Going Minimalist Style

When I mentioned to my dad that Tucker and I were travelling with one backpack each he shook his head and stated that when I get excited to do something I go all in.  He mentioned my current passions of Crossfit workouts and skiiing.  I can think of past passions like fishing and camping/canoeing, where I got all geared up and didn't have the time for it and the passion fizzled.  But if the time arises I'll be ready to go!

So now with my world travelling about to begin I'm getting into "minimalist travel".  Minimalists only take the bare necessities, knowing that they can purchase or find what they need where ever their travelling.

I purchased a nice midsize backpack, the COVRT 18, from 5.11 Tactical.  This pack has a ton of different compartments, as well as a small MOLLE system on the front, which allows items to be attached by with carabiners.  It's certainly not huge, but will be big for Tucker to haul around, although it won't have too much in it.  We'll put the supplies we'll need for the plane ride, such as books/kindle, some snacks, and games.  We'll also utilize this pack as a EDC (Every Day Carry) while we're in Bolivia.

I'm also borrowing a Rush 72 pack from my friend Jeff Brinkley.  It's also made by 5.11 Tactical and is a large backpack.  This will carry all our clothes, food, and supplies we don't need access to while on the plane.  It's just large enough, that the airline may have me check it at the gate on the smaller planes to O'Hare and Miami.  So I don't want to get stuck with nothing to do........

Here's a list of what we're bringing that will fit in the packs:

3 Pairs of shorts
1 pair of pants
3 T shirts
1 long sleeve shirt
1 light coat or sweatshirt
3 pairs of underwear
3 pairs of socks

Multi-use soap (For bathing, laundry detergent, & dish washing)

Hand sanitizer

Clothesline

Flashlight

deodorant

pack towel

toothbrush

toothpaste

sunglasses

cell phone

phone charger

Headphones

kindle

camera

passports

Whistle

Medicine (Malaria & a strong antibiotic just in case) 

Watch

Immodium

Food 

2 water bottles

cards, cribbage board, bananagrams, boggle for the plane

Extra Batteries

Razor

Bug Spray

Sunscreen

Hats

I started packing last night.  Without any of Tuck's clothes, all that only took up half of the big backpack, and a very small portion of the mid size.  We'll have plenty of room to bring back souvenirs for Kate and the kids.


We plan on buying some sandals while we're down there, even though we could easily fit them in at this point.  But we're told the Bolivians are very resourceful and make extremely comfortable sandals out of old tire rubber and leather.  It'll be interesting to see what else we'll need, but we can easily head down to the village market and gather any needed supplies.