Countdown to Kili

Could Arnold count as an emotional support animal on the plane?

I’m a week and a half into being a lady who lunches and while I’ve only gotten one lady luncheon under my belt, I have been roping other ladies into taking extremely sweaty ‘hikes’ around town with me to break in my new boots. Only six days until I start the climb! I did skip walking on the weekend to go to the beach, where I met Arnold, my Kili spirit animal. 

Probably the only part of this hike I am well prepared for is the packing- and not just because I routinely move continents with just two suitcases but because I was influenced at an early age by every teenager’s idol - Rick Steves. 

The first time I really traveled abroad was right after high school graduation, with my high school boyfriend who luckily had lived in Germany for a year so was very worldly. We spent three weeks (total) in France, Italy, and Germany, which at the time seemed like a luxurious pace to an American but now I can’t quite wrap my head around how we did it.

I don’t remember how, but before we went I ended up with a copy of Europe Through the Back Door - a title which somehow I did not find amusing at the time but I have clearly gotten less mature with age. Rick taught me how to pack like a boss/middle-aged white male backpacker who sometimes sleeps on park benches (an actual recommendation in the book on how to travel cheaply). 

Europe Through the Backdoor was my bible for planning my first solo trip, including the section on packing lightly. I diligently rolled up my clothes into ziplock bags, borrowed a money belt (which is actually still here with me...sorry Liz!), hemmed a piece of cloth that could serve as a picnic blanket/sarong/sheet for the park bench, and threw in a plastic lid to use as a cutting board. Probably the best piece of advice for my future nomadic life was ‘if there is something you need that you can’t find in Europe, ask yourself how millions of Europeans survive without it’ - which has also served me very well since becoming a parent.

Sprung for a new backpack since my 12-year-old one is rusting shut in this climate…or is it mold?

Fast-forward almost two decades and not much has changed in my general packing philosophy - except I buy pre-hemmed fabric now. Lucky for me, during the Kili climb porters in much better shape than I am will carry most of my ziplocked stuff!

P.S. Today on Amazon, Europe Through the Back Door 2020 is the bestselling Denmark travel guide (not sure what that says about Denmark…) and his country-specific books are 5 of the top 10 travel books. Rick Steves has still got it! But damn his PBS shows are so boring, bless him.