Too much, too little? Yeah, I have heard both the accusations, depending on the person and the situation… So what is enough then?!
Well… I don’t exactly know. All I know is my experience.
Too much!
Is it too much? As I said to a friend of mine – “When you need a glass, you just go to the kitchen. My kitchen, along with all the rest of the house, is on my back!” I live with only what I carry with me – my kitchen is there, my bedroom, my bathroom and the “room” itself…
No, it is not too much!
Too little!
How could I don’t have a tripod, a dron, better mattress or more clothes (instead of washing every single night)?! Yeah… Then I ask, are you offering to carry my backpack s all the additional stuff? Because I have all that (except the drone), but the backpack is already near 30 kg and I struggle bearing it!
No, it’s not too little!
Is it enough then?
Well, most of the time, but it could be all of the three, depends on the situation.
The irony of my situation is that I was not able to camp, because I had my camping equipment with me.
Exactly! The idea was to camp as much as possible. The reality though, was that my luggage was so heavy, that I wasn’t able to carry enough water with me or go and search for a decent place with (or without) water.
If I leave all my camping gear, my backpack will lose around 1/2 or 1/3 of its weight. Then I would be able to camp. Ha-ha-ha!
I wanted to be as independent as possible and spend as less money on hostels as possible. Well, the second part didn’t really work out, but thanks for the first one I have never been really despaired. There were many cases when I had no idea would I reach my daily destination or will have to sleep into the wild. So I was walking and scanning the area where I could pitch my tent up.
Yeah, I always did hope I won’t have to (I don’t have enough water!), but I was calm enough, that I can, if I need to! I am not giving up that feeling of security and Independence, so I am not leaving my camping equipment. The solution for me is a vehicle.
If you don’t plan to camp, you don’t need that much luggage. And if you can’t carry that weight + additional water, you probably know from the beginning (at least I knew it) it’s not going to be of much use.
I started with about 25-26 kg backpack and on the way it became a bit heavier because of the additional food I had to carry on. After about 2600 km my body decided that it have had enough and needs rest. Yeah, walking every day 10-26 km with nearly 30 kg luggage, that could be a little problem…
At the end of the day, I am having things in my backpack, I didn’t use even once. Because I did not camp in the wild even once. Still, I don’t regret carrying them all 3600+ kilometres to the Netherlands. Thanks to them I have never scared to spend the night wherever I am and that gives you a freedom!
So, what do I have with me and do I really need it? Is it too much, too little or enough? You can check out in “WHAT TO BRING WITH YOU?”.