40: how to travel well with just a backpack

Two years ago, I wrote about packing a bag shortly before spending three months in Southeast Asia. Almost all of the principles I outlined in that post are ones I still follow today, which I think is evidence that they work, since I’ve been traveling and packing mostly the same way for years. It’s worked out everywhere from Patagonia to Norway to Laos, from big cities to being on a motorcycle or a tent in the mountains for days at a time. Over the years, my trips have gotten longer, and my bag has gotten lighter. That probably doesn’t sound like it makes sense, but by now, I know pretty well what I need and, more importantly, what I don’t need.

I wanted to write about this again as I leave today for a month in Morocco, because I think traveling this way has an enormous impact on the overall experience. There’s really no secret to traveling light (other than being okay with doing laundry about once a week and accepting a reduced variety in your wardrobe for a period of time). When I hear people complain about travel being a pain, I think a lot of what I’m hearing is someone who is probably bringing way too much with them, and that weight has an impact both physically and mentally.

The image many people have of backpackers is that they’re trudging around with a pack that towers over their heads and weighs half as much as they do. This is packing from a place of fear. I know because I’ve done it, and as someone who has also fallen into a few of my own worst-case scenarios and still not needed some of those things I carried along just in case, I now know to be more relaxed when it comes to how I pack a bag. Another image of the backpacker is someone who wears the same clothes every day, day on end, and smells like a gym bag. That is not how I travel and not how it needs to be unless you have an aversion to showers and never want to wash your clothes.

In this post, I’ll write about the small changes I’ve made in the last few years and the why behind my reasoning for traveling this way.

A quick note: If you’ve been to Morocco and have any tips/suggestions, please respond by email if this lands in your inbox! I’d especially love to hear about any favorite places to eat or visit in Marrakech, Essaouira, Taghazout, Fes, Meknes, Chefchaouen, Tetouan, or Tangier.