Harry Potter Fun Fact: The first Harry Potter novel was published in 1998, the same year the Battle of Hogwarts took place in the last book. I open at the close.
So today’s quote doesn’t necessarily relate to my walk with Jesus but is incredibly relevant to the World Race.
“I think you’d all better go upstairs and check that you’ve packed properly.” –Molly Weasley
So I’m sure you can guess what I’m going to tell you about, and that’s what I brought with me on this adventure.
Before the Race I read so many packing blogs, and to be honest they are somewhat useless, each person is different and is going to prioritize different things. So this is what I had and what I’ve dropped, and what I have picked up in the last 8 months.
Gear
2 Person half dome Eureka! tent and footprint
REI Air rail sleeping pad
Ozark sleeping bag- $20 at Walmart not so great for cold weather.
70L REI Venus pack
LL Bean day pack
Sleeping bag liner
Black Diamond headlamp
Sea to Summit Airporter (Traded this for an Osprey airporter at launch)
Clothes: I had all of these in compression sacks, I kind of hate packing cubes.
4 v-neck t-shirts
4 t-shirts (I now have 1)
5 tank tops
1 nice shirt (I picked up another once we got to Europe)
1 short sleeved cardigan
1 long sleeved cardigan
1 hoodie
2 pairs of denim capris (I dropped one in Thailand)
1 pair of jeans
1 pair of cargo pants (dropped them in Zimbabwe, and picked up a pair of sweatpants)
2 maxi skirts
2 pairs of basketball shorts
5 pairs of socks (I pair are my dads knee socks)
Tons of underwear
1 rain jacket
Chacos
Toms
Sanuk sandals (gave them away)
Tennis shoes
Toiletries
3 sticks of sunscreen (I don’t recommend this, sometimes you get horrible burn lines that stick with you for months because of these….)
3 sticks of deodorant
2 cans of Aussie hair mousse
2 rings of hairbands (gave one of them away in Vietnam)
6 toothbrushes (I change often)
2 tubes of toothpaste
30 Vitamin C packs (Got rid of all but 5 in month 2)
Multivitamins (got rid of these month 4)
Headbands for days
Make-up
Bandaids
Benadryl and Neosporin creams
2 things of bug spray (dropped them in Vietnam)
I know there is a ton of other stuff that I probably brought with me, but I have no idea what those things were.
In the last 8 months I have learned so much about living with not that much stuff. I never thought I would be living a life where I only have 10 shirts, half of which are tank tops. I never thought I would be okay with wearing the same clothes for 3 days in a row, but that is now normal for me.
In the end, there are some essentials you should bring on the race. Your bible, journal, etc. Also I now realized I didn’t touch on what’s in my day pack, but that’s ok.
But in the end the important thing to remember when packing for the World Race is to bring the things you know you are going to want. For example I wish just about every day I had my hair straightener, so if you think that’s going to be you BRING IT!
Also just a reminder, you can buy all kinds of things overseas. People survive in all the places you are going.
Love you all!
Audrey
