Master Packer

EVERYTHING MUST GO

It's surprising how much you can stuff into a Ziplock bag. I know, I just filled a bakers dozen with everything from uncooked rice to Pop Tarts. Although the thought of organizing 38 days worth of food, gear, clothes and personal items seems daunting to some, I revel in the challenge. My goal is always to pack right on the border of suffering vs. satisfaction. Dilemas such as "do I really need five pairs of underwear, or will four get me through" are constantly presenting themseleves (I decided to go with four - that fifth pair will never get used).

Yvonne Choinard once said, "...perfection is finally attained not when there is no longer anything to add, but when there is no longer anything to take away." That is my packing philisophy for this trip. Nothing comes that isn't absoluetly needed. Too many times things sneak onto a trip that were once thought to be important but in reality turn out to be just one more thing getting in the way. It's like that in day-to-day life as well. I have piles or crap my wife has dragged home from Savers that she claims we 'need'. Inevitably two weeks later its buried in the closet collecting dust along side the Ab Roller and the set of Ginsu Knives. Not this trip. Not this time. It is clean living for the next 38 days.