Whats your pre-backpacking ritual?
 

So, does anyone else have a ritual thing they do before embarking on another journey?

For me I shave my head before I go on a trip... I don't know why, it's probably because for the time being, I want to leave my old self at home.

... and also because it saves having to cut your hair on the road... and by the time I get back its all grown back!

Two days before I lay everything out. I pack the day before. I keep my passport in a pouch secured to the backpack. I usually wake up extra early to make sure I make it to the airport on time. A little paranoid? Maybe...

Now of course, my prebacking ritual will conclude with a departure notice on Tpunk!

--Joey

I kind of go off food for a few days, and drink litre after litre of water. I'll bake something nice and wrap it up to eat on the way, and get my hands on some good trail mix and some Luna bars. Generally start changing up my sleeping patterns too, and keep track of the local weather/news if I can get it. I go to the bookstore and allow myself two magazines and a book of choice.
I usually buy several gluesticks and a new leather bound journal too, they fill up quickly when Im traveling since I paste receipts, tickets, random pieces of things and even food wrappers in along with a running rambling commentary. They make a good reference later... I make sure I have addresses for postcards (everyone everyone expects them now, so thats one of the things I always do...) and try to add a few new people's addresses.
Then about an hour before I should leave I find a bag and stuff whatever seems useful to me in it. Some clothes, a toothbrush if I can find it, whatever. I used to try to pack ahead of time, but it would just stress me out and I would obsess, so last minute it is.
I also make copies of my flight itineraries and general plan of action and my passport and insurance and leave it with at least three people, and my parents. A bit excessive, but it has been necessary in the past. Nothing wrong with a safety net.
And when Im waiting for the plane, I make myself sit quietly for a little while and think about what I want to learn/find/discover while Im out and write it down.

Check weather reports, print up all my travel documents and bookings, photocopy my passport and credit cards, then start psyching myself up by watching movies related to wherever I'm traveling.

At hour 24, I usually forgive myself for all of the stuff that I have known about for months and months but hadn't really gotten around to doing. Then I usually do last minute nonsense, throw a get together for movies and comfort foods with my buddies, then stay up ALL NIGHT packing and making sure that if the worst does occur, the first thought my parents have when they see my room is, "Jesus, all that money on vacations and Jessica lived like an animal!!"

Oh, and last time I dumped my boyfriend pretty much immediately before I left. I guess it's kind of like shaving your head... :afro:

Rituals 7-10 days before trip.
 

I do yoga or work out, have a haircut, and work on art.
I am mellow the week before.

:tumbleweed:

I wanted to start to do pushups... and sit ups (the pack's belt makes my hips look twice as big and the tyre around my belly (usually not notieceable) is squished with the belt. LOL but heh... i still haven't done a single sit up.. I should really get to it,.. when I had one month I thought that could be enough... now I've only got 9 days to go... :p

why work out before your trip? You'll lose so much weight DURING it wont be neccessary.

I dunno... I didn't lose much weight during my trip, I think I compensated all the exersize and eating less through drinking much much more.

yeah I didn't lose weight during my trip either.

My pre-trip is almost non-existential now since I started flying somewhere every other week. My back is perpetually packed and since I really only have one pair of pants and one pair of shorts it's easy to throw it together anyway. Travelling has become somehwhat commonplace now and the pre-trip jitters are gone.

I lose weight during trips, but I still amp up my strength training before, because it takes ENDURANCE to hike around and sightsee with nothing to eat but the random grocery items you bought that morning! Right before the last one, I lifted three times a week with cardio and swam the alternate days to prepare, because I hobbled myself running. Now I'm doing pre-marathon training and strength training. It just relaxes me and gives me a little more courage to tackle big hiking or adventure sight-seeing.

Of Jessica... how much I envy you!!

I've got jazz dance lessons once a week... and then swimming... but it'snot really intense... since I started writting my disertation paper (last year... now I've graduated) I put on like 3 kilos... I know it's not much, but I'm petite... so it's quite noticeable.

Ah! Ces't la vie... I didn't loose weight on a hicking trip to Patagonia either... I only put on more wight... we'll see how Europe treats me...

Yup, I can sympathize with that. I've put on like 5 pounds too since I've been sitting here in the office all day... But my goal is to get in shape before the Greek islands... :afro:

I try to drop some weight before I go on a trip. I do NOT lose weight on holiday. If anything, I gain a lot of it.

One of my main interests when traveling is eating all the local food and drinking all the local drink. I'm like Tony Bourdain & Andrew Zimmern combined. Only Travel Network hasn't given me my own show yet.

^ I'm with you on the weight gain, Omi. I COMPLETELY travel for food. Maybe I'm crazy... well, yeah - I am crazy - but hey, at least I'm happy! : )

I also do like Steph and start to try and adjust my body clock to lessen the jet lag effect. Ditto the copies of important documents to various loved ones. Usually one set to my office as well, JIC.

Finally, I ALWAYS buy myself one completely trashy magazine to read on the plane - something I would never dream of reading at home. You know, like Hustler or Barely Legal...

You know Joan, the more I read your posts, the more I think: this is my kind of woman. :blink:

Oh sorry, I was just kidding about the porno, hehe.

I will buy myself some kind of celebrity rag or maybe even a Cosmo or something.

Count me among the weight losers.

Three months in Europe = 40 lbs lighter (257 -> 217)

Ate a lot, drank alot but walked a helluva lot.

--Joey

i always watch certain movie or listen to specific music to pump me up. always make a playlist for the flight although i never listen to it. i will also check out that country's newspapers online if i can, i'll look up currency rates, weather,etc. and if they speak another language i'll get language cd's from the library (although i never really listen to those either...)

i always pack the night before and end up in a panic, packing wayyy too much stuff. usually the day of i do all the last minute errands that should have been done. i guess that's just my way of keeping myself occupied before going to the airport. otherwise, the suspense of waiting for it to be time to leave kills me.

We get up and go ride our bikes on the trails for an hour or so, just to embrace the day and get focused. Then we ride over to the same restaurant everytime for breakfast. After that, we usually smoke as much weed as possible and hang out with our dogs until its time to go and we have to drop them off. Luckily this year, one of our friends is just moving into our house for a month to take care of them. I pack the night before, but have it well planned out in my head. Organization is the name of the game for me when prepping my pack with supplies and info.
We do have an airport ritual that is so bad. We love to get there about 4 hours early and go bar to bar and drink till our flight boards. Makes for a rough first day abroad, but its a blast anyway!!!