A month crossing the Pyrenees solo: everything I'm carrying in my backpack for the HRP

This year I crossed the Pyrenees along the High Pyrenean Route entirely on my own. I walked for a month, only refueling in the towns I had planned on the route, without a support vehicle like last year, and with just over 10 kg on my back.

Inside that backpack is everything I’ll need for 30 days. There are decisions that will probably surprise you, because I’ve given up quite a bit of comfort to gain lightness. I’ll tell you if it’s worth it in the end.

The starting point: last year it weighed 7,850 g

I assembled this backpack based on last year's one, looking at what I lacked and what I had left over. The comparison isn't direct: last year I weighed 7,850 g, but I had Tony's support, who provided me with supplies and allowed me to split the weight.

This year there is no assistance. I have been bringing food and everything necessary for 30 days since the first day. And yes, a lot of people tell me: «Lau, send me things by mail». I won’t do that. Arriving on Sunday, when it’s closed, depends on someone sending it to me on that day… I’d rather not have that headache. I have everything under control and everything is heavy. If there is a mistake, it will be solely my fault.

The clothes: a single outfit for 30 days

Yes, you read that right. One set and that's it.

• Sports T-shirt
• Sports bra and short sports pants
• A long pants
• Two pairs of slightly compressive running socks (the original ones and the replacement ones)
• The Sportiva Ultra Raptor for women

The advantage of summer is that you can wash your clothes as you sweat and they’re dry in no time. I alternate between wearing one pair of socks a day and another pair a day, washing them on the go.

Regarding the footwear: I have always used the Akasha 2. This year they recommended the Ultra Raptor, so I bought them and tried them out, and they seem to be quite good for the type of route I’m going on this year.

What goes outside the backpack

• Walking sticks
• Sun hat (the temperatures are high there and you need to protect yourself)
• Sunscreen: essential, indispensable
• Compass
• Anti-inflammatory gel (I have a chronic injury in my foot)
• Daisy Chain and a small Petzl carabiner
• An ultra-lightweight carabiner from Fixe
• Selfie clip and stick for the GoPro
• The water pipe
• Solar panel on the top, with its external battery already ready

The solar panel has been with me for years. It is the one that allows me to charge batteries without relying on plugs.

The outer pocket: everything I want to have at hand

In a zip bag: the front, an external battery with its cables and two plugs. Also the microphone, because I’ll be documenting day-to-day life on social media with small videos (the long videos from HRP will start in September).

In the other pocket:

• Headphones
• Mechero
• A ridiculously lightweight knife, a gift from my father, with a built-in fork. No need for a knife: to cut the four things you buy along the way, it’s more than enough.
• My medication
• Potable tablets
• Ibuprofen and paracetamol
• A thermal blanket

An important tip if you take chronic medication: Divide it into three parts. I keep one part in the medicine cabinet, another in the outer pocket of the backpack, and another on top, in the backpack. If you lose the backpack, you don't lose everything.

The grater: my kitchen in action

I always carry a water bottle. The large one holds a half-liter hydration pack: this is where I mix the water with the soluble carbohydrates and eat while walking.

I also carry:

• The highlights of the entire route: all the stages with their supplies, where there are villages, where I can get water, where there are sensitive areas
• Another thermal blanket
• More potable pills
• My medication
• Anti-stress chewing gums (of vital importance)
• The snack food: nuts, dehydrated banana, small things that you can keep eating without stopping to open and close the backpack

Safety equipment: the novelty of this year

The first thing that appears when you open the backpack is the helmet. Last year I didn't bring it; this year I did.

Most people who cross the Pyrenees do not wear helmets. I decided to wear one because I will be passing through quite technical areas and because I already have experience of riding downhill in Coma Pedrosa, in Andorra. I prefer to carry a little more weight and to be more vigilant about safety. The Daisy Chain and a pair of carabiners go with the helmet. This way we avoid tragedies.

The layers: each piece has to serve multiple purposes

Everything comes in sealed bags.

• Puffer jacket (Decathlon). Enough. For the time of year I'm in, and combined with everything else, I have enough.
• Marmot jacket: a thin, single-layer Gore-Tex. For rain and, if temperatures drop significantly at night, as an extra layer.
• Fular for the sun. It weighs nothing. You wet it in the rivers and put it on top: it makes a difference.

The philosophy is this: I don't carry one piece for everything. Each piece has to serve several purposes.

The first aid kit: for me it goes at the same level as the food

I have a 37-liter Forclaz that Tony has lent me. It's old and small, but comfortable and enough. The first aid kit is always with me.

Inside I have written down on a piece of paper the pathology I have, the medication I take and where that medication is in case of need, along with the name of my contact person and two phone numbers. If something happens and I can’t talk, that information is there.

The content:

• Appetizers already cut to size to strengthen the injured ankle and knee if necessary. Warning: a professional should show you how to put these on. If you put them on wrong, you could do a lot of damage.
• Gauze and bandages
• More potable pills
• Chloroxine
• Another thermal blanket (there are three in total, distributed)
• Two candles. They weigh little and have a range of about 4 hours each. A thermal blanket and candles make the perfect duo in case of cold or hypothermia.
• Contact lenses. After the Coma Pedrosa accident, where I lost my glasses, I never go out without them again.
• An ultra-light external battery, already assembled and ready to plug in. Last year I made the mistake of running out of battery on one of the most epic days, a 43 km day that ended in Candanchú: a landslide prevented me from continuing and it was eleven o'clock at night.
• A lighter, because you never know and you need it with the sails.

The overnight stay: sleeping without a sleeping bag

In the large waterproof bag, the one I only open at night, I put everything for sleeping:

• Thermal T-shirt
• Thermal pants
• Feather pillows (made by me at home)
• Buff
• An ultra-light emergency bag, just in case you need to set up a bivouac
• A Gore-Tex bag cover

I don't have a sleeping bag. It's a weighty strategic decision. Instead of the down jacket, I sleep in my clothes: the down jacket, the Marmot, and a Nature Hike down jacket. The Gore-Tex shell at least gives me that same comfort feeling as the down jacket does.

Hygiene is also a must here: toothbrush and toothpaste, menstrual cup, safety pads and wipes. I keep the packets small and replenish them in the villages.

Quick access and water

With the external zipper, I carry what I need without having to take anything apart:

• Raincoat and rain pants
• The Polycro (a great invention)
• The store: I have a Naturehike but not complete, Only the exterior housing. It weighs 500 g and it fulfills its function of protecting me.

For water, this year I made a change that for me is a 10. Until now I used 98 g Quechua water bottles each. This year I have two empty bottles of Aquarius of one and a half liters: 38 g each. One on each side, inside. I put a stopper on one so it can be drunk while driving.

In one I have normal water; in the hydration bag of the backpack, the electrolytes.

Nutrition: the thing that has given me the most headaches

For me, nutrition is on the same level as safety, and this year it was the most difficult problem: being well nourished, without losing nutrients, with the minimum possible weight.

This year I stock up in the villages I find along the way, but there are stretches of five or six days without a village. The solution has three legs:

1. Soluble carbohydrates

Two kilos of powdered carbohydrates, 100% carbohydrates, no flavor. 50 g is equivalent to 100 calories. The compartments are in 250 g zip bags, because the balance of weight within the backpack is very important.

The system is simple: I fill a half-liter hydration pack with 100 calories inside and I go drinking as I go. It’s effortless and continuous. Considering that I’ll consume an average of 3,000-4,000 calories per day, this allows me to keep up on the go.

2. Smoothies

They are my main food, the one that ensures I don't lack nutrients no matter what I do. I bought four flavors (vanilla, white chocolate, coffee with milk and strawberry) so I can mix and match them, because it's something I do daily and boredom gets the better of me.

The calculation: one smoothie a day plus a serving of carbohydrates It serves as a supplement to the food I buy in the villages. When I have to go a long way without refueling, double the dose: two shakes and a serving of carbohydrates. The post-workout smoothie is mandatory: it is high in protein and helps you recover.

3. Supplements

This is the first triathlon in which I'm relying on supplements. All pills, no boats:

• Creatine in the morning with breakfast (30 doses, the recommended dose is 3 g)
• Mineral sales with zinc and other minerals (90 tablets, 3 per day)
• Caffeine in capsules, one per day, although not every day is necessary (30 tablets). It replaces the C4 I use for short trips: since I already have the minerals in the salts and the nutrients in the food, I only need the caffeine.
• Magnesium, Two tablets per night before bed for muscle recovery (60 tablets)

A detail that saved my organization: I distribute each supplement in three small bags, placed in different areas of the backpack to balance the weight. And inside each bag I put my tablet: «tablet 1 of creatine, 30 units». That way I know exactly if I skipped a dose.

So, is it worth going that light?

The backpack weighs just over 10 kg, of which 4 kg is a variable weight (food, not counting water). I guess I’ll have consumed some of that weight when I enter the Central Pyrenees.

Advantages

• You work less and you go faster
• The caloric expenditure is lower
• When it comes to shopping in a village, the amount is much smaller than that of someone who does not bring any nutritional supplements: where I don't bring solid food, I bring the powders.
• And finally, there are the villages where you can really enjoy the food. My intention with every refueling stop is to buy and eat there until the next one.

Disadvantages

• You don't have the comfort of an inflatable cushion
• Not even slippers to rest in
• Neither clean clothes, nor fresh replacement clothes

These are things that each person chooses based on their tolerance for discomfort. Some people prefer to be more comfortable; I leave comfort behind and go for lightness. That works for me. I train all year round and have a back that is prepared to carry a load.

This backpack is made to measure for me. If anything I wear helps you improve yours, perfect: that's what I'm counting it for.

One final change compared to last year: I won't be recording every day. Last year wasn't a mistake; I learned a lot, but it's worth changing it to be able to make the most of the hours of sunshine while walking. The HRP videos will be released starting in September.

I leave in August. I hope I made the calculations right.