I’ve spent today packing. Even though it’s a week or so before we fly to Kathmandu, today / tomorrow was my only chance before Steffi and Sam arrive from Far West Wales.
When we met up in March, Val had given me a holdall of LED* stuff (including a box of donated eye glasses and 10 or so of the inflatable LuminAID solar lights) to take out, and last Tuesday I’d picked up a large suitcase and a big M&S Christmas Carrier Bag full of clothes donated by Sonal and her friends. Getting all of that into my 75 litre Karrimor rucksack, and handbaggage, was looking like a Herculean Challenge…
But with the help of 3 of those vacuum storage bags which you put clothes in and then suck the air out of, plus (wo)man power from Silver Surfer Jean and (vitally!) her hoover, I’ve managed to compress a bunch of the warmest coats/jackets/fleece tops etc so that I can fit as much as possible in, and still have room for my own kit.
So. Kit. What am I taking? We’re away for 31 days, it’s a portered trek and the weather’s wintry:
- Update from Val today: OK there is heaps of snow and we’ve had lots of rain so I’m hoping that with your arrival it will all start to clear up and be good normal weather.
- Mark Horrell’s blogpost about his recent Langtang trek: The 3 curses of the Himalayan snow
- Yr.No weather forecast for Dolpā (Altitude: 4857 m)
Yr.No Long term forecast for Dolpā, Mid West (Nepal)
Well, I took photos as I packed:
And used my trusty kit list spreadsheet, which translated into this packing:
Documents & paperwork
- Passport
- Insurance Policy
- Tickets / Flight confirmation email
- Vaccinations log book
- 6 x passport photos for park permit & tourist visa (on arrival)
- KTM contact details
- Emergency family contacts
- Photos of home
- Travel diary & pens
- Envelopes + postcards for tips
Money
- GBP
- USD
- NPR
- Credit card
- Debit card
Travel clothes / KTM & Pokhara
- Cargo trousers, T-shirt, Grey zip top (plus trek boots and socks I don’t mind walking around the aeroplane in)
- Orange check shirt
- Long sleeve T shirt
Trek clothes
- 2 pairs of trekking trousers
- 2 x microfibre trekking T-shirts
- 2 x T-shirts
- 1 Fleece zip top
- Thermals: leggings + long sleeved microfibre top + thicker Icebreaker top
- Down jacket
- Gloves (1x mittens; 1 x red fleece)
- Warm hat
- Buff
- Goretex jacket
- Waterproof trousers
- Gaiters (new ones, an early birthday present from TJBR)
- Windproof / showerproof jacket
- Sun hat
- Sunglasses (1 x normal for KTM/POK; 1 x Julbo for snow/sun/altitude)
- 16 pairs pants
- 3 x bras
- 4 pairs walking socks
- handkerchief x 2
Sleeping
- Silk sleep sheet
- Sleeping bag fleece liner
- PJ bottoms x 2 (1 x trek; 1 x KTM / POK)
- T shirts x 2 (1 x trek; 1 x KTM / POK)
Footwear
- Trekking boots
- Adventure sandals
- Yaktrax (and planning to buy some spikeys in KTM/POK if the conditions still look super snowy)
Plus
- Trekking poles
- 2 x Muji metal water bottles
- Head torch + spare batteries (3xAAA)
- Watch with alarm
- Swiss Army knife
Toiletries etc
- Flannel & soap in ziplock bag
- Hair brush & comb
- Elastic hair bands & hair clip
- Travel towel (microfibre cloth)
- Hair towel
- Toothbrush & toothpaste
- Deodorant (stick)
- Tampons & disposal bags
- Shampoo & conditioner (3 sample sachets of each)
- Sunscreen & lip screen
- 8 hour moisturising cream (always!!!)
- Normal moisturiser
- Antiseptic handwash
- Wet wipes (biodegradable)
- Loo roll / tissues
- Ear plugs
- Laundry liquid
- Washing up gloves
Bags
- Rucksack (to leave in POK)
- Nisamax holdall (Val’s)
- Daypack
- Black travel bag
- Money belt
- Plastic carrier bags (always more than I think I’ll need, in all sizes)
- Travel purse x 2 (GBP / Nepali Rupees)
First aid kit (in plastic grab bag)
- Antiseptic wipes
- Paracetamol (headaches)
- Diamox
- Antihistamine pills
- Diarrhoea stopper (Immodium)
- Rehydration sachets
- Ibuprofen gel
- Compeed
- Plasters
- Aspirin (3 tablets for the journey home, vs DVT after 3 weeks at altitude)
Electricals and gadgets
- Camera, cables, battery recharger, plug adapter
- Spare camera batteries – charged
- Mobile phone (no charging kit – I’ll turn it off once we’re in KTM)
- Earphones
I’m borrowing a sleeping bag, thermarest and (I hope!) kit bag from Val, who’s also providing travel scrabble and dice for Ten Thousand. I’ll buy a map out there and I’m hoping I’ll be able to squeeze in a couple of books, just in case Etihad’s in flight entertainment fails me. Plus we do have hours in Abu Dhabi in both directions.
And this list doesn’t include all the stuff I’m taking for Val/LED.
Feeling less stressed now that I’ve got my bags packed.
So that just leaves sorting out a birthday present for Rosa before I go…..
Packing List Update: 04 April 2017
- 1 x pillow case (to turn spare clothes into a pillow)
- 1 x nail clippers and nail file – usually on the list. I shall make room.
- Elastic washing line. I am going to need to do some washing….
* Light Education Development, the charity Val runs to bring affordable, sustainable solar light, education supplies and basic medical care to the Manaslu, Tsum, Solu and Humla regions of northern Nepal, yak herders in highland areas of the Himalaya, and the high mountain villages of the Cordillera Blanca and Huayhuash in Northern Peru. I’m a trustee.