What's in a pack?

What's in a pack? A pack by any other name than "well planned, weighed (gram for gram) and checked and culled again and again" is too heavy. This is something we're learning through trial and error and conditioning walks carrying our packs, and from RESEARCH, which is telling us that next to finding the right shoes, achieving minimal pack weight is the most important thing we can do to prepare for an enjoyable and backpain-free Camino! We've also been told by many sources not to carry more than 10% of ones body weight. Our final packing list with every item weighed and accounted for is attached (Click on the title of this post: "What's in a pack?" to view the pdf). You can guess if we've acheived this "not more than 10% goal" but we won't tell you if you're right!

The other thing we're learning is that the precious water that will keep us hydrated, healthy and blister free along the way is HEAVY ... about a kg per litre, which means, if we're meant to carry two litres each with us on days with long distances between fountains, adding 2 kg (or about 4.4 lbs) to our packs, like carrying four bricks of butter.

(I was born and grew up before Canada converted from imperial measures to metric. While metric makes sense to me mathematically, "pounds" still make a lot more sense when I'm trying to understand how much I can carry on my back!)

People who know me know that I really like butter, and that I am convinced it's much healthier than margarine. Despite my taste for butter, I know I feel better when I'm lighter and well hydrated, so I think I'll carry the 2 kg of water instead of 4 bricks of butter.

The photos are from our walk yesterday on the Kettle Valley Railway trail above Naramata.

Ahhhh - Sunshine, spring blossoms and cool, refreshing spring runoff! Only five more sleeps until our new departure date. Fingers crossed!