Packing It Up
Laura Maestrelli on Friday, January 22, 2010 at 11:09PM One of the most common questions we got when we started telling people we were planning to travel for a year was, “How on earth are you going to pack for that?” The short answer, as it turns out, is very, very carefully.
First, we had to decide what we wanted to use to carry all of our stuff around. The obvious choice was a backpack. We’ve both done the whole backpacking thing numerous times before, and while those big unwiedly bags definitely served us well in the past (and continue to do so when we’re really backpacking in the Sierras), neither of us was especially eager to schlep one around for an entire year. Our friend Charmaine, an intreprid traveler who has visited something like 50 countries, was advocating for us to ditch the backpack idea in favor of a “roller” suitcase. We resisted at first – we weren’t sure we wanted to be the kind of travelers who used roller (i.e. “grown-ups”). But the more we thought about it, the more we remembered seeing (and being one of) those poor souls sluggishly wandering around airports and train stations with a huge pack on their backs and a daypack pulling them from their front – virtual poster-children for scoliosis – and we started to think Charmaine might be onto something.
And then, thanks to a helpful guy at the Corte Madera REI, we found the perfect compromise in the form of the Eagle Creek 22” roller backpack called the Switchback. Most of the time it’s a traditional roller, but for those times when rolling isn’t an option (say, on cobblestones or sand), you can just unzip the shoulder straps and throw it on your back. The perfect solution!
After we picked the right luggage, it was all about prioritizing what would go in it. A 22” bag is not big – and it’s especially not big when you’re thinking about living out of it for a year. So we started with a huge packing list and slowly whittled it down to the essentials. (If you’re really curious, we’ll post the full packing list at some point in the future.)
After that, it was just a matter of getting everything in our bags, something we didn’t bother even trying to do until about two hours before we left for the airport. In hindsight, it probably wasn’t the most prudent way to pack, but it all seems to have worked out in the end!
Reader Comments (2)
Indeed, I really liked hearing about the packing process, but also wonder about the planning to be away for a year. Arrangements for your car, your home, your home utilities, your mail, your bills, your cat? how did all of that play out for you? Keep having fun and get over that darned cold, Laura!! Nyquil is a good friend to have, tho.
Oh wow! Can you imagine me trying to get around and do a year's worth of traveling with my pink luggage set?????