Ultralight Backpacking

by Brenda Yun on

Now I don’t claim to be the biggest expert on ultralight backpacking, but I must say I’ve gotten better with backpacking light in the last few years. I’m heading to Nicaragua and Cuba for a month on Tuesday and thought it might be helpful to share a few tips on what to bring if you’re traveling ultralight.

I think ultralight backpacking distinguishes itself from regular backpacking because it means you’re willing to travel for longer than two weeks with a daypack. Mine’s a tried and true, ultra-dirty Kelty Blanca 200. If you intend to go ultralight, all of your belongings should fit in a pack that you can carry on with you whether you’re in a small bus or plane.
The trick to choosing what to bring with you is to bring only the stuff that’s has multiple functions and that you won’t mind losing while you’re on the road. A pair of zip-out pants double as shorts, for instance, is always a good (though kind of unfashionable) bet. Traveling is all about what you see, not what you wear, so bring the multi-purpose stuff, not the stuff that will bog you down or make you fret if you no longer have it.

So, in terms of clothes I’ve settled on this:

  • light raincoat
  • 1 longsleeve
  • 1 t-shirt
  • 2 tank tops
  • zip-out pants/shorts
  • capri pants
  • skirt
  • two sundresses
  • pajamas (that I can wear in public too, if I’m desperate)
  • 4 pairs of undies
  • 1 pair of socks
  • 1 bra
  • 2 bikinis (though you only need one, I plan on being in the water as much as possible)
  • pashmina scarf

Keep in mind I’m packing for tropical weather. If you’re headed for cooler climates, you can get by on three tops, three bottoms, and three pairs of socks. Bring clothes that you can wash by hand and dry quickly. All of my clothes fit inside a plastic vaccum sack, which you can buy at any good drugstore for $5.

As for shoes, I usually bring just two pairs — three if I’m going to a cold climate. For this trip, I’m just going to bring my flip-flops (here in Hawaii we call them slippers) and my awesome ultralight pair of Nike flex sneakers.

Then you have to think about toiletries/accessories. I usually put those in a separate kit that will fit in the front pocket of my backpack. I’m pretty much sold on my hanging L.L. Bean kit with Hawaiian print. It came in handy when I was in Vanuatu, and a lady I met on Erromango asked if she could have it, so I gave it to her. When I got home, I bought another one just like it. Here are my toiletries/accessories:

  • money belt
  • toothbrush & toothpaste
  • shampoo & soap
  • comb
  • earplugs
  • chapstick
  • sunscreen
  • Q-tips
  • sunscreen
  • mini-flashlight
  • earplugs
  • aspirin, dramamine, vitamins
  • powdered laundry detergent
  • nail clippers
  • hairbands & clips
  • tampons

A lighter daypack is a must, and for women, a purse for the evenings is a good idea.

There are also some things you can’t leave home without. For me, it’s a laptop. I hate handwriting things, but having a word processor is essential for me as a writer. I purposely purchased a pink Acer mini-PC (for only $299!) because I don’t want to travel with my precious laptop (which contains all of my important files) and risk losing it. Still, I have a cool laptop lock to keep my Acer safe when I’m not around. Throw in my camera, iPod, and a good travel book, and I’m pretty much good to go.

Traveling light is a really liberating experience. It taught me what I can live with or without, and made me feel so much more grateful for the things I take for granted. Enjoy your trip!

Score some $500 tickets to Australia with STA Travel

by Grant Martin on

Jealous of all of those blokes who got in on the first round of tickets to Oz on V Australia? It’s true, some of us snagged sub $500 fares to Australia late last year when The Pacific’s newest airline started selling tickets, but it’s not too late to cash in your chips.

The latest installment in STA Travel’s “fast finger fares” give students one last chance to score that dream vacation down under. As a bonus, a welcome package with two nights of (dorm style) lodging, meals and extras is also included in the price. That’s a steal. So how do you get in?

  • Twenty packages will available at exactly 12PM on Monday, the 9th of March. That’s tomorrow.
  • You can only book the packages by going to your local STA travel or by calling (800) 360.9273, so you either need to get to your local office and sit on a travel agent or use four cellphones and call non stop starting at 11:58. Yes, you can wear your Kappa Kappa Gamma sweatpants to the STA office. No, they don’t make your butt look big.

In the worst case scenario, if you miss out on the twenty best deals, STA still has Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne on sale from Los Angeles for about $650, which isn’t a bad deal.

You can read more about the sale at STAtravel.com.

%Gallery-44162%

Skiing in Maine offers bargains in March

by Jamie Rhein on

When I think of Maine, I think of leaping off barnacle covered rocks into the ocean and eating clams dipped in butter in Ogunquit like I did one summer when I went there to visit a high school friend. She was was working as a waitress at a hotel resort and I was a kitchen grunt and laundry girl at a kids camp–the only way I could afford making it to camp as a high schooler. Whenever else I’ve been to Maine, the theme has been the same–beach seafood,and leisurely strolls. Just recently I’ve thought of a different scene.

A friend of mine–a different one–just emailed me this week with news that he expected to be skiing in Maine until April. He lives near Portland. With the 70 degree weekend we’re having in Ohio, I’d say my one-day pass for tubing at Snow Trails will go unused. Maine is a different story. If I lived there, I’d go tubing and more. Perhaps, I’d dust off those cross-country skis of mine propped in a corner of our basement.

With the snow that socked in the northeast the beginning of this past week, the skiing in Maine has had an extra boost. The Ski Maine Association Web site offers links to each of the Alpine and Nordic ski areas and tells when it last snowed at each. Most places just got fresh snow.

The events page on the site offers a list of the myriad activities that are going on through the middle of April. I have to say the 22nd Annual Parrot Head/Bust N Burn Festival sounds intriguing. It’s taking place at Sunday River, April 3-5. Here’s an article in Boston.com from last year about the event. Key lime pie, Jimmy Buffet music and skiing are involved.

As a note, Sunday River is offering lodge and ski packages through March with an even greater price drop during the middle of the week. If you buy lift tickets ahead of time, you get a 10% discount. The Ski Maine Association also is offering discounts through the Maine Winter Activities Pass. Before you head somewhere, check out the deals.

The photo is of Sugar Loaf. College students who show ID can ski for $39 during mid-week days. That means Mon.-Thursday.

For those looking for skiing longer into the season, I’d seriously think about heading to Maine. Surely you can find steamed clams to dip in butter which could tide you over until summer.

Here’s an events page for what to do in Ogunquit in the winter. On Wednesday nights at Tapas and Tini’s there’s Divine and Dine–where you can have a choice of entrees that come with side dishes for $9.99. The deal ends the beginning of June.

The photo from Maine Coast Semester is of a winter trip to Holbrook Pond. Maine Coast Semester offers wilderness trips year round for adults and young people. Just another way to see Maine in the winter–or any season.

Fare Alert! Fall Barcelona fares from New York for under $250!

by Grant Martin on

It’s that time of the year when fare sales start to come in heavy and the frugal traveler with wanderlust is fraught with options. This one, however, was too outstanding to not pass to Gadlingers:

Iberia, Spain’s national carrier, just put half of Europe on sale, starting with Barcelona and Madrid for about $250 from New York City. You can’t get to Los Angeles for that price half of the time!

But it gets better. Other destinations throughout the continent are sale, from Istanbul for $300 to Paris for a shade more.

Fares appear to be good for March and November of this year with a few fares bleeding out on either side of those dates. The key is to be flexible and patient in your search. Start at Kayak.com and search “weekends” from NYC to XXX (BCN, MAD, IST) etc, or use the “flexible dates” function to expand your search. Then, bounce over to Iberia.com and lock in tickets.

You can even get through the booking process and save your ticket for 48 hours if you want to ask your significant other for permission.

These tickets book into the Q fare class, so if you’re planning on earning American Airlines (OneWorld) miles, you’ll only get 30%. But for $244, who cares?

Search and book as soon as you can, fares this hot won’t last more than a few hours!

Fare alert – Virgin America $38 flights to fun destinations

by Scott Carmichael on

Bored this week? Virgin America has some nice low fares loaded right now for travel to and from San Francisco, San Diego, Seattle, Los Angeles or Las Vegas.

At just $38 each way, you can get yourself a round trip ticket for just $97, all taxes and fees included. The prices only seem to be valid for travel in the coming week, so don’t expect $100 tickets during the summer months.

Normally, good fare deals usually involve trips from bad airports to places nobody wants to go, but a day trip from San Francisco to Seattle would probably make for a fantastic way to spend the day.

That’s right – these fares are also valid for same day returns. You could leave SFO at 7:15am and depart San Diego at 8:35, giving you an entire day to enjoy the city. A similar trip can be made from San Francisco to Seattle, leaving the airport at 9:55am and departing Seattle at 8:55pm, giving you plenty of time to visit Pike Place Market and take a ride up the Space Needle.

You’ll find the deals at the Virgin America web site, and don’t forget to bring your laptop or smartphone, because all these flights are currently served by Virgin America planes with WiFi service on board ($9.95 per flight).

As with most deals like this, the longer you wait, the fewer seats will be available at these low prices, so don’t procrastinate too long!