially when you travel from Northern to Southern hemisphere in a short period. So how do you pack for this? I mean, you get to Europe in the summer time, then you go south and VOILA, it is winter in South Africa. A month later you are hiking in the snowy peaks of the Himalayas. Different countries in the same region have completely different temperatures too. Sometimes it’s as if you go from Massachusetts in the winter to Florida in the summer, all in one week (or day sometimes!) This is especially hard when you are going to be on the road for a long period of time.

I am a light packer. I have learned this the hard way. On my first trip abroad, when I went to France for the summer (to do a work exchange), I had no idea what to pack. I didn’t know if the job I would have would require dressing up; I had no idea if the Frenchies would look at me funny if I wore my favorite pair of track pants; I wasn’t sure if they were more formal than us; I didn’t know if the apartment I was subletting would have an alarm clock; I didn’t know if they would have books in English!

So I brought everything.  I brought two, not one but TWO suitcases. Big ones. Back in the day, when I went to France, I was not blessed with a rolling suitcase. One had a little tiny strap, like you would have on a clutch handbag, and four tiny wheels. You wheeled it sideways (on the long side) and to do so you had to hunch way over and slouch backwards, causing you to be old before your time. Often, it would tip over, causing your whole production to come to a stop. My other suitcase did not even have the luxury of wheels, tiny or otherwise. I had to carry it. Have you ever seen Spaceballs? That is what I looked like; I had my industrial strength hair dryer, and I COULD have lived without it.

Now I am smarter. I have realized a few things which make life much, much easier.

- You are not going to the moon. They may not have Target, but you can probably find a store, even in the Heart of Darkness, that sells shampoo. Buy it on the road once you figure out how much you will need.

- Layers, layers, layers! A few tank tops, a couple of long sleeves and one heavier sweater will get you very far.

- Also black is always a good idea. If you have a black long sleeve and black pants, you can go from beach to restaurant in a snap. I have the most awesome pair of black dress pants that I got at Express that kind of look like Yoga pants. They can be used for running or for going clubbing (not that I do that!)

- A thin rainproof jacket (I got one at REI for about 40 dollars) that can fit into a really small package when you are not using it is a key ingredient to your featherweight pack.

- A sarong can be used as a towel, or a beach cover up, or a head wrap, or a skirt.

- Zip-off pants, although not attractive, are great for hiking or other activities, are lightweight so you can wash them in the sink and hang them to dry for the next day and they also double as an extra pair of shorts (or your only pair). Get these in black and you may have just killed two birds with one stone. A word to the wise, the more pockets the better. If you can avoid carrying a purse and instead stuff your pockets with your camera and wallet, you have one less thing to worry about.

- Unless you are doing some REALLY serious hiking, running shoes work for almost everything.

Do you have any travel packing tips? Are you a two suitcases kind of person or a throw a backpack on and go kind of person?