What's in my bag

I read people's packing lists like I read recipes. I want tips, ideas, shortcuts, and inspiration! After spending way too many hours reading Camino veterans' advice on a forum, I knew that my 26 pound pack (above) was too heavy, but I took it out for a trial 10.5 mile hike yesterday on asphalt anyway, hoping it would be just right. The recommendation is 10 percent of a person's body weight. I hover between 145 and 150 (Man, there are going to be too many personal details in this blog entry, but since I'm revealing things, I will also say that Scott and I always weigh almost exactly the same amount.), so that would mean 15 pounds max. That's a tiny day pack!
Five miles into the hike, I kept saying to Elizabeth and Scott, "what's the big deal?" At 9 miles, my hips and feet were feeling it a bit. Below I reveal what is in the bag - yippee, it's almost like getting a glimpse inside someone's medicine cabinet. This is what I wanted and felt I needed for 7 weeks/600 miles of hiking in a rather smartly dressed country (my 4th visit in the last 10 years.)

Multi-vitamins (Alas I have to leave behind my flax seed and primrose oil and all the other vitamins I take, mostly to alleviate hormonal mood fluctuations. They work! Just ask Scott. But the weight of those big horse pills really adds up.), ibuprofen, aspirin, a couple of Benadryl (in case of bed bug reaction – I am allergic to flea bites so it could be an issue), a couple of Pepto-bismol and Tums tablets (as I recall, Europe doesn’t have anything like that amazing pink bizmuth) 

Just barely enough feminine products for 2 cycles and some plant-based progesterone cream (I’m estrogen dominant right now, damn it!)

Whew, I am looking forward to menopause. A couple more years…

 

First aid kit

Safety pins (to use as clothes pins, etc.)

Toothpaste

Antibacterial gel (apparently they don't have this in Spain)

Face wash

Dial soap

Q-tips

Nail clippers

Tiny vial of my favorite yummy smelling skin cream

Tiny vial of high quality face cream/sunscreen

Fairy-sized jar of Vaseline (toes, lips, chafing?)

Hair oil (my hair is down to my butt now and it gets dry!)

Tiny shampoo and some sample packets of shampoo (apparently pilgrims buy a regular sized bottle, then share it with everyone in the room – kind of like buying a round for everyone!)

Itzy bitzy deodorant (I hear that people just go without and stink. Not nice!I hate that smell. Reminds me of that ripe onion smell that met our noses at church growing up, the morning after the Saturday night dances at the old Grange hall.)

Roll on tiny sunscreen

Kleenex (toilet paper can be hard to come by in between towns)

Dental floss

Hair bands

One pair of earrings

Barest makeup essentials (blush compact with mirror, purple eye shadow, blue eyeliner, a broken off end of some concealer, mascara, lip gloss, tweezers! Alas, I am leaving my eyelash curler behind L)

Tooth brush

Dr. Bronners peppermint soap for clothes, and for a refreshing face wash (shampoo too?)

A comb (eeks, I never go anywhere without a bristled brush - this could get ugly)

Some leaves of pocket laundry wash (not unlike those Listerine mouth wash strips) – ultralight and they smell wonderful

Super lightweight titanium pot (many of the albergues have kitchens but not pots) and we can just cook some pasta and vegetables super cheaply as opposed to eating out all the time. There are pilgrim meals for about 10 bucks but I hear they vary widely in quality.

Mug

Camp coffee filter

Universal sink plug (lots of sinks for washing but no plugs, I hear)

Spork

Camera, cards, and charger

Ipod

Pedometer I’ve been using for years

Platypus water bag

Iphone (I use it as a device rather than a phone. It has a beefy cultural book on the Camino, Facetime to talk to the kids, maps, podcasts, some great photo editing software, and lots of other handy apps.)

Rubber tips for our hiking poles (click clacking is bothersome to other pilgrims)

Two decorated clothespins (these are apparently highly prized along the trail so it is recommended to individualize them somehow)

A card reader

Headphones

Ipod charger

Micro flashflight and 2 extra button batteries

Lots of ear plugs (the snoring is supposed to be atrocious)

Eyeshades (some pilgrims turn the lights on very early in the wee hours)

Extra shoelaces to double as a clothing line

Converter plug

 

Guidebook (will buy a compact map when we get there)

Spanish dictionary

A few Euros to get started

Journal

Tiny notebook and pen for backpack waist pocket

Two good permanent writing pens

Extra bags for dirty clothes, snacks, etc.

Mini super light weight backpack (carry on for flights and for exploring towns in the afternoons and evenings)

Reflective vest (required by law at dawn, dusk, and foggy conditions on any roadway)

25 degree down sleeping bag (really should have a lighter bag but oh well)

High quality rain jacket and pants

Fleece top

Rain fly for back pack

Inflatable pillow

Old cozy pillowcase

Sun hat with extra sahara desert flap (I read that some people get third degree burns from the sun in summer on the Camino)

Tiny microfiber washcloth

Small microfiber towel

4 socks (2 short, 2 long)

3 microfiber undies and 1 cotton

A microfiber pareo (use as blanket, wrap, skirt, scarf, towel, privacy curtain for bunk beds, etc.)

Long john bottoms and tops

Hiking shorts

Nylon walking pants (great drape for smart air travel as well)

Long sleeve button up travel shirt

Long sleeve zip travel shirt

Two cozy short-sleeved shirts

Ultra light Crocs sandals for showering and walking around after a hard day’s hike

Hiking bra and casual bra

Running shoes (I have never been able to tolerate hiking boots. Even in Nepal, I longed for my flimsy “trainers” as they call them in Europe).

A frivolous little pile of scarves (hey, they weigh almost nothing!)

Hiking poles (full body workout, helps the aging knees, always make me hike faster and stronger)

 

7 energy bars and a jar of peanut butter (We start on Easter weekend and I hear all the shops could be closed, plus I always feel better with an emergency supply of food. Spain allows 1 kilogram of food to be brought in as long as it's not meat or dairy or anything like that.)

OK, now that you have all scoffed at the superfluous and frivolous contents of my bag, I want you to know I culled out over 5 pounds and I am now carrying a bag under 20 pounds. Yes, I got rid of mascara and lip gloss, the inflatable pillow, lots of toiletries (made some smaller), some clothes, etc. Pretty much a small grocery bag of stuff. Yay! I feel a great sense of accomplishment! The only worry is that I might become a bit of a banchee without my arsenal of vitamins and my progesterone cream. Poor Scotty!

We are walking from St. Jean de Pied de Port in France all the way across to Finisterre on the coast of Spain, a distance of about 600 miles.