When you scale back to what you really need on a trek, to only that which you can carry, you will only carry the absolute essentials.

I remember when I did the Camino, I thought – hey! we should bring plastic wine glasses with us so we can have a glass of wine at the end of the day. Seemed so reasonable at the time – I mean plastic wine glasses basically don’t weigh anything, right? But, once into the hike, those wine glasses seemed superfluous and, well, heavy, so we got rid of them a few days in (but we did keep the corkscrew – obviously!).

In essence when you’re on the trail, everything you’re carrying on your back is likely something that you can’t live without and it should include the important necessities (i.e. first aid kit) but your gear is personal preference.

​Here are my top 5 items that I simply love / can’t hike without (in addition to my merino wool socks obsession):

Years ago when we were prepping for the Camino we asked people for advice – what to bring, or not to bring, best places to stay or avoid, etc. But, hands down the BEST advice we got was from a Catholic priest who had walked it.

He didn’t give us spiritual advice on what the pilgrimage might be or what the experience will be like. Nope. He said “bring more socks than underwear.” Yes, a priest said that.

As this was the first long distance hike for me, I didn’t fully realize the scope of what he meant. But it was probably best to heed his advice, coming from a priest and all, so I brought 4 pairs of socks and 3 underwear. Looking back now I wonder, how did I manage 28 days with only 3 pairs of underwear!?!
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Since that trek, it’s the advice I now give to people because it’s all about your feet and taking care of them – bring more socks than underwear!