The Ultimate Car Camping Music Festival Packing List

July 30, 2019July 30, 2019 by Sarah | Leave a comment

Happy Wednesday! I’m so amped up this morning because I just worked a ton of hours over the past few days and now I get to look forward to a music festival this weekend! On Friday, I am headed to Shakori Hills. It’s a grassroots music, dance, and yoga festival held in the woods here in North Carolina. It’s a car camping festival in the sense that you get to drive relatively close to the campground, but you eventually have to park and hike all your gear into the forest and find your own campsite. Nothing is designated for you. How cool, right?

Our Live Seasoned theme this month is travel so while I was sitting here typing out a list for myself and my friends, I realized this could be helpful for other summer festy goers. Here is my ultimate car camping festival packing list. I feel this list is a fair mix of basic and over the top. For instance, cooking. It’s really not necessary to go all out, but there something about cooking at camp that makes my heart happy, so I take a lot in that department. If there is anything you deem essential that’s not on this list, let me know!

Gift Guide : Kids’ Camping Gear

May 10, 2018November 9, 2018 by Katie | Leave a comment

This month, in anticipation of summer vacations, we’re doing a few travel-related posts. You can see our full archive of travel posts here. And here are some of our basic tips for camping with young kids.

If you haven’t been following the blog regularly, let’s just throw it out there that we love to go camping. And we’re hoping to instill that same love in our two little guys (ages 5 & 3).

We’ve documented quite a few family trips on the blog. You can see a hike from our most recent spring trip here. Last summer we took a little road trip to Great Sand Dunes and the San Juan Mountains. And one of our most memorable camping trips was the winter weekend in Rocky Mountain National Park.

While the kids were babies, we packed almost no gear for them. As long as we remembered the carriers for hikes, what else did we need?

Koh Lipe & Thai Islands Packing List

May 1, 2017June 22, 2017 by Sarah | Leave a comment

Happy Monday fools! I’m back with yet another packing list post. What can I say? I know how to fill a bag. Packing for a trip to a Thai island is pretty simple, you don’t need too much since you’ll likely be lounging in your bathing suit most of the time.

Most recently I visited Koh Lipe, Thailand’s southern most island. Wow. Koh Lipe is pure magic. I’ve been to a number of Thai islands during my time as an English teacher, but there is something really special about this particular island. It’s really tiny and therefore easy to explore by foot and that’s what I did most days when I wasn’t lounging on one of the pristine beaches. If you’re visiting Koh Lipe, here’s a short list of what you’ll need. I linked to the exact products I use – enjoy 🙂

Packing for the Annapurna Circuit Trek

April 24, 2017September 11, 2018 by Sarah | 1 Comment

Namaste, I’m leading a trek in Nepal in April 2019. If you’re coming with me, here’s a quick list of what you should bring and why. If you’re headed ~~down~~ up the trail alone, stay tuned for a more comprehensive Annapurna Circuit trekking guide to be released here this summer. You’d have more fun with me though, check out the details of my Meditation and Trekking in Nepal trip here.

Thailand : 30 day packing list

March 13, 2017June 22, 2017 by Sarah | 2 Comments

Happy Monday! Last night I slept in my bed for the first time since mid-January. Wow. What an amazing feeling. I love traveling, but who can beat snoozing in their own bed, hogged by their own huge dog? I didn’t think so. I wanted to republish this post today since I’ll be stuffing all this goodness into my own bag this evening. On Wednesday, I’m embarking on my first official travel guiding trip. Five first-time travelers (to Asia) will be in my hands – better wish us luck 😉

Katie here : Sarah’s in Thailand! What a lucky bum! But really, I’m so excited for her and can’t wait to hear about the adventures as she travels. During her first stint in Thailand, she kept a lengthy journal on her Tumblr account and it was amazing – all of our friends and family were anxious waiting for each new post. If you’re interested in that experience, those posts are still accessible – just scroll down to November 2011 through April 2012 in her archive. Today she’s checking in with a timely post on packing and staying calm when your luggage takes a different plane ;-).

Once upon a time, packing was a completely daunting task. I remember I would call my friend Kandy and we would pack together, which really meant wandering around our respective rooms talking about random things and placing an item or two in a bag every twenty minutes or so. Fast forward ten years and packing is a breeze. I have an easy foolproof method that I stick to and my packing gets completed in no time. Today I wanted to share a sample packing list for spending one month in Thailand and how I go about packing in general. Continue reading …

Ecuador Packing List

January 19, 2017June 22, 2017 by Sarah | Leave a comment

Howdy! Nine days until I fly to Ecuador and I can tell you, I’m not ready! I’m just beginning to pull out my backpack and lazily toss things inside. I’ll be in Ecuador for about two weeks. The first week, I’ll be attending and working at a yoga retreat. The second week, I’m planning on climbing a couple mountains. While packing, I always think back to this article and while I can’t pack quite as light as that couple, I’m really going to try to take only the bare minimal on this trip. I’ll need some equipment for trekking and a few gadgets for my photo work, but otherwise not much. I’ve linked to my exact gear below. Happy packing!

Here’s what I’m taking:

yoga mat
hiking boots
black Nikes
flipflops
Undies + bras
2 pairs hiking socks
3 pairs regular socks
2 tank tops
2 yoga pants
fleece-lined leggings
elephant pants
1 pair of shorts
2 tee shirts
1 wool longsleeve
1 maxi dress
sarong
1 down jacket
rain jacket
1 balaclava
1 scarf
1 beanie
pair of gloves + mittens
camelbak hydration system
digital camera, SD cards, battery & charger
film camera, 6 rolls of film
phone, charger & portable battery
headphones, headlamp, batteries
wallet – credit cards, cash & passport
book & pen
toiletries – (face oil, brush, deo, toothbrush + paste, chapstick, sunscreen, hair ties, etc)
sunglasses
sleeping bag, space blanket, life straw, compass, survival cards, lighter
electrolyte tablets, hand warmers, tea
???

That’s it for now. I plan on taking my hiking backpack and a small shoulder bag to carry everything. I’ll also pack everything inside big plastic bags for protection. Am I forgetting anything?

*This post contains affiliate links.

Yoga Teacher Training Packing List

September 20, 2016June 22, 2017 by Sarah | 2 Comments

Namaste. Ready for your yoga retreat? Freaking out because you’re so excited and don’t know what to pack? Sweet. I gotcha covered. You basically need nothing except a great attitude, but I’ll round out the list with a few other essentials.

Ever since posting about my experience at Rishikul Yogshala’s 200hr Yoga Teacher Training in Nepal, I received emails from prospective students asking, ‘WTF do I pack?!’ and the answer is so simple. You don’t need much. Imagine what you take to a yoga studio each time you go to practice. Imagine all the things you leave at home. Now pack accordingly.

Yoga Teacher Training / Retreat Packing List:

Yoga mat
Drink bottle
Hand towel
Full sized towel / yoga towel if you use one
Light blanket or sarong (this is really more of a travel in general must, but it’s very useful if your retreat is going to incorporate Yoga nidra or if you get cold during savasana.)
A few yoga outfits – whatever that means to you.
Slip on shoes – flip flops or something similar since you’ll be slipping in and out of your shoes each time you enter the studio.
A notebook and pen
A light read or an ipod with some calming tunes. Sometimes you’ll need to fall asleep (teacher training starts early!), but you’ll still feel energized from all the asana so bring a tool that drifts you off to dreamland.
A snack to quell hunger at inconvenient times. I usually take raw pine nuts, almonds or walnuts or a box of these fig bars.

Things To Leave At Home:

Expectations
Extra Work (including your blog, sorry!)
Social Media & Your Love of Wifi

That rounds out the essentials. Here’s the complete Yoga Teacher Training Packing List that I used specifically for the Rishikul Yogshala 200hr YTT in Pokhara, Nepal.

If you are contemplating a yoga teacher training, I highly recommend Rishikul Yogshala.

*This post contains affiliate links, but don’t worry, I only link to products I currently use and love.

Pack Your Bags: Spring Backpacking

May 19, 2014June 22, 2017 by Sarah | 1 Comment

Spring is a great time to hit the trails. The weather is warm, but not too hot and the creeks are overflowing with water. Lots of water is a good thing. That means you’ll have enough to drink, cook and wash with. Nothing is worse than hiking to a campsite and realizing the creek has run dry. Backpacking may seem a little intimidating if you have never gone before, but by the time you finish reading this post, you’ll realize you can do it to!

In this segment of Pack Your Bags, we’ll cover everything you need in your pack for a weekend trip. In the future we will fill you in on some basic backpacking 101 information as well as what to eat on the trail. If you are preparing for your first hike, make it an easy overnighter. That way you will get a feel for hiking and have a better idea of what it entails for future weekend-long hikes.