I went with my sister to ‘Go Outdoors ‘ in Preston. I have never been so excited to get fitted for a rucksack. My sister looked at me like she had never seen me before in her life … She was probably wishing she hadn’t at that point.
I ended up with a great 70ltr Osprey rucksack, specifically made for female travellers, with a small rucksack that could be zipped out and used as cabin luggage … perfect. I also picked up a Peter Storm jacket and a few pairs of Craghopper water repellent, lightweight trousers. I already have my Isotex waterproof walking boots from Regatta, that I broke in last year before I even thought about travelling to Peru. I also have my wash bag with my soap, shampoo and moisturiser from the Body Shop. I just need to pick up some base layers and some polo shirts for teaching in. Although it will be the dry season in Peru in June, it will be fairly cold so I’ll need plenty of layers and maybe even a lightweight sleeping bag at night time as the temperature plummets, or so I’m reliably informed.
I was advised to practice packing my rucksack to make sure that I had the weight distribution right for my height. I’m only 5ft 2 inches tall, so I really do need to look into doing that and make sure it’s correctly adjusted once all my stuff is packed. I’ll also need to check the weight and make sure I don’t go over the 23kg limit. I also want to leave some room for souvenirs from my trip. I really like the brightly coloured, traditional woollen hats and blankets. I’ll have to see how much I can fit in and keep the weight down at the same time, as it would be easy to get carried away. I don’t really fancy getting a sore back lugging an over filled rucksack, or I won’t be hiking up any mountain any time soon.