Boy Scouts participate in a flag-raising ceremony, Heart Mountain Relocation Center, Heart Mountain, Wyoming, 1943
And by that, we don’t mean humping it with a sleeping bag, pack frame and tent, and hot dogs over a campfire. Merely to be prepared, as best as you can, for what the vagaries of travel may throw at you.
I’ve traveled a fair bit so far in my life (40-plus countries and counting). Eventually you figure out what works and what doesn’t. Don’t carry a heavy coat, do carry a spare shirt on board the plane. Forget the running shoes, remember the dental floss.
The List
I was once getting a ribbing by my traveling colleagues about “being a Boy Scout”. Apart from a multi-function knife and flint and steel, I guess the description wasn’t too far off. Compass? Got it! Spare batteries? Right here! Band-Aids? Got those too.
For those readers wondering what it is that I carry in my Mary Poppins bag, here’s a picture and list:
- Spare socks and underwear
- Paperback book – “Hogfather”, Terry Pratchett)
- Blog/travel journal, business cards, pens and markers, project date wheel
- Spare polo shirt and t-shirt
- Fix-it kit: rubber bands, electrical tape, rubber bands, paracord, eyeglass repair kit, sewing kit
- Calculator
- Card holder / fake wallet
- Compass
- LED Flashlight
- Spare batteries
- Toothpicks
- Bandanna
- Antihistamine, ACE bandage, Ibuprofen
- First Aid kit
- Washcloth (under First Aid Kit)
- Ankle brace
- Towelette
- Reading glasses (2 pairs)
- Toothpicks
- Ear plus
- Main wallet
- Toiletries, in Ziploc bags
- Blackberry and chargers
- Ipod (2)
- Notepad
- Itinerary/Electronic ticket
- Snacks
Sounds like a lot to carry, but my trusty Targus computer backpack stores all this pretty handily, and it doesn’t weigh all that much. The nice thing about traveling with a backpack is that it fits neatly under the airplane seat, while leaving room for my feet.
Members of the drum and bugle corps, formerly a Boy Scout troop from Los Angeles. Topaz, Utah, 1943.
Every item is there for a reason. At some point, I’ve either had to use one or wish dearly I had one, like a sorely needed sewing kit to fix that trouser tear.
Here’s a brief story about one of those little items that came in handy.
LIGHTS OUT!
Next to a fart, the lights going out is about the most unwelcome thing to happen in the elevator. Here we are, five bidnessmen going down to the lobby from the 14th floor of the hotel. Doors close, and suddenly it’s pitch black, and the elevator gives that “Uuunnnnhhhhh” shutting-down noise. Couple of moments of consternation (or sphincter-clenching panic, quietly contained), and out come the couple of cell phones, with a feeble electronic light.
Yours truly whips out the mini-LED flashlight from the backpack. Much better, we now have decent light. Now what?
After a few seconds, the guy closest to the elevator doors takes the initiative and muscles them open. No sooner done, that the lights come back on. Everyone looks at each other, in a moment’s hesitation.
Scene from Boy Scout Memorial Day Parade, Granada Relocation Center, Amache, Colorado.
My turn to take the lead. In Portunol (half-Spanish, half-Portuguese — we’re in Brazil), I tell my elevator friends that they’re welcome to stay, but screw it! fourteen floors or not, I’m taking the stairs. I edged forward, stepped up and out into the hallway, and headed for the stairs. One by one, they all followed (smart guys).
That’s the first and hopefully last time I experience a blackout in an elevator.
We did have another blackout the next day, during a Power Point presentation in the office. A few blocks seemed to be affected. Being a lovely day, the few couple hours of the blackout were spent in a pleasant lunch (restaurant life went on, blackout or not), and walks around the tree-lined neighborhoods of Nova Brooklyn, a Sao Paulo business district. Strategies were discussed, opined on, and decisions taken. About as effective as sitting in a hermetically sealed office, and probably much healthier.
Again, a mini-flashlight is a nice thing to have when visiting a pitch-dark bathroom in a power blackout. For the sake of other people using the restroom after you, it’s good to see the spot you’re aiming for.
Minimalism, not!
A section of the drum and bugle corps, formerly a Boy Scout troop from Los Angeles. Topaz, Utah, 1943.
At least not when it comes to this aspect of travel. It suits me to be well prepared. I suppose MacGyver could fix a broken luggage handle with a couple of paper clips and a bobby pin, but I much prefer a roll of electrical tape and sturdy 550 paracord.
Both our kids have been Cub Scouts. Although they chose not to go through into the Boy Scouts (and we didn’t want to force them), the experience gained through Scouting has been positive and valuable. I notice they also tend to pack a little like their old man, being careful to include little useful items that they might possibly need.
You never know.
(Historical aside: In trolling through Wikimedia for public domain “Boy Scout” photos, I came across quite a few of life in WWII internment camps. Interesting, the bittersweet irony of people saluting the flag of the very government that forcibly evicts you from your home and imprisons you in camps. I remember reading about the 442nd Regimental Combat Team. It was composed almost entirely of Nisei (Japanese-American) volunteers. Fighting in the 1944 European theater, the unit became *the* most highly-decorated regiment in the history of the U.S. Army. Keeping in mind that these men accomplished this while their families were held captive in relocation camps back home. It could well be that some of the Boy Scouts in these very photos volunteered for this regiment).
I’m obsessed with exoficcio stuff. Have you tried it? They have the best stuff. And I always bring nuts. So, ummmm, is your list what you take on every trip? or just when you’re “camping?”
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I’d not heard of ExOfficio until now, so thanks for the tip. I have a couple of articles from Tilley Endurables, including the floppy hat (great for the garden!). That list is really really what I take on every trip, although somewhat improved these days by the iPad. It replaced the paper back, journal and one iPod, but I added a small keyboard.
That’s what I thought when I saw the first picture – internment camp.
Your pack is quite a bit more extensive than mine, but no sunblock?
I take my LED head lamp, it’s convenient for reading at night in a hostel.
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I don’t use sunblock much or at all. It’s that swarthy Mediterranean skin, y’know.
An LED headlamp is something I’ve meaning to get for a while, and never have. I might be still in time to put it on the Valentine’s day wish list.
wow, that’s a lot of stuff. I carry almost nothing and count on having someone like you in the elevator when the lights go out.
jlcollinsnh recently posted..Travels with “Esperando un Camino”
Ah yes, but there’s never a Boy Scout around when you need one.
Mmmm…
maybe I’ll need to start packing one.
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Good list. The contents should serve you well in most situations. I don’t know if I would ever want to ride an elevator again after that experience!
We pack light for all trips including camping. We too have invested in some great quick dry clothing. Ex Officio is awesome. One back pack each and we are good to go.
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ExOfficio sounds like it needs a second look. I do like clothes I can hand wash in the sink at night, and wear dry in the morning.
That is very well prepared. We pack but I’ve never brought that many things in a pack.
One day, I do hope to see as many countries as you have, and hopefully even more.
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Hi Kevin – it all scrunches down to a nice compact size.
Nothing like going to a new country. Not sure if I’ll get to do that this year. Looks like Italy and Korea will be on the menu, but they’re not new.
[...] Centavos: Travel Like a Boy Scout – 101 talks about how he prepares when he travels abroad. So far he has been to over 40+ [...]
Such a good call – I always carry a pen in my pocket because you never know when you may need to write something down!
Robert @ The College Investor recently posted..Free TurboTax 2012 Premier Giveaway and Review
Me too, Robert. A much prefer carrying a pen in the pocket of my work slacks, rather than my shirt pocket.
[...] Travel Like a Boy Scout. You never know when it might come in handy, and help you escape from a blacked-out elevator! [...]
Your travel bag is similar to how I keep my personal automobiles and my work truck stocked. I compile everything I might possibly need into a milk crate or a tote. First aid, jumper cables, tools, blankets, toilet paper, ibuprofen, extra sunglasses, etc. Always better to be prepared.
Hi Matt – I also have a backpack for the truck, with assorted supplies, and other odds and ends stored under the seats, in door side pockets, the center console, etc. A project this month or next is to get a bed toolbox where I can organize everything, and also carry a can of extra gasoline. Could have used a couple extra gallons this past weekend.
Your Magic Travel Bag cracks me up. I love how you have rubber bands.
If you have an iPad though, doesn’t that eliminate the need for a calculator and a compass?
I’m an uber minimalist when it comes to travel. I don’t like having tons of stuff to rifle through and keep track of, so I figure I’ll just rough it. There have been times though that I wished I wasn’t so minimalistic. Like when my kids have runny noses and I gots no Kleenex in my purse.
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Hi Lindy — Good question. I still like having the calculator with me in meetings, I’ve had it for years and I’m used to it. Same with the compass. I know that it’s on the right outside pocket, and can reach for it almost without thinking. I also have a compass app and a calculator on the iPad though. Two is better than one.
A bandanna is great for runny noses and other uses. I used ine the other day to wrap up brownies at the office to take home to the boys.
I loved the images and the picture of the stuff you take along. Will you come over and pack a bag for me? We travel a lot and try to keep a “what if” bag packed and ready to take along.
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If we were neighbors, I’d be glad to. There’s of course a small and discreet personal organizer fee, but that’s always negotiable.
I don’t do camping. I am quite spoiled. I need a bed, a warm comforter, a nice bathroom. However, I do tend to pack as a minimalist. But purely out of selfish intentions to do shopping at the destination. Loved your list. But what happened to sunscreen? I also would substitute bandanna with a hat. Hats are more useful.
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Hi Aloysa – sound like Mrs. 101 talking. She’d much rather be into luxury tent camping that roughing it like we did when we used to camp with the Cub Scouts. I do wear a ball cap on occasion when I travel. And, I don’t use sunscreen. Not out of any ideological conviction, I just forget to. In the summertime when I have to stay out in the sun, I just wet down my floppy hat from time to time, and it seems to work OK.
I just feel so wholly unprepared now after reading that. But we’ll be camping and such this summer so I’ll be referring back to your list.
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@ Andi,
Hah! this is just the regular travel list. You should see the packing list for the camping boxes. I really go nuts there
Sweet pic and list 101C! I am so glad I started traveling light over the last few years. I brought one roller bag with me on my trip to Turkey last year and it was perfect. I always go through a pack list before I leave for a big trip so I don’t forget any important essentials. The less we bring on trip, the less we have to lose too! -Sydney
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That’s the thing, Sydney. If I travel on vacation, I could fold all this into a slightly larger back, with a couple more changes of clothes, and I’m good.
[...] Centavos presents Travel Like a Boy Scout posted at 101 Centavos , saying, “And by that, we don’t mean humping it with a sleeping [...]
I just love this!
I don’t go anywhere without my handy-dandy self-winding no-batteries-needed flashlight. My father also always makes sure our cabinets are full of iosat (potassuim iodid tablets) just in case Los Alamos has an explosion…yeah, I got stories of growing up with him as a father!
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Hey Molly – those are probably some good stories that need telling.