Packing, packing, and re-packing

I think I have watched every single 'camino packing' video available on youtube, and I've packed and repacked my bag 3 or 4 times. I have also gone through and weighed every single item I was planning to take to further refine my list. It's a fine balance between having what you need, and carrying the least weight possible. The pack weight recommendation is 10% of your body weight (excluding water), so I should be aiming for 5-6kg, which does not seem possible!

We are travelling Sept-October which is early to mid-Autumn in Europe. It's quite hard to get a gauge of what the temperatures will be like comparatively, many from the UK and US report the weather as warm, but monitoring over the past month, while it has been late Summer in Europe, the temperatures have been fairly similar to our Queensland winter. Except this week, as they are having a heat wave! So clothing that can be layered seems to be the key.

As part of preparation we have also sprayed our backpacks and sleeping bags with "Hovex Germgard Bed Bug and Flea Killer" which reports to have 6 months residual protection.

The rest of this post is probably only useful for backpacking nerds!

What I'm taking (including item weights)

Back pack and water system

I've decided to go with a water bladder, as that is what I use when I'm hiking and it works well for me. I have a 2.5L bladder but I will likely only fill it to 1.5L each morning and then top it up over the day. My back pack is bigger than needed for this trip, but I'm not about to go out and purchase another one, so I have removed the 'brain' to make it a little smaller and I will put that inside the pack

• Osprey Eja 58L back pack 1230g

• Osprey Hydraulics LT 2.5L bladder 170g

Sleeping bag

Some people just take a liner, but I really don't like to get cold! I was going to take my cheaper synthetic sleeping bag, which would be easier to clean if we have any bed bug issues. But my Sea to Summit Traveller 2 down sleeping bag is 300g lighter, so I made the swap. It is non-hooded so folds out to a blanket very easily. I will take it loose in the bottom of my pack, not in this storage bag and not in a compression sack.

• Sea to Summit Traveller 2 regular length 645g

Miscellaneous items in the brain

I will still be taking the brain of my pack, just packed on the inside. I'm keeping a few miscellaneous items in this, including a needle and blue cotton thread so I can sew a camino patch on my pack while I'm travelling.

• Tampons 105g

• Buff 40g

• Zip lock bags 10g

• Lock 10g

• Notebook & pen 170g

• Blue thread and needle 5g

• Pillow 80g

• Packable backpack 105g

• Face masks 10g

• Vaseline 60g

First Aid

I've really tried to keep this minimal, and remember that the are lots of towns and chemists on the walk where I can pick things up. Medicines I have cut down to 1 strip each of paracetamol and ibuprofen (for the first few days), antihistamine, ondansetron. The rest of the kit is basically blister care. Lucky for me Toni is also bringing some extra 'just-in-case' medicines.

• Sea to Summit dry bag 45g

• Bandaids/tapes 35g

• Medicines 30g

• Regular medications (not pictured) 80g

• Tubigrip 65g

• Hikers wool 65g

• Scissors 25g

• Insect repellent stick 35g

• Cork ball 40g

Toiletries

I have let a couple of extra 'luxury' items sneak in with my toiletries (namely a small amount of makeup). I got the smaller Sea to Summit toiletry bag to force myself to pack light. I used water soluble paper to make cleanser paper with my regular cleanser, following a YouTube video, and it turned out quite successfully and is much lighter than carrying liquids. I plan to use my sunscreen for both face and body.

• Sunscreen 60g

• Deoderant 60g

• Lip balm 5g

• Concealer/mascara/brows/brush 40g

• Moisturiser 35g

• Nappy bags 5g

• Face halo/washer 5g

• Soap 40g

• Tweezers 10g

• Nail clippers 45g

• Towel (Etrol brand, from Temu) 90g

• Cleaner paper 20g

• Shampoo/conditioner sample 25g

• Hairbrush 35g

• Razor 10g

• Toothbrush 5g

• Toothpaste 25g

• Mirror (came with bag) 15g

• Sea to Summit hanging toiletry bag 65g (80g including mirror)

Toileting and bumbag

Usually when we are hiking I carry my female urinary device (Tinkle Belle) near my waist on the outside of my pack for easy access. Hence I included my bumbag in this group too, because it's similar carry location for me.

• 4monster bum bag 85g

• Silver containing cloth 10g

• Tinkle Belle (aka She wee) 45g

• Hand soap paper 5g

• Tissues 20g

• Sea to Summit ultrasil 1L bag 20g

Rain/Weather protection

I'm trying something new and going pretty light in this section. My thoughts are I can buy a cool poncho (blue with a yellow pilgrim shell) while on the walk if I need it. The umbrella protects from both rain and sun, I love a dual purpose item! As I'm not taking a backpack cover, I have a large pack liner I can use in the rain if needed. I'll be keeping my sleeping bag in it, so I can easily add the remainder of my items to it if needed. My whole back pack can actually fit inside it if needed for any reason.

• Visor 45g

• Waterproof wind breaker 110g

• Hiking umbrella 175g

• Osprey Large Pack Liner 75L 180g

Clothing

As mentioned, layers are key so I've kept that in mind with this list. I am a bit paranoid about getting cold!

• S2S stuff sack 70g

• Merino nightie (doubles as town dress) 195g

• Seamless long sleeve top (Aldi) 110g

• 2XU long sleeve 1/4 zip 220g

• Patagonia merino t-shirt 90g

• 2XU singlet 55g

• Shorts (amazon) 160g

• Town/comfy pants (amazon) 230g

• 2XU compression leggings 190g

• Patagonia nano puffer jacket 295g

• 2XU Compression socks 65g

• Injinji wool toe socks x2 100g

• Mountain designs merino socks x2 100g

• Bonds sleep/town bra 50g

• Rockwear sports bra 150g

• Bikini bottom 70g

• Undies x3 (not pictured) 90g

Footwear and Poles

• Salomon XA Rogg shoes 520g

• Teva Sandals 460g

• Black Diamond Distance Carbon FLZ poles 320g

• S-hooks, caribeners 20g

Laundry

This will go in Graham's pack to carry. The scrubba bag has little bumps on the inside that help to agitate and wash the clothes inside. Basically you put your clothes in, pop the laundry sheet in, fill with water and roll shut. Swish your clothes around in it for a bit. Let the water out and rinse a few times then voila! Clean clothes.

• Scrubba bag 140g

• Laundry paper sheets 15g

• Clothes line 35g

Electronics

This will also go in Graham's bag, I imagine he will add a few of his own things before packing it.

• Snap powerbank/converter 260g

• Cords/adapters 70g

• Headtorch 60g

• Watch charger 15g

• Loop earlugs 5g

• Sea to Summit 1L dry bag 30g

DRUM ROLL PLEASE...

Final weight is within range so far! This is minus one set of clothes and shoes (which I will be wearing). I do need to add sunglasses and some first aid cream to this list, so it may go up about 50g.

If you made it this far, well done, there is a good chance you are a super nerd!