Once again, I found myself staring into my closet wondering what to pack.  This time was a little different since I was headed to Peru for a 3 week expedition and I didn’t want to dress like I walked out of a camping store… blehh.  The big challenge was that I had to pack light (using just a backpack) for two drastically different climates, a cold high altitude trek in the Andes and a trip into the hot Amazon jungle.  So I was looking for pieces I could count on to get me through extreme conditions without losing my personal style.  Surprisingly, there’s some great performance apparel out there that mixes right in with the rest of your wardrobe, you just have to do a little digging around for the right pieces.

Here’s what I brought:

Bottoms
Denim – 2 pair, one boot leg, one skinny
Hiking Pants – REI
Thermal Underwear – Patagonia

Toiletries
One small quart sized bag filled with (Nalgene bottles) – to get you on any airline without checking your bag.
Small Makeup Bag – Filled it only with the basics.
Mini Hair Straightener (Conair)- My hair loves to absorb all the moisture in the air.  Since I would have access to plugs in the hostals, I bought the smallest straightener I could find at the drugstore.  It doesn’t get very hot, but it served it’s purpose.

Underwear
No Cotton Underwear – (Patagonia recylced polyester), lots of thongs (they take up less room!), and 2 hipsters
Low Cut Socks – one small pair
Sportsbras – 2 + 1 regular bra

Head + Neck
Hat – You only need one so make sure you love it.  I brought a wool blend that I’ve had for years.
Beanie (Icebreaker) – For the freezing cold high altitudes.
Neck Warmer – (Smartwool)
Scarf – I didn’t bring one because I knew I’d buy a pile of local made alpaca scarves.

Shoes
Kicks (Olukai Cross Trainers)- One pair that will stand up to all the punishment in the airports and on the streets.
Boots or (Vibram Five Fingers) – We had mules, we weren’t going to be in the snow, and we would only be carrying the bare minimum on our backs on the trek.  This meant I could sub my big heavy backpacking boots for my VFF’s.  This saved a tremendous amount of weight both in my pack and on my feet.  I had my VFF’s for about 2 years and trained in them beforehand so I was prepared.  I wouldn’t bring any footwear that you haven’t broken in or trained in.

Shirts
2 Longsleeve + 2 Shortsleeve (Icebreaker Merino Wool) -  Form meets function.  I had to avoid cotton so I went with merino wool for all my base layers since it keeps you warm, cool, and stink free.  It can be worn for days without having to be washed.  See photo below.

Sweater
1 Lightweight Sweater – I brought my fav staple I’ve had for years that I can wear on it’s own or just as a layer.  It’s a blend of wool and alpaca… again, try to avoid cotton.

Jackets
I get cold verrrry easily.  My down parka doubled as a pillow in the tent and it warmed me up in the ice cold hostals.  The red insulated wind blocker turned out to be that one thing I wish I didn’t bring…
1 Down Parka – Patagonia, 1 Rain jacket – REI, 1 Insulating Wind Blocking – Patagonia, 1 Shell – The North Face, 1 Merino Wool Layer Zip (this served as a heavy base layer most of the time) – Icebreaker

Other Tops
One long sleeved woven button down – One of my favorite key pieces to wear anytime, but the practical use is to keep the bugs from biting in jungle.  Lark & Wolff – Urban Outfitters
2 Tanks + 1 Cotton Tee – One simple tank to base any getup, one Icebreaker merino wool tank to beat the jungle heat, and one basic soft cotton tee because you’ll miss the touch and feel of cotton.

Close your eyes, here it comes…

Hiking Pants - Ughhh, I know…. Unfortunately, there really is no other way around wearing them on an expedition trek like this since you’ll find yourself in extreme climates and situations.  I tried on every style at REI and they all made me look like I was wearing a garbage bag except for these from REI.

The key things you want to look for are:
Durability – are they going to rip or tear anywhere?
Water resistance – would you be able to walk through rivers, mud, and streams?
Leg room – walk around in them – can you lift up your leg high enough for hours on end?)
Leg length – try them on with and without your boots/footwear
Roll up leg – zip off is okay as long as you can roll them up instead and they’ll stay rolled up
Lots of pockets and zippers – to stash the small items you’ll grab for the most

Left – The North Face “Emily” Jacket, I used ALL of the pockets at any given time on this jacket including the 2 on the inside for secret storage.  It’s lightweight so it’s not going to keep you warm on it’s own.  I just piled on the layers underneath – thenorthface.com, bloomingdale’s, or backcountry.com
Right – (Icebreaker wool jacket), wear it as a jacket or underneath another.  Layers that zip are easier to get on and off with a quickness.

Pack – Osprey Talon 33 pack – Packs come in all sizes and shapes.  Since we weren’t bringing our camping gear (sleeping bag, tent, etc.) a giant pack wasn’t necessary for this trip.  This medium sized one by Osprey has all the features I need including a water bladder insert and little pockets on the chest straps to hold my 20 tubes of lip balm.  Don’t skimp on your pack, it will be going through the ringer.  Choose wisely and have yourself measured at the store to get a proper fit.

Shades – Kaenon Polarized – Serious lenses for serious altitudes and conditions.  I’m not a fan of shades that discolor my view of the world.  These act as a natural window while protecting my peepers and not coming across overly ‘sporty’.

The easiest way to fit it all in your pack is to roll everything up.  It also keeps the wrinkles at bay.

Here’s my gallery of Peru if you’d like to see the rest of my photos.

Overall, I definitely could have left two or three things behind… but I was happy to have the right gear when my legs wanted to give out at 15,000 feet and when I found myself sleeping on the cold hard floor of an airport in South America.

Do you have any favorite key pieces you can’t live without when you travel?  What works for you?  Packing light is one thing, but would you ever travel with no baggage at all?

Photos:  Hawaii – Kalalau Trail, Na Pali Coast, Kauai

The sun was beating down on us and we were aching all over.  Our packs were weighing us down and our blisters were on fire.  I held my breath around the dodgy corners so I wouldn’t slip and tumble to my death.  We completely underestimated how tough this hike would be.  After two nights of camping on the remote Kalalau Beach, my boyfriend and I were heading back to civilization along the rugged 11-mile Hawaiian Na Pali coast trail.

We had a running joke, “How much money would it take for you to walk allllllll the way back to camp and then walk alllllllll the way back?!”

“There’s no way… I physically couldn’t do it. I would die,”  was my response.

A young couple from Germany caught up with us for a snack break.  We throw our packs down and perch ourselves on the side of the rocky cliff overlooking the vibrant blue and green tropical coastline.  The view is so stunning it looks fake.  Aside from the occasional tourist helicopter buzzing overhead, we are the only 4 spectators watching the waves crash violently into the rocks down below.  We sit completely exhausted in our Clif bar eating trances and wait for a cool ocean breeze to come by and slap us back to life.

Breaking the silence I asked them, “What part of Germany are you from?”

“Bavaria.  Where are you from?”  the tall young German guy asked as the sweat dripped into his face.

“Southern California… What brings you to Hawaii?”

“We’re 6 months into our year long round-the-world trip.”

I gasped then responded, “Really??  We’re dying to plan an around-the-world trip one day.”

Without hesitation he looked me dead in the eye and in his German accent he simply responded, “Do you dream or do you plan?”

I shuddered as it sunk in instantaneously. “One day” doesn’t exist on the calendar.  This guy was right.  Maybe it was the sweltering heat, maybe it was because I was chewed up and spit out by this 22-mile trek, but his simple straightforward no bullshit response has resonated with me ever since.

While stretching out my sore knees, I looked at my boyfriend and asked, “So… what would it take for you to go allllllllll the way around the world and back?

Do you dream? Or do you plan?  Make it happen.