Getting It All Together

The fare had been paid and seats selected. The trip was on and there was no backing out of it now. Packing for a backpacking trip has to be intentional. It’s very different from packing for a vacation involving air travel with a baggage allowance of one 15-pound carry-on and two 50-pound roller bags packed to capacity. (Your airline might only allow one checked bag or maybe, you can take 70 pounds.) I often return from such vacations and find myself putting things back on the shelf that I thought I might wear or need but never did – that other pair of shoes, jacket or turban that matches my shirt so much better. When the luggage is going to be hauled in the luggage hold of an airplane, the trunk of a car, the luggage rack of a train, or by a coolie, it is easy to pack that one additional accessory that might come in handy. It is easy to bring along my SLR camera with different lenses, flash, tripod, and various other attachments. But when it is all literally going to be on your shoulders, each object must be thoughtfully considered.

I had exactly three days to pack for the backpacking trip and the only backpack I had was my laptop bag. That was not going to cut it. With a little help from online articles and a trip to Academy, the local sporting goods store, I settled on a 40-liter backpack. It had two zippered sections with internal pockets, two mesh side pockets, and a front pocket. A rain cover was conveniently tucked into small section at the bottom of the bag. The small pocket at the top was suitable for quick access to things like a charging cable, hand sanitizer, and mints without having to rummage through the bag. In the two waist strap pockets I could keep cash and cell phone. In retrospect, a backpack with a frame might have been better. But then again, without the rigid frame, I was able to push my bag through the somewhat small openings of otherwise spacious storage racks on local buses during my travel.

Next two items on the shopping list were also bags. I got a fanny pack that I could wear crossbody, for keeping important things like passport, cash, and cards. I also got a small packable backpack that I could use when I did not need (or want) to haul my big backpack around. When not in use, it can be compressed into a small pouch.

Once the bags had been provisioned, filling them up with the right things was the next challenge. I needed to be prepared for a range of hotel options. That meant getting lightweight, easy-to-dry microfiber hand and body towels, and a sleeping bag liner. I would spread the liner on top of hotel bedding and crawl into the bag at night.

April starts getting hot in Panjab. It would not be unusual for the daytime highs to reach 95-100 degrees Fahrenheit (35-38 degrees Celsius) or more. I figured that jogger pants and long sleeve T-shirts would give protection from the sun and mosquitoes. Not wanting to be stranded in an unseasonal rainstorm, I threw in a packable rain jacket (that neatly packs into a pocket). There were some stormy nights, but I thankfully never got to use the rain jacket or the rain cover for the backpack.

Despite the careful consideration, I did end up with more things than I truly needed for the trip. Items like the pair of jeans, polo shirt, bulky toiletry bag, iPad, and other extraneous stuff were boxed and couriered to my parents. (And hand washing jeans is not terribly exciting.)

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Packing List

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