What’s in my Pack on Month 10 of The World Race?

One of the most common questions as I was preparing to leave for the race was “how are you going to pack for a whole year”. I will say my pack has varied a lot over the past ten months but I wanted to post a blog about what I’m living off of in this last month and a half of the race.

Okay first up we will unpack my day pack. My day pack is a normal everyday backpack that I got from Target. It’s about 35L and it holds just what I need during travel day and is helpful for using during hikes or trips into town. It has also doubled as a form of grocery transportation in many countries.

These are the electronics that I have with me:

• A macbook air
• Portable charger
• Wireless earbuds (I started the race with airpods and one of my airpods fell into the toilet at a coffee shop in Antigua, Guatemala) (for future racers: I do still recommend bringing good earbuds but also hold them loosely knowing anything could happen and also learn from me and take your earbuds out before going to the bathroom)
• Chargers (I recommend bringing at least two phone chargers for when one runs out)
• An outlet converter that is converts to many different outlet types

Electronics that I didn’t bring that I wish I would have:

• I didn’t forget to bring this but I lost the charger for my portable charger the first day we were in Guatemala so it is pretty much useless unless I borrow one from a friend
• A power strip- don’t assume that a friend will bring one that you can use, be the friend that brings one. Outlets in other countries are sometimes few and far between

Other items in my day pack:

• Bible (I don’t regret bringing my full size bible even if it is heavy)
• Notebook (I have about three more that I’ve gone through that are not pictured)
• Pens, pencils, highlighters
• One small packing cube with a change of clothes for those long travel days

• Headlamp
• Luci camping lantern (picked this up from the drop table/ from my friend Samantha and it has been useful in every country since!)
• Extra pair of glasses and case (Down to one case and two pairs of glasses because I stepped on the other case in Guatemala and it was not sturdy)

• This Kavu has been such a staple. It fits everything that I need to go out on sabbath. It fits my bible, journal, pens, earbuds, and wallet!

Other items not pictured:

• Wallet
• Passport
• Toothbrush and toothpaste
• Perfume
• Tylenol

Now for my big pack: 

My big pack is a Osprey Viva 65L pack

This was my good friend Katie’s pack when we both went to South Africa! I love that it reminds me of her as I’m out here and it has served me pretty well! It has a zipper at the top and the bottom for the main section and the top has a zipper pouch as well. There is a pouch in the front and two pockets on the sides as well as a pouch on both sides of the hip straps.

Things that go in the main zipper portion:

• REI Passage 2 tent (served me well- while everyone else was getting water in their tents from the rain at training camp mine stayed dry!)
• Nemo Cosmo 3D Insulated sleeping pad
• Marmot sleeping bag (rated for 45 degrees)

1 packing cube of clothes

• 1 long sleeve shirt
• 5 T-shirts
• 1 tank top
• 2 pairs of shorts
• 2 pairs of joggers
• 1 pair of jeans

One packing cube of underwear

• 5 pairs of socks (bring more than that, I have lost so many socks on the race)
• 11 pairs of underwear (honestly still bring more- you can never have enough)
• 3 bras

Jackets

• 1 Patagonia nano puff (for the colder countries)
• 1 crewneck (picked it up in Albania and dropped the crewneck that I brought)

*Bring a rain jacket and don’t drop it like I did, you WILL need/want one when it rains*

*I also dropped my swimsuit in Romania and have regretted in many times since then*

• 1 ball cap (I started with two but the other one lost the fight against mold during our camping in the rain at training camp)
• 1 beanie
• 1 pair of light gloves that my friend Kara got me!

• 1 XL microfiber towel
• 1 S microfiber towel

Shoes

I will stand by this being the best combo to bring for shoes. You don’t need more than 3 pairs.

• Blundstones
• Chakos
• Nikes

Okay the rest I forgot to take pictures of but I’ll break it down for you!

Top pocket

• Bathroom bag
  • Full size shampoo (At this point I use shampoo as body wash as well and have pretty much thrown conditioner out the window)
  • Razor
  • Lotion
  • Nail clippers
  • Hair ties
  • Extra toothbrush and toothpaste

Front Pouch

• Extra journals
• Things I forgot to pack in my packing cubes

Side Pockets

• One nike in each pocket

Outside of my pack

• Full size pillow
• Travel neck pillow
• airporter

That pretty much covers it! My big pack started at 50lbs and it is now down to 34lbs. I’ve learned that you really don’t need much and I could still live on less. I’ve come to love the simplicity of living out of a back pack. The only struggle has been getting tired of wearing the same worn out clothes all the time. Praise God for thrift shops around the world to bring new items to my wardrobe and leave old items behind.

Thanks for reading!! Love you all, and stay tuned for some updates about whats next for me!!

-Lex