Everything that went south with me, what earned its place, and what I posted home or sold along the way. A 65-litre pack and a 25-litre day bag, carrying camping kit for Patagonia and clothes for every climate between Ushuaia and Mexico City. I wanted one list I could keep honest — updating it as things were lost, ditched or replaced. Much of the original research came from Worldly Adventurer and Be My Travel Muse, who are worth your time if you're planning the same trip.
58
Items in the kit
7
Categories
3
Lost, and found again
Aldea Luna, Argentina
Puerto Madryn, Argentina
El Choro Trek, Bolivia
Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia
Atacama, Chile
Torres del Paine, Chile
El Cocuy, Colombia
Capurganá, Colombia
Laguna de Iguaque, Colombia
Cerro Quininí, Colombia
Tren Turístico, Colombia
Mexico City, Mexico
Colca Canyon, Peru
Lima, Peru
01
The bag itself
Torres del Paine, Chile
65L hiking bag
The one thing you carry every single day. Everything else is negotiable.
25L day bag
Hikes, buses, and anything I wasn't willing to check.
Dry bags
Laundry, camera cover in the páramo, and a pillow on night buses.
Shoe bags
Boots live outside the clothes. Non-negotiable after the first week.
Padlock
Hostel lockers. Cheap, small, worth it.
02
Clothing
Ushuaia, Argentina
2 Icebreaker base layers
Merino. Wear them for a week and they still don't smell. Warm at altitude, cool on the coast.
6 Icebreaker pants
Same logic, applied where it matters most.
5 T-shirts
More than I needed. Four would have done it.
2 Craghoppers trousers
Light, dry fast, survived two years and every bus floor in the Andes.
1 Jeans
The 'nice' outfit. For restaurants and border officials — everything else is trail-ready.
2 Sweaters / hoodie
Layering beats one thick coat when the climate changes in a single bus ride.
4 Bridgedale + 2 thin socks
Good socks are the difference between a hike and a limp.
1 Sunhat
Lost and replaced in Coyhaique.
1 Woolly hat
Lost and found again in El Chaltén.
Walking boots
The other thing you wear every day.
Vans ultralight trainers
For towns, and for letting your feet forget the boots.
Flip-flops
Hostel showers. Do not skip these.
Swimming shorts + shirt + belt
The rest of it, and not a gram more.
03
Camera & tech
El Chaltén, Argentina
Nikon camera
Lost and found twice in El Chaltén. Nearly every photograph on this site came off it.
64GB SD card + 2 batteries
The cold at 4,000m eats batteries. Keep the spare in an inside pocket.
Secure camera bag
Worth the money the first time you put it down somewhere you shouldn't.
iPhone 6s + iPhone 5c backup
The backup earns its place the day the first one goes.
iPad Mini 2
Reading, writing, and the only screen big enough to review a day's photos.
Solar charger + battery
Multi-day treks and Patagonian campsites with no plug for days.
Chargers + worldwide adaptor
Phone, camera, USB mini. One adaptor for a continent.
Headphones
Twelve-hour night buses.
04
Camping
El Choro Trek, Bolivia
Tent
Sold in Ushuaia — once Patagonia was behind me, it was five kilos I was carrying for nothing.
Sleeping bag
Kept. Useful long after the tent went, on cold hostel nights and night buses.
Sleeping mat
Sold in Ushuaia with the rest of the camping kit.
Cooker, pans, bowl, cup
All sold in Ushuaia. Cooking for one is a false economy when a set menu is £2.
Cutlery
Kept. Weighs nothing, used constantly.
Water bottle
Lost and found again in Chile Chico.
Lifestraw
Paid for itself in a fortnight and kept a lot of plastic out of the Andes.
Headtorch + hand torch
Salt hotels, night buses, power cuts. A phone torch is not the same thing.
Swiss Army knife
Checked luggage only — a lesson you learn once.
2 Lighters
For the cooker, then for everything else.
05
Washing
Scrubba bag
A washing machine that weighs nothing. Sink laundry that actually works.
Washing line + hand wash
The rest of the laundry system. Dries overnight in a dorm.
Dirty clothes bag
Keeps the worn from the clean. Simple, essential.
3-in-1 wash
Lost on the first night. Replaced immediately, so I didn't smell.
Suncream
At altitude the sun is closer and much less forgiving than it feels.
Deodorant, toothbrush, toothpaste
The obvious. Replaceable anywhere.
Beard trimmer + hair product
Two years is a long time to give up entirely.
Insect repellent
The Amazon, and every lowland evening.
06
First aid
Salkantay, Peru
Blister plasters
The single most-used item in the kit. Take more than you think.
Paracetamol + ibuprofen
Altitude headaches are real and arrive without warning.
Diarrhoea + stomach tablets
You will need them. Everyone needs them.
Plasters, bandage, safety pins
Small injuries, a long way from a pharmacy.
Sleeping tablets
For night buses and 4am starts.
LemSip + hangover sachets
Morale, mostly.
07
The small things
Santiago, Chile
Small notebook + pens
Half the writing on this site started as pencil on a bus. Lost the first one at Aldea Luna.
Rough Guide to South America
Heavy, and I still wouldn't leave it behind.
Sunglasses, watch, wallet
Everyday carry, on a continent of bright days.
Ear plugs + eye mask
Dorm rooms. Worth more than they weigh.
Pillow case
Stuff it with clothes and you have a pillow anywhere.
Zip bags + Tupperware
Leaks, snacks, and keeping electronics dry.
Dice + quotes + George
The things that make a bag feel like somewhere to live.
Tissues
Rarely provided. Always needed.
What we posted home
A point-it book, a pack of cards and a roll of bin liners — left in Coyhaique and Salta to lighten the load. The gardening gloves stayed at Aldea Luna. The tent, mat, cooker and pans all went in Ushuaia once Patagonia was behind me. Five kilos lighter, and I never missed a thing.
