We didn’t ever plan to head off to Canada and never return, but just in case, we did pack almost everything we own into a shipping container (or Sea Can for our Northern American friends) and say goodbye to so many comforts that back then we thought we needed.
Packing was another big job we had to squeeze into an already overloaded schedule and in our brain haze we did accidently pack a few things at the back of the container that we had intended to take. They remain there to this day…
Thinking back to the empty shell of a Land Rover that we began our trip with compared to the now expedition rig fully packed with endless things, many we rarely use… they are two entirely different trucks. We started the trip with some basic tools (well… Blair’s opinion of basic), two duffel bags of clothes, two Yeti storage boxes (one full, one empty), and minimal kitchen equipment. We were actually searching for extra things we could take to fill up all the empty storage compartments we had installed that are bursting at the seems today. A true example of the theory; if you have the space, you will use it.
Our trip was never planned to be this long. Not that we really plan far ahead for anything, but the rough idea was one year on the road then back to normal life. At the beginning I really did worry about our stuff being damaged in the container due to damp, mould, fire… you never know. But that concern fades as my priorities shift. Of course when we (at some point) return home I would love for everything to still be perfect but at the end of the day it is just stuff and if it can’t fit in a Defender is it really that important?