Packing for Patagonia

Patagonia is a bit of a longer trip and I always thought I would need to pack a lot, but I really didn’t need much. If you haven’t already checked out my blog post from my 16-day trip to Patagonia on both the Chile and Argentina side, you can read about it here.

As requested, I put together a list of the gear I packed below, what I wish I brought, and what I brought but didn’t need. Of course, everybody’s trip is going to vary slightly – you might be more into photography and need extra equipment, want to hike less and sightsee more, have a rental car with space for extra luggage, but my packing list is for a 2 week trip in which my backpacking pack went everywhere with me.

Right off the bat, I’ll tell you that the girl in me overpacked with clothing so I could have different options and had zero plans to do laundry. Also, I didn’t bring any food or water – I purchased everything I needed as the trip went on.

My packing list

I wish I brought…

  • A lock for hostel lockers – this was my first time staying at a hostel so I honestly didn’t even think about it. I ended up buying one in the city and it broke so I had to pay more for a better quality, itty-bitty little lock
  • Travel adapter/ power converter – I often forget that not every county uses the same plugs we use in the states…

Leave this at home

  • I used everything I brought so there’s nothing I could say I wish I left at home… but I brought a bunch of clothes as you can see above and I found myself wearing the same outfits over and over so I guess I could have done with fewer clothes.
    • There are laundrymats all over town and at hostels so you really don’t need to double up much on clothing… but I didn’t take this into consideration when planning.
  • 1 rain jacket… I really don’t know why I brought 2. The Essence is so light and durable; it’s my fav but since I got a size too small so it’s hard to layer. I wanted to have a bigger one in case the rain really came down… but I got a new one right before my trip without testing it out and was nervous to rely on it.

How my travel partner and I split our weight

The only thing we shared on this trip was a tent… that he carried. Our trip was half city/ half wilderness so we didn’t need a lot of the common camp gear that we’re used to such as a stove, water filter (because the water is so clean that you can drink straight from the source), etc.

I’ve learned a lot from this trip and although my weight was only 20 lbs on average and not too heavy for me, I made the transition into ultralight backpacking just a couple months after this which you can read about in my Gear Guide.

Thanks for reading! 
I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below & let me know if you have any questions! 

*Don’t forget to practice Leave No Trace*

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