After spending a few days with a 30 pound pack in the Tasmanian wilderness, it made me seriously consider what I want to carry with me for the ten weeks of the Un-Road Trip. For the four days at Walls of Jerusalem National Park I was schlepping a tent, sleeping bag, foam pad, rain gear, food, water, clothes, and some other odds and ends. I'll be sticking mostly to homestays and hotels for the Un-Road Trip, so that eliminates half the weight right there. I will need to bring along some snacks, water, clothes, toiletries, a shaving razor, and all my photo/video/editing equipment.
Speaking of clothes, I'm wondering what I can get away with. I should have a few different options available to be prepared for colder/warmer/dryer/wetter conditions. I think I can probably stick to one pair of pants for the entire trip- anyone care to recommend a favorite pair of pants? I'm pretty open, although I don't like those pants that can zip off into shorts. If I want shorter pants, I can just roll the cuffs up. Otherwise I never know where to put the zipped off cuffs. And then maybe two or three T-shirts, a long sleeve shirt, and some sort of waterproof parka. Wearing the same few shirts for two and half months may pose a few problems. The main problem I'm thinking of is me stinking. That may not be a problem though. Ibex, a friendly outdoor clothing company, has offered to provide me with some wool apparel for the trip. I was a little skeptical at first, but their merino wool is actually very soft, thin, and keeps cool in hot weather. And here's the really amazing thing- it's anti microbial which means that it does not stink. I don't want to get into details here, but I'll just say that I've experimented with a pair of their wool boxer briefs for a number of days in harsh conditions and they stayed as odorless as they were on day one. So maybe I really can get away with three or four shirts for ten weeks...
And now a few quick pictures from last week's Tasmanian adventures:
Sheep traffic on the way to the national park.
Our first look at the Walls of Jerusalem.
Climbing up Mt. Jerusalem.
Hanging out with Elmar at the top.
A wallaby invades my personal space at Freycinet National Park.
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