Our RTW Legacy Site
This is a quick one.
How much do you think it would cost to do a round the world trip for one year (if you stay out of Europe since that’s a money sinkhole these days)?
Respond with a number in the comments and any further details you feel like adding. We’ll follow this up with a post detailing our budget plans and how they align with how the rest of you think.
Remember that stack of guidebooks I brought home a few weeks ago?
Yeah, that one.
Well, just in case anyone is keeping score, I’ve now made my way through 3.5 of them—Nicaragua, Venezuela, Peru, and half of Ecuador. Jeff, on the other hand, is sporting a big fat zero in his total read column. He claims that he has been very busy, which, I’ll admit, he has. But it’s not as though I’ve been slacking. Between the day job and the hiking guidebook writing gig, free time is hard to come by around here. I do have the advantage of Metro rides, however, which are excellent for reading. And there’s the fact that I like to read, and I like to plan, and he’s not so hot on either.
Anyhow, as I’ve been reading, I’ve been jotting down notes—things like where I want to go, how easy/hard it is to get there, how many days to spend in said location and in transport, how pricey it is, the best time of year to go, etc. The end goal is to shape it all into a loose itinerary, so we can do things like buy plane tickets, arrange for friends and family to meet us at specific points, and be certain that we’re not missing anywhere that we feel very strongly about.
Looking back at my notes on the places I want to visit, a very strong trend has emerged. Almost every place I’ve listed is a hot spot for outdoor activity. They are places where you can go on long treks, scale volcanoes, kayak through islets, mountain bike through jungles, raft raging rivers, camp with wild animals, etc. Sounds cool, right? Obviously, I think so. I mean, I think hiking 30 miles every weekend for 6 months is a good time. The problem is that it isn’t tenable. First, it gets pricey. You have to rent equipment, hire guides, get to out-of-the-way locales, pay admission fees, etc. But second, and perhaps most importantly, it’s exhausting. Though we’re pretty fit (and will be even more so once this hiking book is complete), we’re not crazy ultrasport people. We don’t have mad endurance. Our bodies just aren’t going to tolerate being pushed to extremes day after day. (Not to mention the kind of mood I’d probably end up in because I can just imagine how freaking hungry I’d be!)
So what we need to find is balance. Awesome outdoor adventures mixed with relaxing days in small towns or even busy days in big cities (but where we’d get a chance to shower and sleep in a bed). Yet, every time I flip a guidebook to a section about a city, I find myself uninterested. Church, museum, plaza, yada yada yada. Maybe it’s just the way they’re described. Maybe these guidebooks simply fail to capture the spirit I’m looking for. I mean, I’m not anti-city. I love New York. I love Berlin. I’ve had a great time in Stockholm, Rome, Paris, London, Dublin… But so far, I haven’t stumbled across a city description that gets my soul soaring the way the descriptions of the wild places do.
Maybe when I get to the Argentina book and Buenos Aires? I’ll let you know.
But for now, you let me know. Do you move to the beat of the city or the rhythm of nature? What is the best city you’ve ever visited, and what is it that makes a city fabulous for you? Come on, give me some reasons to start adding some cities to my list.
Taking a trip outside of the United States is a little bit like going to kindergarten—you have to be sure you have your shots or you might not be admitted. Whether it’s from having a member of the opposite sex touch you on the playground (the formally established way of getting cooties) or having someone poop on their hand and then touch your food (the less established but much more terrifying way of getting cooties), no one wants to get the bug.
So I’ve been doing a bit of research on the Center for Disease Control’s Travel page to determine just how many times Jeff and I need to get stuck in the arm before we set out and what the various concoctions will protect us against. By using their destination list to investigate every possible country we might visit on our round the world trip, I came up with a comprehensive list:
Additionally, we need all the standard immunizations, the ones we had to get as kids—diphtheria, pertussis, measles, mumps, rubella… Fortunately, we didn’t have crazy parents who thought vaccines were evil, so we’re all good here.
So what this breaks down to is eight vaccines. One—yellow fever—is required. Two—hepatitis a and b—we already have. Three—tetanus, typhoid, polio—are recommended and we plan to get. And two—Japanese encephalitis and rabies—we aren’t certain about.
Why not just go ahead and get them all, you ask? Well, for one, I don’t really like getting stabbed in the arm and I don’t want to risk side effects if the vaccines aren’t necessary. Am I actually going to be somewhere where Japanese encephalitis is prevalent and will I be there in the season when the mosquitoes that carry it are active? Since I still have to get all the rest of the rabies shots, will having one really do me any good?
The second issue is simple, money.
Even though Jeff and I are lucky to have fabulous insurance, we’re left high and dry when it comes to adult immunizations. Apparently they’d rather treat the typhoid after we get it. So how much is it going to cost us to get all these immunizations? Well, oddly enough, figuring that out is tough. You’d think one dose of yellow fever vaccine would have a set cost, but you’d be wrong. I called various clinics—public and private—in DC and Maryland and even one in Kentucky, and I got a range of prices—from $90 to $150 for yellow fever. Obviously, go with the cheap one, right? Well, um, not necessarily, because while they might have a low price for yellow fever, their typhoid price could be sky high. And don’t forget that office visit charge. I’ve outlined the price range for each vaccine that we definitely plan to get below:
And though it looks like we could get away with it costing $225 each, that’s not the case, since no one place offers all of the shots at the lowest price. If we get vaccinated here in our area, we’ll each be paying a minimum of $310. (I got these price quotes a few months ago, so they may have gone up.) In Louisville, we could get them for $281 (but of course, we’d have to pay to get there, so that’s no savings, unless we’re already in town for some other reason). Ouch! And that’s the cost, not the stab in the arm.
Add in the vaccines we’re not sure about and the cost soars. Japanese encephalitis requires three jabs, at approximately $90 a piece, and the rabies shot also requires three shots, priced at over $150 a poke. So you’re looking at $270 for the Japanese encephalitis and $450 for the rabies! I’m not one to take health concerns lightly, and I do value my life very highly, but you have to wonder where to draw the line. What’s being smart and what’s being paranoid?
[poll id=5]
It seems we’re back in full swing here at LOW. This is because Theresa came home today with a stack of books about eight high, covering the full scope of South America. So it seems she was serious about her request to get things more organized once I got home. Anyway, stay tuned for plenty more updates and we get further and further planned. But that is not what I want to discuss today. I want help from all of you in internet-land.
We have decided to take a computer with us. This, in fact, has been decided for a while, but thinking about it again has been sparked by the current inability of our desktop computer to stay powered on. Like a teenager (in fact, that might actually be how old it is), it’s getting very touchy when you ask it to do anything. So its time to start looking for a new one. Anyway, having a computer with us will make blogging so much easier, Theresa will be able to do some freelance writing, and we’ll be able to look at our pictures as we go, and perhaps watch a movie now and again.
So as the technically inclined one of our little duo, it pretty much falls to me to figure this out. But I’m struggling to figure out what type of computer we’ll want to have, let alone a particular model. Here’s what we’d ideally like: an easily portable, incredibly durable, powerful, long-lasting laptop for a minimum of dollars. These, unfortunately, don’t exist, and we’re going to have to compromise somewhere. Let me lay out some of the options I’ve been researching for you.
Ultra-portable: These are all the rage lately, like the eee pc and the samsung q1. They’re tiny, shiny, relatively inexpensive, and … not very useful at all. They combine tiny screens with poor processors and very little memory, which, with the amount of pictures we’ll take and work with, probably won’t cut it. Combine that with a tiny and uncomfortable keyboard and I don’t think we’re in business.
12″ and under: Businessman love these workhorse type computers. Small and light, pretty durable, relatively powerful, but very expensive. We’re talking over 2 grand for a computer that isn’t much more powerful than our finicky desktop (though hopefully they have much less sass). A top of the line computer in this class probably would be our choice if money was no object.
14″ and under: Now we’re getting into the relatively larger laptops (though the MacBook Air technically fits in this category). Nevertheless, as we’re just backpacking around, size and weight is a big issue. These are the laptops that are more inexpensive and more powerful, but with every dollar you save you sacrifice a little durability and a little size. I’m a big fan of Macs now that I use one at work, so a regular MacBook is definitely in the running. Its funny to talk about Apple as a value purchase, but the basic MacBook definitely represents one to me. I don’t like the lack of an SD port though. The MacBook Air doesn’t have enough ports in general to make me happy, and frankly, I’d be scared to break the thing.
So not that that is a complete review, but I’m sure many of you out there know much more about this than I do. Right now the competition seems to be between a MacBook and a higher end 12″ or so laptop. We’re looking for something that will have a quality, long lasting battery, an SD slot (I know the MacBook doesn’t have this =( ), decent power, all the internet connectivity ports you can cram in, durable construction, and low price. Does anyone know the magic solution? Has anyone traveled backpacker style with a laptop? What did you find to be the most important factors? Thanks for all the input guys.
Ok, guys, this is it. Now that I’m back state-side, the time has come to start planning an itinerary more specific than “we will be on this continent …” So what we need to know from all of you in internet-land is when and where you want to meet us for some adventure. Consider this an open invitation. We love having visitors and on the trip I’m sure we’ll be itching for the company. If you’ve been inspired by somewhere we’re planning on going and want to meet us there, let us know and we’ll try to fit it in our schedule (the general dates listed below are non-negotiable). If you want to read more on generally where we want to go, we’ve outlined it in our posts on:
Southeast Asia (Apr 2009 – June 2009)
South America (Nov 2008 – Mar 2009)
Nepal and Northern India (July 2009) – no post yet but consider us open to anything in the area.
So let’s have ’em! (Greg, your previous four posts on the subject have already reserved you a spot for Machu Picchu … but when exactly?)
With the official beginning of spring yesterday, complete with a Mariners victory, I got to thinking. About two things actually. One part of me wondered how I am going to do without baseball (or all the other major american sports to honest) for an entire year. I mean, a year of occasionally reading internet reports in the leftover internet cafe time we have will not satisfy my need for sports coverage. Argue if you want about the importance of such things, but they’re definitely a big part of my everyday routine. We have ESPN on as often as all our other TV channels combined. It’s ritualistic to watch football on fall Sundays, watch baseball late into the evening (Theresa likes it because it puts her to sleep), participate in the national phenomenon that is March Madness. Shoot, I’ve already missed that this year. I hate February solely because it is the single most boring sports month there is (it doesn’t help that it’s cold and miserable too). In fact, having not thought about it before, doing without my sports be one of the bigger changes I’ll have to deal with.
The other half of me started to think of ways to cope with this sports void. So I began thinking of all the sports and events I could attend while we were traveling. Here’s my top five:
1. Soccer match in South America. The bigger the better. Their reputation definitely puts my fanaticism to shame. Brazil – Argentina maybe? That might be a little too much. Anyway, I’m sure we’ll find plenty of opportunities to see teams the locals are nuts about, seeing how that’s just about everyone everywhere.
2. Winter League baseball in Venezuela. Hey, a man’s gonna get his baseball fix somewhere. And as a fan of minor league and college baseball, I love the purity of the sport when it’s not for the money but everyone is still ridiculously talented.
3. Cricket match in India. I gotta see what this sport is cracked up to be. I’ve never understood the thing, maybe because it’s like baseball but completely different with completely crazy names for everything. But over 250 million Indians can’t be wrong, can they? And I’m sure they’d say baseball is cricket’s messed up brother. I think I’ll try to attend a single day match, instead of one of these five day marathon test matches.
4. Rugby match in South Africa. Another sport in its homeland (though I’m sure my British and Australian friends would disagree). I wonder if Theresa will go to any of these at all with me? Maybe I’ll just make friends with the hooligans at the matches instead. I hear they’re great.
5. Elephant polo in Thailand/India. How could this not be totally awesome? My only concern, though, is how do you watch without the threat of trampling? As an interesting side note, in my research, I learned that DC has its own elephant polo team. Fascinated by the idea of many elephants stampeding across the National Mall hitting a small ball (and inquisitive about where they get said elephants … the zoo?), I went to sign up, only to be heartily disappointed upon reading this:
“At the very least, you must be able to travel as elephant polo is only played where elephants are to be found, i.e. Asia.”
Nuts! My hilarious visions thwarted! But, it does leave open the possibility of getting to play a game of elephant polo while we are on the road. And that is surely an opportunity I would have to take.
So sports fans, what sporting events have you guys seen and loved/loathed in other countries? Any recommendations of specific events coming up in 2008/2009? What would you imagine would be a great event to attend? Help a guy get his fix!
Take a look at the State Department’s Information Sheets for each of the world’s countries, and you may want to never leave your home. Should you leave the friendly (?) confines of the United States, you will likely be robbed, raped, stabbed, shot, and then buried in an unmarked grave. You may also be the target of a terrorist event, particularly in Europe, where, I quote “open borders…allow the possibility for terrorist groups to enter/exit the country with anonymity.” Even in countries that seem relatively benign, the alarmist State Department can come up with something for you to worry about. For instance, did you know that when in Austria, you “should be particularly careful not to leave valuables at [your] table while serving [yourself] from the breakfast buffet”?
Sure, the State Department has a responsibility to alert U.S. citizens to the threats that may face when traveling, but shouldn’t the warnings come with a reality check? After all, the same exact things are just as likely (if not more likely) to happen to you while you’re in America. In case, you weren’t aware our crime rate is relatively high, particularly in our cities, and our rate of gun crime is, in fact, much higher than it is in many other countries. A few months ago, my friend Jessica met a British guy at a restaurant here in DC who was absolutely convinced he was going to be shot while here. I’ve lived here nearly four years now and never once thought that, nor really ever felt even remotely unsafe. But, hey, if you look at the DC murder numbers without any context, you might be fearful too. Too bad the State Department doesn’t do an information sheet for the U.S. That would certainly be interesting.
Now don’t get me wrong. I’m not a laugh-in-the-face of danger kind of girl. I have no wild desire to go anywhere where my life would be in real danger. But as I plan this trip, I’ve been confronted with the consternation of figuring out what places are actually “dangerous.”
I, for one, will immediately put any location in the middle of a war in the category of dangerous. But what about countries that aren’t at war, per se, but are led by men (yes, always men) who are more than a little unstable. Iran, for instance, or North Korea. Would I really be in danger if I went to either of these? Perhaps, I honestly don’t know. (Don’t worry, Mom, I don’t plan on finding out.)
And how about Venezuela, Columbia, or Bolivia? Columbia, interestingly enough considering all the bad press it gets, has a pro-American government, and I’ve heard nothing but raves about it from other travelers. The kidnapping/rebel thing is a little unnerving admittedly, but what are the actual facts on that? Venezuela and Bolivia both have socialist governments that aren’t exactly fond of America, but what have they actually done to cause us to be fearful of them? And come on, let’s be honest, they aren’t the only countries down on America right now.
With the exception of the most committed world politics junkies, most of us have fairly spotty knowledge of what is happening around the globe. Keeping up with our own lives can be trouble enough sometimes. And in the end, we’re forced to rely on the information we have at hand…newspapers, television news reports, the State Department website. At best, these sources are incomplete. At worst, they’re biased. So what’s a traveler to do? Best I can figure, you follow the news (but rely on more than American sources for a well-rounded perspective), talk to other travelers who have recently been to the area you’re interested in, trust your instincts, be smart, and for Pete’s sake don’t leave your belongings unattended while you gorge at the breakfast buffet.
So go ahead and tell me what you think. Where won’t you travel because of safety concerns and/or what causes you to deem a place unsafe?
Yesterday, during our near-daily phone conversation, I mentioned to Jeff that once he gets home, I want to really dive into the planning and begin a full-fledged attack of the to-do list. Among the things I specified was forming an itinerary that is a little more toothy than our current itinerary, which isn’t much more than general time frames for entire continents. Though I don’t want to get obsessive and plan where we’ll be every day of every month, I do want something a little more concrete. We’ll need some specifics in order to book the framework flights we want to have in place before we depart, and I want to be sure that we don’t miss out on something we really want to do because we didn’t do any planning.
As I ranted about this, falling into one of my “oh my gosh we have to do this right now or everything is just going to fall to pieces” moments (don’t say I don’t know my own faults…), Jeff stepped in to remind me that while we’d at least laid out all the places we might possibly want to go in Asia and Africa, we hadn’t done the same for South America. I’m not exactly sure why it got neglected—maybe because our original plan had us stopping in South America last rather than first, maybe because it feels a bit more familiar than Africa or Asia—but it’s high time we rectified that. So here they are, the many places in South America that capture our imaginations and appeal to our sense of adventure.
Venezuela: Yes, yes, we know. Chavez is a loon, and he has a special distaste for America. It’s not the political conditions we’d pick if this were a choose-your-own-adventure, but damn if we can’t control everything. We don’t, however, consider the situation dangerous. Of course, things can turn on a dime, so we do have a bit of wait and see approach to whether Venezuela makes the final cut, but there are so amazing places there we’d love to see. Mount Roraima, otherwise known as the Lost World, tops our list. We both became obsessed with this wonderland of relatively untouched and unexplored nature thanks to a Discovery Channel production called “The Real Lost World.” (Watch it, and I promise that you’ll add Roraima to your must-see list too.) The only true way to explore it is on a challenging trek lasting a minimum of five days, which we really hope to do. Once in Venezuela, we’d have to hit Angel Falls, since it’s only the world’s highest waterfall, and both the Los Roques Archipelago and Parque Nacional Mochima look like good places to recover after a long, hard trek.
Brazil: Famed for its wild Carnival, tiny bikinis, beautiful beaches, Amazon river and rainforest, and, of course, the girl from Ipanema, Brazil is a country of extremes. Obviously, we have to spend a little bit of time at the beach, though which one is a good question. In the March 2008 issue of National Geographic Traveler, Stanley Stewart detailed his search for the perfect spot on what was deemed “the five thousand mile beach.” That’s a whole lot of sand! Fortunately, I deemed every spot he visited a good spot to unroll my beach towel, so I don’t think we can go too terribly wrong. Then, as I posted previously, Amazon and Brazil are synonymous in my mind, so I’m not sure we can leave without venturing into the jungle or down the river. Finally, we’d be remiss to ignore Rio de Janerio. (What’s that song about Rio? I always somehow manage to sing the ‘Rio de Janeiro’ part of it to the tune of ‘Meet the Flintstones.’ Odd, I know, but I can’t carry a tune to save my life.) The question with Rio is whether we try to arrange our schedule to be there for Carnival. Many claim it’s one of those things you just have to do if you have the opportunity, but I’ve often found those things to be the things I most want to avoid. What would you do?
Ecuador: Long before I knew about the Galapagos Islands, I knew about Ecuador, thanks to a priest we had for a brief period at my elementary school named Father Joe (last name unknown). He usually lived and worked in Ecuador, and because he was cool (and not old and dull like the other priests I knew), I decided Ecuador was cool. And I was right. You can’t argue that the Galapagos Islands are anything but awesome. Penguins, humongous tortoises, seals, all kinds of birds, and the world’s most famous boobies. If that’s not cool, I don’t know what is. Though dwarfed by the Galapagos, there are other cool things in Ecuador, including Quito and the supposedly awesome market in nearby Otavalo, and opportunities to explore the Amazon jungle.
Peru: One of the world’s most stunning architecture sites is located in Peru, and it was built thousands of years before the “starchitects” of today. (Thanks, Gregory, for that reference.) Machu Picchu sits atop our list for our time in Peru, and we definitely want to approach it by foot. Whether that is on the famous Inca Trail (which is now heavily regulated and must be reserved in advance) or on one of the alternate trails remains to be determined. Cuzco sounds like much more than just a jumping off point for this trip. That’s good news since we’ll probably need at least a few days there to acclimate to the altitude. After Machu Picchu, next on our list is every grade school student’s favorite lake—Lake Titicaca—where we’d like to visit its islands and perhaps do a homestay with a local family. Colca Canyon and the Amazon (again) round out the sites that have really stood out to us.
Bolivia: I once had a penpal in Bolivia. He wasn’t Bolivian, but was rather an American guy I played soccer with in the alternate years when his family wasn’t doing missionary work in this South American country. I don’t know if he ever told me all that much about the country itself, and the last time I saw him he was driving an ice cream truck. Good story, huh? Anyhow, if there’s one thing drawing me to Bolivia, it’s the Salar de Uyuni, the world’s largest salt flat, a place where land and sky are often indistinguishable. It’s a crazy Salvador Dali landscape brought to life. If we’re feeling particularly ballsy, we may also want to try biking “the world’s most dangerous road,” although I have to say that goes against my very nature. And as with Brazil, Ecuador, and Peru, Bolivia offers opportunities to see the Amazon jungle, and as a bonus feature also visit the Pantanal. (If you never voted in our Amazon poll, you still can register your opinions about where and in what way we see this wonder.)
Chile: For being such a skinny country, Chile certainly has a lot to offer. Thanks to its stunning snow-capped peaks and glacier mountains, some compare Chile’s Lake District to Switzerland, and I have to say that I love Switzerland. With waterfalls, volcanoes, and hot springs to accompany the peaks and lakes, there’s really very little to complain about, especially if you throw in the highly-regarded wines and some fresh seafood. Chiloe Island offers some interesting kayaking opportunities, and though it’s highly unlikely we’d make it to Easter Island due to costs and time restraints, I can’t claim that I’m not fascinated. Finally, there’s Torres del Paine and Tierra del Fuego in Chile’s Patagonia, which just might be the area I’m most excited about. The beauty is phenomenal, the environment terribly fragile, and the opportunity for active pursuits abundant. Hiking either the circuit or the “w” route in Torres del Paine is sure to be a highlight. And I’d love to see all the wildlife I just watched in the National Geographic special “Eden at the End of the World.” Those elephant seals are crazy! And who doesn’t like penguins?
Argentina: I’m really not much of a city person, as witnessed by this list and our Africa and Asia lists, but I have to admit that I’m excited about visiting the cosmopolitan city of Buenos Aires. After a few months on the road, I think it will be an excellent spot for regrouping and recharging. I also plan to eat some serious steaks while I’m there. My mouth is watering thinking about it. On the way south from Buenos Aires, I’d like to visit the pampas, stay at an estancia, and meet a gaucho…maybe even ride a horse across the Argentinian plains, though I have no horseriding skills even having grown up in horse country. I think I have been on a horse once, and I certainly didn’t do any galloping. Rounding out the itinerary is, again, Patagonia, with Los Glaciares National Park the biggest attraction on the Argentinian side of the Andes.
So what do you think? I figure we have about 20 weeks in South America, which once upon a time seemed like a long time, but now seems like nothing. Given that, where would you go? And what sites would you move to the “maybe next time” list?
Since our trial run with our bags, we’ve been asked a number of times, exactly what we are planning to put in said bags. Packing for a year is certainly a daunting task, especially when you need to carry everything that you need on your back. We’ve made a conscious decision to try to “follow the sun,” or travel in a direction in which we maximize good weather. Yet without ever venturing into winter, we’ll stay face a wide range of weather. Summer in Patagonia isn’t exactly warm, and it’s always cool at high elevations. The jungle, however, is going to be plenty warm, even if we were to be there in winter. We’ll also be doing an array of activities, from adventure trekking to museum and church visiting. Did I mention that packing isn’t easy? But we think we’ve come up with a pretty good packing list, and thus we’ve decided to share it here on our site. If you look at the menu bar at the top of the page, you’ll see a new addition called “Details”. Click on it and you’ll find a link to our packing list. (Although at this point it’s missing Jeff’s clothing list. He’ll be adding that himself soon. I have to at least pretend that he gets to decide what he’s taking 🙂 ) As our planning progresses, we’ll be adding more information to this page, so check back regularly.
Now go ahead and critique our list. Leave a comment telling me what I forgot to include or what I ought to leave behind.
When it comes time to take a trip, the most important packing decision isn’t what clothes to take or what shoes to leave behind; it’s what bag to put it all in. We’ve all been saddled with the wrong bag at some point or another: the duffel that feels like a concrete block when it’s packed, the rolling suitcase that repeatedly flips over as your run for your flight; the backpack that makes you feel as if you’re going to topple over backwards. On a round the world trip, the last thing you want is to be aggravated by your bag, since you’re going to be spending lots and lots of quality time with it. (Lisa Lubin, a fellow round the world traveler, referred to her bag as her boyfriend in a recent blog post.) Last weekend Jeff and I, having picked up the bags he ordered from the REI sale, set about to deciding what we were going to use to lug around all the worldly possessions we’ll need.
A backpack is pretty much the only way to go on a trip such as this. If you’re doing a grand tour of world capitals, then maybe you can consider a rolling bag, but even then, think of those cute cobblestone European streets and imagine your bag bumping along them. Not pretty, right? And since we’re sticking to third world countries and chicken buses, a backpack it is. But what type. As we see it, there are two main options. One option is a travel backpack. This option is noted for its large zippered opening, which allows you to lay the bag flat and pack it in a manner similar to a duffel bag. It often features a zip-off daypack, and a panel that zips up to cover the straps and thus make it more airplane-friendly. Eagle Creek is a well-known manufacturer of this style of backpack. The second option is a trekking backpack. This pack can be identified by its top-loading style and its more streamlined style. These are the type of backpacks that people use on long hikes/treks, and are thus designed with comfort while carrying as the primary concern.
Loads and loads of RTW travelers will tell you that you’re an idiot if you choose to carry anything other than a travel backpack. Yet, despite much searching, neither Jeff nor I have found a bag of this style that we like. The problem I’ve had with most is the way in which they distribute weight. I feel like I’m going to end up on my back, legs flailing in the air, like an overturned turtle. I’m also not pleased by the starting weight of these packs. Since 25 pounds is already 25% of my bodyweight (and the maximum weight I plan to carry), I don’t want to start out with a pack that weighs 5 pounds empty. That’s more than one pair of shoes…and yes, I do plan to take four, and no don’t try to convince me otherwise.
So I think we’ve decided to go with the trekking style pack, which in the end, makes the most sense for us, as it’s what we are most comfortable with. It will also be ideal since we plan on doing a number of treks (Patagonia, Inca Trail, Anapurna Circuit, etc.) during our trip. But unfortunately, making that decision didn’t really put us any closer to choosing our bags. As you can see, we have a lot of options. (And this isn’t even showing the bag Jeff picked up on REI clearance a few days later.)
We were able to weed out a few of these relatively quickly, however. Both the blue-checked Gregory pack and the yellow BCA pack were determined to be too small, and the Eagle Creek pack was determined to be too large. (It’s also a travel backpack, and was never seriously in contention, although Jeff makes good use of it on his travels back and forth from Sweden. He left yesterday with that bag in tow, carrying much more gear for his one month stay there than we plan to take for our entire year. Given it is winter, and he does plan to travel to the Arctic Circle [more on that in a future post].)
So, how to make the final decision? We could only think of one good way and that was to get together all the gear we planned to take, pack it up in each of the bags, and try each on. And that’s what we did—digging through our drawers, cabinets, closets, and storage area to gather up all we planned to take. Being the listmaker that I am, I already had a packing list saved on the computer. Here’s what the gear looks like laid out. (Sorry, our bedspread makes a poor background.)
And then, fully aware of the pain that digging through a backpack (especially a toploader) in search of one shirt, sock, or pair of underwear can be, we organized all of our gear using stuff sacks and packing cubes. Hopefully, we’ll stay in most places for a number of nights in a row, allowing us to unpack and spread things out, but for those one night stays, this system will help us stay organized. The picture below shows all of my clothes, except socks, bras, and underwear which were in another small bag that didn’t make it into the picture. Not bad, huh?
My two contending backpacks were a 45L ultralight REI pack and a 52L Osprey pack. The Osprey is a new purchase, the REI pack has been on a number of trips with me, including our adventure through the Grand Canyon.
Jeff’s contenders were both REI packs, one the 50L Gemini that he’s used on our previous trips and the other a new 65L Ridgeline.
We both definitely feel some affection for our old packs…they’re tried and true friends. I, however, must say that I’m a little concerned about the ultralight material holding up on mine, and we both have some issues with size. Though everything does fit into our old bags, they’re both pretty darn full. Not a lot of room for error. As for the new packs, I think we were both pleasantly surprised, considering the sheer number of other packs we’ve tried and rejected. The extra space is nice, although I fear that it might tempt us to pack more than we need, and both proved comfortable. I was very pleased when I jumped on the scale with my fully-loaded pack and found it to weigh only 17 pounds! Admittedly, my toiletries weren’t in the pack and probably a few other odds and ends, but still it should end up quite manageable. (And let me say here that I only plan to carry the backpack at full weight between transportation and accommodations. On our trekking trips, I’ll pack just what I need and leave the rest at our hostel/hotel to be picked up upon our return.)
Final decision, you ask? Well, despite the fact that we filled all the competing bags up, weighed them, walked around with them, did side-by-side comparisons, and discussed every pro/con/detail that we could come up with, neither of us made a final decision. We each still have two bags in the running. But I think we’re okay with that. We’ll make our final choice when we’re packing for real (eek…that will be a bit scary). I think for now we’re content knowing that we each have a pack (or two) that we’ll be happy to heave and ho around the world.
(With Jeff’s old bag, my new bag, and our camera bag, this is what it looks like when everything is packed away. It will be interesting to see if it looks pretty much the same come departure day.)
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