Packing a Cruelty Free Back Pack Part 3

Today's post is the last of the three parts titled "Packing a Cruelty Free Back Pack."  In it I will show you the rest of the items I have found to help my backpack be a guilt free load to carry on my upcoming trip to the Camino de Santiago.  It has been so much fun creating these posts...I don't think I've ever scrutinized the things I'd be taking on a trip anywhere before...ever.  I've learned a lot about what I can include in my pack...and what to avoid that I may have thoughtlessly put in my backpack before.

This is me testing out the Nemo
that has a figure 8 shape to give
a girl a little room to move.

                                              The largest item in my pack is my sleeping bag. I have to admit that I had to buy a new sleeping bag in order to put this cruelty free pack together.  My old sleeping bags were both down feather mummy bags...one was a Kelty while the other was a Nemo.  Both are great bags (although I've fallen out of love with the Kelty mummy bag because it absolutely encapsulates me...I can't move in that thing.)  The Nemo was supposed to be my improved bag...it has a figure 8 design and allows more room for your arms and knees so you can get blood flowing back to most parts of your body in the middle of the night.  However, now that I'm packing a cruelty free sleeping bag that is light enough to back pack with...I found a brand I had never heard of before to save the day.

Norsens Camping E220 2-3 Season Bag

I haven't slept in it yet, but I already think this bag is pretty awesome. It is described on Amazon.com as "Norsens Hiking Camping Backpacking Sleeping Bag Lightweight/Ultralight Compact, 0 degree Weather sleeping bag for Adults." It is 100% water resistant polyester with fill 100% cotton. It says it is ideal for near freezing temperatures. It weighs in at 2.5 lbs.  There are four straps that pull down and tighten this bag into a really small ball, making it easy to fit into the bottom section of my backpack.  It got it for $39.99  Less than $50!  That's pretty incredible! I will have to let you know how the bag fared on the trip...to see if I still love it...but so far, I'm so impressed!

This is my rain jacket by Northface. I think I'm crazy about it, too.  The materials are all synthetic, it is rain proof, it has zippers underneath the arms so that I can let air in (many rain jackets make you so sweaty that you might as well just let the rain get you!), and it's nice and light.

                             




                                     

In the photo I am pointing
to the zipper that allows you
to open up the jacket and let in air.

I love that the jacket has large pockets inside so that I can slip my cell phone into it, or other objects I don't want to get wet.                                       

 

I also really like that inside the pocket there is the Stow tag.  This means that I can fold the jacket up into that inner pocket and zip it closed.  I love that I don't have to babysit all of the little compression sacks! The people at Northface who put this jacket together also understood that I don't want a pouch that is so small that I can barely zip it closed.  Once I had the jacket stuffed in there, I found it to be perfect. It wasn't so tight that I had to fight to get the zipper zipped...but it was nice and compact so that I wasn't going to be wasting space.






This is how it looks 
when it has been stowed 
away.

This will stay in the 
very front section of 
my pack so that I have 
quick access to it.  

These are the sandals that I have chosen to wear in the shower and at night after I take off my boots.  I have been wearing these for so long already...I mean they have really been through it.  I have walked all over dirt roads in Costa Rica with these, walked in the Mexican Pacific ocean, and they have put in some good local mileage too.  These are called Xero shoes and are pretty minimalistic.  They're nice and light, the soles are thin enough that it's easy to slide these into the pack, and they have enough tread to help you feel secure on wet surfaces.  Each part of your foot can be velcro-ed in nice and tight for ocean walking or loosened up at night when your feet are swollen.

Osprey Pack Cover

This tiny little bag holds the backpack cover.  If it starts to rain, I can just pull this out and fit it over my Osprey nicely.  In theory, if I'm wearing my rain jacket and use this pack cover on my backpack, we should make it to shelter without having ruined my phone, its chargers, my passport and plane tickets...everything!  That sounds like it would be worth the two minutes it takes to get this on.  The pouch it comes in is separate...thank goodness it's small and I can stuff it in a waist belt pocket where it won't get lost.



Speaking of my phone and its charger....

The flash drive for an iPhone 7+ and its case ran about $50 for both

This is my phone, the charger, an external battery charger, a flash drive for the photos on my phone (64 GB) and the waterproof case that the flash drive goes into.  I love that I could get all of these items in a rose gold.  I'm not usually the "pink" kinda girl...but rose gold is fabulous!


Of course, I will need to bring some sunglasses, so I've chosen these blue ones that I picked up at a Big 5 Sporting Goods Store.  They are a little scratchy, but not too bad...and I really like the blue lenses. 

I will also need some cruelty free lip gloss and was pretty excited to be given this stuff as a gift!

Too many lip glosses that say they are all natural are made with bee's wax...and so they don't qualify as cruelty free.  This brand uses a plant based wax that works like a charm.  It feels good when I wear it, it's a tiny tube so it fits into my pack easily, and with some great flavors...this stuff is making its way onto my list of favorites.

north books found at gonorthbooks.com

This is my journal...a bullet journal that I will keep all of my diary entries into during my walk on the camino. I usually use one every day at home to stay organized because I love how easy it is to customize my format for calendars, daily to-do-lists, and meal planners. It will also work well on the camino because the journal is small and light.  The bullet points inside will help me to control the size of my writing and keep things neat.  I got mine (in a pack of 3) for about $9.00 from Amazon.

These are gators and the little blue bag where they will live when I'm not using them.  Gators go on your ankles and over your shoes to make sure that stones and water don't go into your shoes/boots.   I've heard that some hikers wear shorts in the rain...as long as they have gators on over there shoes and a rain jacket.  This will be my very first time using gators. I got these NUOLUX waterproof gaiters for $11.99, including the little pack to store them in.             

These are my hiking poles below.  I've had them for probably 4 or 5 years now...possibly longer.  They are Black Diamond Trail Ergo Poles with Cork handles.  The handles are slowly molding to my hand and wick away any sweat. They are really soft to hold onto. 

You might notice that I have tape wrapped around the poles about a foot below the cork handles.  It is Leuko tape which can come in handy for a blistered foot. If you get a blister, you clean the blister and then apply a patch of this tape over it.  This tape will keep your blister from rubbing against your shoe (like Moleskin) and is reputed to stay on even when you get it wet in the shower...repeatedly.  I tried it for one shower and it stayed on like a real trooper!  So I keep some rolled around my trekking poles so that it is handy if I need it. I may be rolling some duct tape on there also before I go.  Once...it was duct tape that helped me get rid of stinging nettles on my bum!

Remember the deodorant I mentioned in "Packing a Cruelty Free BackPack Part 2?"  Well, I forgot to mention that I wouldn't be lugging the entire jar with me. I actually fit enough deodorant from the jar into a contact lens case (it's on the right).  On the left, I have put enough of my rose petal face cream to apply it once a day during the trip.  The rose petal face cream will make me feel like I'm home...and if I can fit both the deodorant and the face cream into a contact lens case, I think that will be light enough.

  Andalou Beautiful Day Cream is vegan

                          

I haven't decided between my black puffy jacket (synthetic, not down) and my Columbia fleece jacket. The puffy jacket is lighter and would make a great pillow if I stuffed it in one of the mesh bags...but I feel like my backpack would be more stable on the fleece.  I'm going to have to practice with both...but regardless, they are both cruelty free and therefore options.

I do have a fanny pack coming in the mail, but other than that, I am pretty close to having shown you everything I will be bringing...wait, my toothbrush!

Well, now that you can be assured that I will brush my teeth...I think I will call this Cruelty Free BackPack a wrap! I hope it will help you as you pack your cruelty free backpack. 

So, until the next time...

take a hike!

Patt!

Peace!