Originally Posted by
staehpj1
True, but even if you make packing mistakes on a long tour, there is the option of mailing stuff home and buying things or having things sent from home. So it isn't like you can't learn and adjust during a long tour.
Heh. At the start of the third day of my Northern Tier tour with 12 other people one participant mailed home her blow dryer and Sony WatchMan TV (Remember those?). A couple of other people also mailed stuff home that morning. Smart move as we were only 4 days away from crossing the North Cascades Highway.
I had never toured before. (Didn’t even do a practice overnight.$ But before the trip I had the benefit of a phone conversation with the late Bruce Gordon about racks and bags. He told me that people tend to fill all available pannier space. Because I was going to be taking a lot of film camera equipment no matter what, I really kept his statement in mind when deciding what else to take. Ended up not sending anything home except exposed film. (Periodically had fresh film mailed to me.)