planning #2

Tomorrow is the big day. I leave Brisbane Airport at around 1430, travel via Singapore, Zurich, Frankfurt and finally land in Bilbao, Spain, in the early afternoon on 7/7/22.

Luckily I’ve been able to catch up with friends and family over the last week while I’ve been on the Gold Coast, however I have been trying to keep a low profile as I’m paranoid about becoming unwell right before my flight which in the current COVID climate might mean I would have to delay my travel plans.

I have, however, been able to get a lot of gear tidying/cleaning/purchasing and now packing done. This will be the longest contiguous hike that I’ll have attempted, and carrying all of my own gear including tent/sleeping bag and mat, cooking gear and food, as well as clothing appropriate for both hot walking weather but also inclement colder temperatures means that I have to be fairly spartan when it comes to luxury items and economical with the pack contents’ weight.

Although all of the things I’ll be taking to Spain will be able to be fitted into my Gossamer Gear Gorilla 50L pack, I don’t like the idea of checking the backpack and risk the straps getting trapped on a conveyor belt somewhere in transit and leaving me in Bilbao a little too “ultralight”. So I’ve also bought a cheapo duffel bag and day rucksack that I’ll use to transport my hiking pack and contents, which I’ll ditch once I reach the start of the hike in Irun.

I’ve taken photos of all of the paraphernalia laid out below:

1) SALOMON S/Lab Ultra 3 2) Kuhl long hiking pants 3) Haviana thongs 4) Tracksmith running shorts 5) Mountain Designs 100% merino thermals

1) Gossamer Gear Gorilla 50 Ultralight Backpack 2) Ultralight tent pegs 3) Deuce of Spades trowel (with ziplock bag for toiletpaper)

1) Sea to Summit passport wallet (+passport+paper copy of bus details/COVID vaccination certificate etc+credit/debit cards) 2) Oliver Peoples sunglasses + case 3) Hyperjuice travel power adapter + cables 4) JABRA elite 75t bluetooth headphones 5) Nitecore NB10000 powerbank 6) Kindle paperwhite 7) $2 cheap backup earbuds 8) SONY A7RII + 35mm prime 9) Nitecore NU25 headlamp 10) Cheap camera case with backup SONY battery/2x SD 128GB memory cards

1) ICEBRAKER merino T 2) The North Face synthetic T 3) Cederberg quick dry polo 4) SILVERLIGHT socks 5) Darn Tough socks 6) 3x pair underwear

1) Kathmandu quickdry ultralight towel 2) Z packs dry sack 3) 35L Sea to Summit dry sack 4) Thermarest inflating sack

Toiletries bags containing toothbrush/toothpaste, sunscreen + lipbalm, meds, bandaids, fixomull, kenocomb ointment (multipurpose antibiotic/steorid ointment)

1) SOTO windmaster stove 2) Opinel folding knife 3) Sea to Summit mug 4) Kathmandu pot 5) Sawyer Squeeze filter + back-flush syringe 6) CNOC water bladder 7) LIFEVENTURE aluminum spoon

1) Z packs DUPLEX ultralight tent 2) Z packs 10F Classic Sleepingbag + dry sack 3) LEKI hiking poles 4) Thermarest Neo Air sleeping pad 5) Sea to Summit Aeros Pillow - regular

1) GET FLAPPED Legionnaire hat 2) ROS LOUDON Hand knitted wool beanie 3) Oliver Peoples sunglasses (again, ended up in two photos) 4) Mountain Hardware Ghost Whisperer/2 Men’s Jacket 5) Marmot waterproof jacket 6) Enlightened Equipment ultralight waterproof overpants