Terry's Trek

When in Doubt, Leave it Out
August 18, 2002

Monticello, Indiana, USA

This is the maxim of the long-term traveler. You are aware of it, yet want to be prepared for every contingency, and before you know it, you have a huge pile of stuff. This has happened to me. I just found an interesting website by an ultra-light traveler. After reading it, I decided to take another pass at my Pile o’ Stuff. I cut my first aid kit way down: No more rehydration salts, less Pepto Bismol, cold medicine, and bandages. Arguably, I do not need any of this stuff, since I will be starting out in the first world, where everything is available. I am considering not taking all the malaria prophylaxes. These pills will not prevent you from getting malaria. They are simply antibiotics, and taking them when you are not sick just makes the malaria parasites more resistant. I will take enough to treat myself in a pinch, but even then, they are available anywhere for less than what I paid for them. I wish I wouldn’t have bought eight months worth. Oh well, it only cost $25.

On the clothes front, I will take no shorts, since my convertible pants should be sufficient. I bought a nice pair of low-cut hiking shoes, but even these are heavy and take up a huge amount of space, so now I am leaning toward taking my running shoes. Not only are these more compact, compressible, and lightweight, I will also have the option of going for a run. I do not plan on doing any long-distance hiking until Nepal, and everything will be available there. I would also throw out one of my two long-sleeve tee shirts, but it will be cool in New Zealand, so I will need both to start out with. There is still much work to be done. I’m kinda wishing I would have gotten the 40 Liter pack, as this would force me to take even less.

There’s more good stuff on his website, include reasoning for taking a long trip when you are young, rather than working your whole life and going when you are retired:

I want you to understand the case for being young and cheap, essentially living the life of a pauper. When you're young you can relate to people. You can relate to those your age, you can relate to young children (because you were a child not too long ago) and you can relate to older people (because you are educated, recently out of college). You can have mindless conversations and you can have intellectual conversations. You can schmooze with the opposite sex, because now is THAT time in your life. You're strong, so you can take hours on end of bone-jarring, heat-of-the-day rides on top of buses and in the bed of pick-up trucks. You're curious, so you'll try different foods, learn some of the language, talk to people. You don't have too much money, so you'll be on transport and in the cafes with the locals. They'll still think you're filthy rich (rightfully so), but at least you won't be flaunting it too much. Basically, now is the greatest time in your life to make a serious attempt to live and experience a truly foreign culture.

Pretty much my thoughts exactly.