A disclaimer (one that has appeared before on this blog): if packing isn’t your thing, don’t read any further. You will be bored.

Still reading? Okay here we go…
The first step to packing well has nothing to do with filling your suitcase. It has everything to do with knowing what to expect on your itinerary. So here is ours:

Three cities, two hikes, paddling, birding, beaches, lots of walking and of course flying. Temperatures range from 40 degrees with rain expected, to 90 degrees with high humidity.

I love the challenge of packing super light – it saves my back and it’s an exercise in optimization, which I enjoy. So I spent a few hours charting out the activities, likely weather conditions, and the wardrobe choices to match. I even put wardrobe items on a spreadsheet sorted by shoe (natch) so I wouldn’t be tempted to just grab things out of the closet, “that also go.“

A week before departure I made my first attempt. It didn’t go well.

I couldn’t close the suitcase unless I cheated (fully extended and then compressed it). And from the start I knew I was doing it all wrong. I have counselled many friends on how I pack for a extended trips. I’ve said, “start with the shoes and be practical.” Keep your bag light with “5-2-10: no more than five pants, two dresses, 10 tops and a jacket.” I didn’t heed my own advice.

I started with the shoes; I failed to be practical. A boot, a bootie and a sandal plus flip flops, Keens and a hiking boot. I pulled outfits that could be worn across the shoe selection and too many shoes led to too many outfits.

“5-2-10” times more than I needed! Not only did I begin with 10 pair of pants, 4 dresses, a skirt, overalls and two leggings, I had 12 tanks and short sleeve tops (albeit some sheer silk ones) plus three long sleeve. I also had a roomy tunic that I adore but that I knew (or should have known) would take up far too much space. Add four sweaters, two scarves, swim wear and, well, bottom line, I had a packing disaster.

So I made the repack/edit I knew I needed to make:

Starting with the shoes. This trip needs two technical pair – hiking for the trip to Torres del Paine and Keens for the versatility of hiking and kayaking in the Amazon. I have the option of keeping extra items in the aircraft so I am packing a hiking backpack for Patagonia and a dry bag for the Amazon.

For the daily tours, dinners and flying, I decided to take three shoes: a sandal, a sneaker, a boot.  To get it down to three, I had to pick a palette and dark colors wear longer and show less wear than light colors so I lose the tan color scheme.  Out are the tan booties.

This meant I dropped the beautiful blue tunic and my printed silk dress. The tunic took up too much space; the print dress only went with tan booties and the booties had to go.  I ditched the overalls, a pair of leggings, four pair of pants, one dress and six tops. I swapped the mesh bolero for a light-weight water-repellent black blazer. I added olive pants and a Cabi top (to purchase Cabi wear, you can contact my sis-in-law, Holly here) that I can wear with black boots at night or with my sandals if its hot as my “fancy like”.

I added navy Allbirds because they are wool which makes them versatile (wool keeps you warm even when wet and are antimicrobial). They also take a load off of the orange sandals which as I said are doubling as my “fancy” shoes and are super comfortable walking shoes.

I toyed with making a second edit – actually dreamt about it – but since we are not constrained by space, I decided to cut myself some slack and forgive myself for being less than optimal.

Separately, I have my tech bag: iPad mini for flight charts/kindle; my Surface for pretending that I will do some work while away; passports; guidebook and Spanish refresher book; binoculars; adapter/chargers; and then the things I never leave home without: phone, sunglasses, chap stick, Yeti for water, Contigo for tea; and because we are still mindful of the risks, a supply of N95s, test kits, vax cards, and sanitizer.

So in the end, I have the tech bag, a rolling 22” bag for everyday, a hiking pack, and a dry bag.

Ready to go?

There’s a time lapse video but I couldn’t bring myself to post it.