Showing posts with label Checklist. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Checklist. Show all posts

Wednesday 2 July 2014

Packing for the Camino

What does one take with him on a month long trek? If you take into account you have to carry your stuff on your back for the whole 800 kilometres this is not an easy decision at all.


Packing of our hiking backpacks took quite some effort during the preparation period. It all started by choosing just the right hiking shoes and backpacks.



Choosing a pair of good quality, comfortable hiking shoes is the most important thing. My guidelines were comfort, weight, ankle support, waterproof material, durability and breathability. Also keep in mind that your feet will probably be a bit swollen after a few weeks (one size larger is better than a perfect fit). For a short while I was also thinking about light running shoes but gave up the idea because of lack of water resistance and ankle support.
If you are leaning towards a lighter shoe, imagine walking on a muddy trail for 8 hours while sinking into thick mud over your ankles with every step. Without rain it is a whole different story, but unfortunately weather in May can be quite unpredictable.


It is advisable to keep the weight of the backpack under 10 percent of one's weight. However, if you weigh 50 kilograms (110 pounds) it is almost impossible to stay under 10 percent. In the end we both ended up with 2 kilograms over the recommended limit.


We chose one 34 litre and one 55 litre backpack. 55 litres was more than I needed, but it came in handy when we had to redistribute our stuff for airport regulations compliance.



Only when we were happy with our backpacks and shoes, we started thinking about what exactly to put on the checklist. This is what I took with me:


Camino Checklist
ItemQuantityPacked
Personal ID card
1
Y
Personal ID card paper copy
1
Y
Cash (EUR)
400
Y
Credit cards (Maestro, Visa)
2
Y
Money belt/pouch
1
Y
Backpack
1
Y
Mobile phone & charger
1
Y
Digital camera & charger
1
Y
MP3 Player1
N
Camino de Santiago Guidebook
1
N
Hiking shoes
1
Y
Trekking sandals (e.g. Teva)
1
Y
Flip-flops
1
Y
Trekking poles
1
Y
Sleeping bag (lightweight)
1
Y
Rain-coat / poncho (lightweight)
1
Y
Goretex jacket
1
Y
Fleece jacket
1
Y
Long sleeve shirt
1
Y
Trekking zip-off pants
2
Y
T-shirts
2
Y
Trekking socks
3
Y
Underpants
2
Y
Multifunction scarf (Buff)
1
Y
Hiking hat
1
Y
Towel (large lightweight)
1
Y
Towel (small lightweight)
1
Y
Medical bag (pills, bandage, anti-inflammatory gel,
anti-blister accessories, rehydration pills, etc.)
1
Y
Toiletries (toothbrush & paste, toilet paper,
shaving foam & razor, body & hair shampoo, etc.)
1
Y
Laundry soap
1
Y
Body & face cream
1
Y
Sunscreen
1
Y
Lip gloss (protective)
1
Y
Water bladder (2L)
1
Y
Swiss army knife
1
Y
Sunglasses
1
Y
Head lamp
1
Y
Ear plugs
1
Y
Clothes pegs
3
Y
Cigarette lighter
1
Y
Scallop shell
1
Y


A few comments on the above checklist:

I also took a mosquito repellent with me, but it proved to be useless - during the day I was walking too fast for mosquitoes and during the night there were usually many other targets in the same room.
A head-lamp is not essential, but may come in very handy if you start walking before sunrise. A mobile phone with built-in flash can serve as an emergency replacement.
A music player can also be easily replaced by your smart-phone. All you need is a pair of earphones and enough of free memory on your phone. I did not use it even once, but it did help M. to get over one of many steep hills on the way.
I chose not to pack a paper guidebook. I used a digital version on my phone. I also found one of many free Camino phone applications to be very useful.
My medical bag included:

  • painkillers with anti-inflammatory effect (e.g. Ibuprofen),
  • anti-allergy pills,
  • anti-inflammatory gel (e.g. Voltaren),
  • rehydration pills,
  • magnesium & potassium powder (for muscle regeneration and cramp prevention),
  • plasters (e.g. Compeed - worth a higher price),
  • blister prevention stick-gel (e.g. Bodyglide, Compeed),
  • elastic bandage.
I packed only a few of each and restocked in one of many pharmacies on the way if I ran out of anything.


In the end my backpack weighed 9,5 kilograms (21 pounds) - that is without any water or food. This could be easily fixed by buying a lighter backpack and changing my heavy DSLR camera for a compact version. The empty backpack and my heavyweight camera weigh 4 kilograms (9 pounds).

If you travel to the starting point of your Camino by an airplane, be careful not to pack any prohibited items into your carry-on luggage. Since we had quite a few such items on our checklist, we decided to declare one of our backpacks as checked baggage. It is usually quite a bit cheaper if you think of this at the time of booking.


Feel free to comment on this checklist and offer a suggestion of your own if you think I left something out.

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Monday 4 April 2011

Sailing Checklist


Let me just point out this is a sailing list I use for colder months. This one was used for a sailing trip in southern Adriatic (Croatia) which took place at the end of March. You should probably have that in mind when adjusting it for summer sailing trips.


Sailing Checklist
ItemQuantityPacked
Passport & Passport copy
1
Y
Passport copy
1Y
Cash (EUR)
200
Y
Cash (HRK)
1000Y
Credit cards
2
Y
GSM & charger
1
Y
Digital camera & charger
1
Y
Maps
2
N
MP3 Player
1
N
MP3 Music CDs20
Y
Sunglasses
1
Y
Swiss army knife
1
Y
Books
1
N
Board & card games3
N
Pen & paper
1
N
Teva sandals
1
Y
Trekking shoes
1
Y
Rubber boots1Y
Diving mask, snorkel & fins1N
Sailing suit (jacket & pants)
1
Y
Gloves
1
Y
Towel (bathing)
1
Y
Wind jacket
1
Y
Cap (wollen)
1
Y
Cap (baseball)
1
Y
Underpants
3
Y
T-shirts
3
Y
Socks
3
Y
Sweat shirt
2
Y
Trekking pants
1
Y
Zip-off pants
1
Y
Long sleeve shirt2
Y
Backpack (30 l)
1
Y
Short pants
1
Y
Toilet set bag (toothbrush, etc.)
1
Y
Sunscreen
1
Y
Lip gloss (protective)
1
Y
Medicine (pills, plasters, etc.)
n
Y
Condoms (pack)
1
Y
Schnapps flask (full)1
Y
Food & drinks for the road
n
Y
Head lamp1
Y
Cigarette lighter
1
Y


All of the items listed above are to be taken into consideration. Unfortunately because of lack of space I decided to leave a few (not so essential) items behind.

Food and drinks are to be provided separately. This also includes bottled drinking water which is usually not available on-board.

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Wednesday 26 September 2007

Travel checklist for Egypt


Those of you (both of my readers) who may have had your doubts about me still being alive don't need to hold your breath anymore. I came back in one piece and yes it was fantastic!


Before departure I promised to post a checklist of all the stuff I took with me to Egypt. Well finally here it is.


Below you can take a look at my detailed travel checklist for the 15 day Egyptian adventure.


Egyptian Adventure Checklist
ItemQuantityPacked
Passport & copy
1Y
Cash (EUR)300Y
Bank cards2Y
GSM & charger
1
Y
Digital camera & charger
1
Y
Extra memory cards (CF,xD)
2
Y
USB cable
1
N
Tripod
1
Y
Sunglasses
1
Y
Lonely Planet Guide
1
Y
Literature (book,mags)
2
N
Pen & paper1
Y
Bottle of schnapps
0,5 L
Y
Schnapps flask
1
Y
Battery lamp
1
Y
Ear plugs
1Y
Bags (for sand protection)
1Y
Diving mask & snorkel
1
Y
Swimming glasses
1
Y
Swiss army knife1
Y
Sleeping bag
1
Y
Toilet bag (toothbrush, etc. )
1
Y
Sunscreen
1
Y
Sun burn relief
1
Y
Diarrhea pills
1
Y
Stomach pills
1
Y
Pain killers
1
Y
Plasters (pack)
1
Y
Elastic bandage
1
Y
Disinfection moist tissues
1
Y
Condoms (pack)
1
Y
Laundry soap
1
Y
Toilet paper
2
Y
Lip gloss (protective)
1
Y
Trekking shoes
1
Y
Teva sandals
1
Y
Flip-flops
1
Y
Towel small
1
Y
Towel bathing
1
Y
Bathing suit
1
Y
Baseball cap1
Y
Backpack (30 L)
1
Y
Long sleeve shirt
2
Y
Long trousers (zipoff)
1
Y
T-shirts10
Y
Short pants
4
Y
Socks5
Y
Underpants
7
Y
Food & drinks for the roadn
Y


If you think there is something missing, please do post it in a comment.


I was also thinking about taking an electricity adapter, but I have discovered that I don't need one.

Here is a cool page where you can check electricity and socket types for every country in the World: http://users.pandora.be/worldstandards/electricity.htm.


Very useful!

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Friday 23 February 2007

Skiing checklist


I have always had problems with packing for longer trips. Usually I have started packing just hours before the actual departure. It has happened quite often that I left an item or two at home. If by a strange coincidence I didn't forget anything, I was nervous for at least a couple of days afterwards. I just had an annoying feeling that there must be something I have forgotten. Can anyone relate to that?


The photo is showing the state of our apartment after me and my girlfriend unpacked our stuff (not all of it is visible) from the car after a three week camping trip to Corsica. Try to pack that much stuff without forgetting anything. Would you believe all of this stuff was driving around in a Renault 5?


It was years ago, when a friend of mine gave me a great idea. Why not make a couple of simple Excel tables with items needed to be packed in my luggage.
I have come down to just a few travel checklists: summer camping at the seaside, summer holidays in a hotel, mountain hiking, sailing, skiing and one for business travels.
Of course all of the mentioned lists change each time according to some specifics. You also need to take into account your needs (e.g. if you regularly take some kind of medicine, you shouldn’t forget to pack it). Even I check the list every time I use it and add an item or two if necessary.


Here is a skiing checklist which I used for this months one week long trip to Italian Dolomites.

Skiing Checklist
ItemQuantityPacked
Passport1Y
Cash (EUR)500Y
Bank cards2Y
GSM & charger
1
Y
Digital camera & charger
1
Y
Maps
2
Y
MP3 Player
1
N
MP3 Music CDs20
N
Sunglasses
1
Y
Swiss army knife
1
Y
Books
1
N
Board & card games3
Y
Pen & paper
1
Y
Thermo flask
1
Y
Skis & ski-sticks
1
Y
Ski goggles1Y
Ski boots1Y
Ski suit (jacket & pants)
1
Y
Ski mitts
1
Y
Leather gloves
1
Y
Scarf
1
Y
Cap
1
Y
Socks & stockings
6
Y
Underpants
6
Y
T-shirts
6
Y
Gym-pants
1
Y
Sweat shirt
2
Y
Trekking pants
1
Y
Jeans pants
1
Y
Towel1
Y
Backpack (25 l)
1
Y
Slippers
1
Y
Trekking shoes
1
Y
Umbrella
1
Y
Bag with toilet set
1
Y
Sunscreen
1
Y
Lip gloss (protective)
1
Y
Medicine (pills, plasters, etc.)
n
Y
Condoms (pack)
1
Y
Schnapps (bottle)1
Y
Food & drinks for the road
n
Y

If you think there is something missing, please do post it in a comment.

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