Packing Up

Anyone who travels much knows the drill. The standard things we pack, according to the destination. For overnight trips, three to four days, or even a week, I have a medium sized green duffle perfect for the job. It easily holds a few changes of clothes and clean underwear (so my mother doesn’t worry, bless her soul,) toiletries, notebooks and laptop, chargers, a good book plus a kindle with more – meds, headwear, flip flops, and other assorted whatevers.  

If the trip involves air travel, the luggage changes though the contents remain. There’s a well worn black TravelPro carry-on I’m fond of, with plenty of various sized and configured pockets around a good sized main compartment. It still rolls on old fashioned two wheels, the zippers all work, and I have found no reason to upgrade. It is also expandable, but I almost never have use for that, and it fits in any overhead bin. Attached is a large blue name tag, to help distinguish it from all the other ubiquitous black carry-ons.

I long ago learned to carefully fold and roll my clothes. It minimizes wrinkles and is so much more space efficient. Socks, earbuds, and other small odds and ends tuck neatly into the spaces around the rolls. Also a tiny bluetooth speaker I’ve started to bring along, about half the size of a small can of tomato paste, with excellent sound that belies its size and price.

Over the last several years I’ve built some substantial playlists on my phone, and both iTunes and Spotify know all my algorithms. I’m always careful not to foist my music or podcasts on fellow travelers, and my favorite sound is silence, but I’ve learned there’s a time and a place for having some music on hand. One can only read so many books in a day after all, and sometimes need a break. A well chosen song lightens the heart and relieves the mind.

But I digress. The original point was that I have a very specialized journey at hand, to which I’m having to give serious thought and attention to packing. My brother and I, along with another companionable couple,  are setting off for a week in the wilderness of upper Minnesota and Canada. Camping. In canoes. The Boundary Waters.

A week on the Boundary Waters means packing differently. It’s not like a drive to the beach, where a condo awaits, Publix a mile up the street. Not that that doesn’t have merits of its own, but we’ll be a long way from cell phone service and civilization should any major problems occur. Big storms with high wind and heavy rain pop up on the water. Canoes overturn. People drown. A badly sprained ankle on a portage becomes a serious issue. Any health problem is compounded by the remote nature of why we go there in the first place. To get away to an unspoiled, incredibly beautiful destination. But a hospital is a long way away.

There are bears. And, though attacks on humans by black bears are very uncommon, keeping them out of our food supply means bringing a bear proof container. A bear proof container is not something I own. Luckily our travel companions have one.

We’ll be completely self contained. All our gear will have to fit in a canoe. Tents, sleeping bags, kitchen items, clothes. And it will have to be simple and light enough to be carried over miles of portages. Along with the canoe, paddles, life preservers, fishing gear, etc. Most of all, it all needs to be kept dry. Even if the canoe overturns. Especially if the canoe overturns. Enter the dry bag, waterproof bags to carry it all in. A wet sleeping bag is not much good for sleeping, especially when the temperature drops at night. And wet clothes are just a bummer in general. If the weather is cloudy or rainy, drying clothes out once they’re wet becomes a major, uncomfortable problem. Hypothermia can be deadly, and there are no laundromats where we’re going.

But the good news is we have the technology, the gear to make the journey, and the luggage to keep everything dry and safe. And just pulling it all together and organizing I’m getting pretty excited. The Boundary Waters Canoe Area has been on my list of beautiful places to visit for decades. And now we’re going, setting off on a remarkable journey, into the wilderness, into the wild.