Kilauea Iki Hike

What The Experts Aren't Saying About Backpacking And How It Affects You

Over the years, I'd done my fair share of packing.

I'd taken over my parents' living area sorting through 5 months of food to portion out for twenty plus, properly planned out mail drops along the Appalachian Trail. Seven years later, Bec and I'd commandeer the loved ones living area in readying for the Pacific Crest Trail.

Preparation for setting out on a cross nation bicycle trip provided its own set of distinctive demands and parameters.

In the finish, let's just say days and weeks lugging a pack on the trail and numerous miles pedalling have completed a thorough job of instilling the notion of 'bare' in bare necessities.

But, none of that ready me for the sight I laid eyes on as Bec carefully organized every little thing we apparently necessary for our inaugural household Fijian getaway for the Christmas of 2013.

There, in the spare back bedroom, correct where I constantly remembered a bed being positioned, was a pile of gear to rival that seen for an international climbing expedition at Everest Base Camp. A slight exaggeration, but only just. To be positive, it was an intimidating pile to lay eyes on.

A mountain of clothing for every occasion and potential bowel disorder started the pile followed by a proportional quantity of diapers, wipes and child powder. Then came the milk bottles, spare nipples and numerous cleaning and sterilizing accoutrements they apparently needed.

As Bec was scheduled to return to perform after the trip and had subsequently stopped breastfeeding, there were adequate packaged breakfast, lunch, dinner and snack packets to feed a backwater 3rd Globe neighbourhood for a month. Throw in some spare pacifiers, a hat, a couple bathing suits Kaia's special shampoos, soaps, sunscreen, bug spray, towels and add a compact iPod docking station (to play the lullaby music that Kaia's fickle sleep patterns depended on) and we were just about there.

We only necessary to add our stuff. Toiletries and two pairs of surf trunks and a t-shirt for me and not a lot more than that for Bec. And then, there was the Infant Bjorn carrier considering that, there was no way in hell we were adding a pram to the mix.

It was as overwhelming a pile of 'luggage' as I'd ever observed and the worst component was, apparently, we weren't really overpacking. I was incredulous but, as Bec rattled off each item's raison d'etre with the authority of a Four Star Common, I rapidly came to learn everything was really, just about, crucial.

And, in the end, Bec managed to somehow match almost everything into a single suitcase the size of Tokyo hotel room, two carry-ons and a child bag that nevertheless doesn't know what hit it.
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