I am embarrassed to say that prior to being 44, I had not backpacked. I’ve done tons of day hiking. A slew of car camping. And I have camped out in the woods for multiple days, at Rainbow Gatherings and when packing with llamas. But in the strict sense of the word backpacking,
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I travel with two competing schools of thought running through my head.  First, bring everything you may need, it’s such a pain in the butt to track things down when you are traveling.  Second, the world is abundant and I know how to find what I need wherever I am.