The ultralight stresses me

After several years of backpacking through Asia and Oceania and several long hikes in New Zealand as well as France, I learned the hard way how to deal with the stress of a poorly organized backpack 🙂

I often added more clothes than I needed or brought back all the "pretty" rocks I came across. Sometimes I had a hard time closing my bag, I was stressed at the idea of having to open it or put it away. In short, I only wanted to continue my journey without it! 5 years later, I am (almost) used to it. 

Here are some of my mantras. 😍

Pretty easy to say, not so easy to do, you might say! It seems obvious and yet, I'm convinced that we underestimate a lot the weight of every item we take with us and it can literally ruin our adventures 🙂

On the one hand, we all have a weight limit that is bearable for walking over several days. Personally, I am a woman of 1m76, rather sporty but my limit is 11 to 13 kilos. Above that, my legs, like my back, suffer too much. 

It's up to you to find your limit, depending on your age, height, physical abilities and most importantly, it's up to you to try to stay as far below your weight limit as possible! 🙂

There are some pretty glaring examples of "I've taken too much" 🙂 ! And yet, you have to do it to realize it. As I was leaving for New Zealand with the idea of doing the North and South hikes in several months, I found myself with both a pair of mittens and a swimsuit (and everything that goes with it: hat, sweater, sunglasses, cap, etc.) in my bag. 

Normal you will say to me? 😅

Except that after this experience, I would surely not make the same mistake again! I would leave with the necessary equipment for one season (winter in this case) and I would exchange or buy the necessary on the way. Because having your bathing suit and all your summer equipment in the middle of winter is heavy and not so good for your morale!

One of the biggest fears of the backpaker or thru-hiker in my opinion, the one that causes him to put much more weight on his back than he should, is the fear of running out of water. 

However, we must remember that the planet is 70% water! Ok! This is not quite true, it is drinking water and this water is distributed differently on the globe. But it is still very rare to run out of water in the middle of the mountains! However, I have been known to run out of water (especially in New Zealand) 🙂

The trick is to take a water filter with you so that you can drink water from almost any source. 

Another tip is to find out about your itinerary before you leave; this way you will know approximately if you can fill your water bottle regularly or if you will need to carry water! 

Finally, zen, we take the time to breathe before making our bag. We make a first selection then we breathe and we make a second one by keeping only the "strict minimum". We then compare and ask ourselves what is really necessary. Ask yourself the right questions 🙂

What is the weight of my bag? How much does it weigh with water and food? What season is it? What can't I trade or buy on the road? What is my security? Everything that is of the order of: "It's not going to help! We know that and we do it anyway! 

One trick to calm your fear of lack is to know that everything can be exchanged or bought on the road (food, clothes, bandages, a little electricity to recharge your batteries like toilet paper!) 🙂

Also, everything can be given away! So if after all that, you leave with a useless piece of clothing or equipment on your back, you can always give it away (to another hiker who wants to weigh himself down!).  

- Moisturizer; sunscreen will do the trick.

- Anything that is not recyclable/biodegradable (like shampoos that you can't use in the wild, also avoid unnecessary plastic bags).

- Deodorant (I'll let you guess why!).

- A second pair of pants, second pair of shorts, even a second T-shirt (everything will end up smelling the same!)

- A swimsuit: aren't underwear waterproof?

- A windbreaker and a raincoat, the must have being the two-in-one.

- A solar shower (a bit too cumbersome to walk, wait for the next river, it will make cryotherapy at the same time!)

- A 350 page book that you won't read (but I'll still take it).

- Goodies and souvenirs picked up on the road (whatever you take, you wear!).