Post-camino packing

DirtAmy said:

Is this normal?

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Absolutely.
Packing a whole bunch of unnecessary stuff? That's what's not normal.
(Assuming you have a home base to leave things when you are not using them, that is.)

And packing less is just one thing that is different after a camino, or a lifetime of hard travel.

- always double-checking your table if you leave a café or restaurant: have I really got everything? Sunglasses, phone, wallet? You might never see that place again.
- always on the lookout for ATMs, dollar-stores and supermarkets for future use.
- hesitant to buy anything that hasn't at least a double use.
- knowing exactly where the spare batteries for your kitchen scale are. The scale that measures grams, obviously.
- when using Google maps on your computer or a phone to figure out how to drive somewhere, always clicking the icon of the walking person also, just to see how long it will take to hike it. (And often thinking: "Oh, that isn't too bad.")

Haha! Absolutely normal - the new normal!

Packing for my coming Camino, I used my grams / ounces kitchen scale to record everything in an Excel worksheet. Then, once all packed, I use a luggage scale to weigh the all-in product. If it is too heavy, I use the Excel document to look for things to cull.

I cannot not get down to 10 kg as I need to carry extra food replacement and medicines, etc. So, that I just suck up. Plus, being a largish fellow, all of my clothing items are larger and heavier than for others.

So, my goal is to get down to the minimum load consistent with my needs. Right now, I am looking at 12 kg. sans water.