Merino wool.
That's my advice to this year's graduates travelers. Merino wool.
We decided to take a minimalist approach to packing for this trip. If you're away for more than a week, there's gonna be some laundry -- it's just a matter of frequency and amount. During our spring Utah trip, I tried a merino wool shirt. It's very thin and not itchy at all. And the best of it is that wool has natural, how should I put it, anti-odor properties. After a couple of days of camping, the shirt is still suitable for public display, even if you're not. Additionally, it dries quickly.
Cotton is evil. Well, if not evil then it certainly takes a long time to dry, And wearing still-damp clothes when traveling is damn near close to evil.
So every couple of days we'll wash out a few things. No hotel laundry. No large pile of wearables to suds through. For those of you keeping track at home, here's my clothes packing list for this trip (H's is comparable):
- wool socks - 2 pr
- wool t-shirt s sleeves - 1
- wool t-shirt l sleeves - 1
- synthetic t-shirt - 1
- synthetic collared shirt - 2
- synthetic shorts - 2
- synthetic pants - 1
- cotton pants - 1
- floppy hat - 1
- synthetic underwear - 3
- cotton underwear - 1
- sandals - 1 pr
- hiking shoes - 1 pr
So one carry-on duffle bag of clothes for the both of us. Our other two bags, however, are for the camera gear. I haven't quite yet figured out what the merino wool equivalent is for photography.
