Many people ask me what I am taking on the trip. This wasn’t easy to answer in a few sentances so I put together an inventory including some pics of the major categories of equipment I am bringing: clothes, electronics, mechanical parts/tools, and first aid supplies. Of course these are the basics and odds and ends are plugged in everywhere!

This is my first experience with satellite phones but so far its been pretty easy. I bought a used Qualcomm GSP 1600 (pretty cheap on ol’ ebay) and went through GlobalStar for the service.

I won’t be brining much in the way of clothes (considering the heat index will be above 100F nearly everyday) but I was able to get my hands on the Sierra Designs Microlight rain jacket and pants. The weight and packability of these two items is key.

I fell in love with this watch the moment I saw it. My friend came back from a trip to Europe with this thing on his wrist (it is quite large!) and the tech geek in me was enamored. I also love the audacity of the enormous face… you can see this thing a mile away! That aside, the Suunto Core is a gem in terms of altitude, barometric pressure, depth, and direction information.

This tactical flashlight made by SureFire should stand up to conditions I’ll face in the jungle. I wanted a rechargeable flashlight that would be bright enough to illuminate all the bumps in the night I’ll hear while laying in my hammock. The LumaMax L7 can purportedly cause temporary blindness if shined directly into the eyes! I haven’t tested this feature on myself yet.

I have been experimenting with the new Hennessy Hammock Hyperlite in preparating for the trip. I have little experience with hammock tents (other than an old army surlpus 20$ P.O.S. that quickly flipped and ripped) and I’m trying to get the knack of the thing. So far it seems like it should work perfect in the Amazon.

I plan on using this portable/foldable solar panel while on the trek to recharge some of the electronic gadgets. The Brunton Solaris delivers 12V (under pretty low light from my testing) and should work great so close to the equator!

As the leave date closes in rather rapidly I have been collecting all the necessary gear for the trip. The panniers I have chosen were supplied by Axiom Performance Gear and are appropriately named the Monsoons.

I have finally acquired the bike I will be riding this fall. It is a steel frame hardtail 2007 Jamis Dragon. I will be outfitting it with racks and panniers to accommodate all of my gear. I look forward to putting this bike through the paces in the weeks leading up to my departure.