Long Caye, an island off the coast of Belize on Glover’s Reef, checks off everything on my Gilligan’s Island wish list: Accommodations in a rustic, private thatch-roofed beach hut with ocean views. Rainwater collection system for drinking water and showers. No electricity, cell service or internet. Endless supply of coconut water for drinking. But with the luxuries of scuba diving, sea kayaking, surfing, paddle boarding and morning yoga.

Teva Original Universal Sandals

A warm-weather bucket list destination requires a pair of Teva Original Universal sandals on the Long Caye packing list. Not too much has changed from the original-original Teva sandal of 35 years ago (that’s a good thing) beyond new colors and designs. But it’s the straps that are a big stand out. Teva has made a substantial and impressive commitment to sustainability to reduce its environmental impact. In our current era of climate change, sustainability is somewhat of a pipe dream still for many companies. Teva, however, is walking the walk by embedding sustainability into its organizational culture. This goes a lot further for the environment than evolving colors and new designs. As of 2020, 100 percent of Teva’s iconic straps are now made from traceable, verifiable, plastic using REPREVE® yarn, which is made from 100 percent recycled plastic bottles and other recycled content. This keeps plastic out of landfills, lakes, rivers and oceans while offsetting the use of petroleum and reducing greenhouse gasses. | teva.com

Royal Robbins Bug Barrier Tech Travel Long Sleeve Shirt

It’s not COVID-19 that keeps me up at night about traveling to Belize. Clorox wipes, hand sanitizer, common sense and a little bit of Howard-Hughes’ishness will mitigate my risk. It’s the fauna. Specifically, the eight-legged variety. I Googled “Bugs of Belize” just to see what I was getting myself into. While I was disappointed that the Royal Robbins Bug Barrier Tech Travel Long Sleeve Shirt will not likely fend off the Jumping spider—of which there are over 5,000 species and can jump more than 50 times their own body length–it’s still on the Long Caye, Belize packing list. If any little mosquito bugger comes lands anywhere on my shirt, the Insect Shield® will politely repel them. But it also repels ticks, which are rampant in Minnesota in the spring. What makes it ideal for Belize is that TempraTech body temp activated thermoregulation technology will keep me comfortable on the warm days, it’s easy to hand-wash and it dries quickly. | royalrobbins.com

Helle Mândra Knife

I signed up to review the Helle Mândra Knife for its size, versatility and cutting power as a critical packing list item for backpacking and sea kayaking. I now realize its potential to be on the Long Caye, Belize packing list. The Mandra knife was designed in cooperation with Les Stroud (aka Survivorman). It is a full tang knife with a petite but menacing 2.7-inch blade, making it excellent for slicing and—if it comes to it— fending off large hairy spiders with eight eyes who can jump up to fifty times their body length. Oh who am I kidding? If I encounter one of those things, I’ll run shrieking in terror the other way. I like that the knife comes with a hand-sewn leather sheath that can be hung from a neck lanyard. | helle.com

Julbo Spark Sunglasses

The sun shines a lot on Long Caye, Belize and the Julbo Spark made the packing list. These full-coverage sunglass are made with REACTIVE All Around 2-3 Photochromic lenses. This means that the lens gets darker or lighter as light conditions change. When I’m indoors, or outside when it’s cloudy, they look like they’re just normal tinted eye glasses. But when outside in the blazing sun, the lenses transform into full-on, sun-protection sunglasses. Clarity of the lenses is very crisp. | julbo.com

DESO Fontanillis Hoodie 

The textile industry is the second greatest polluter of local freshwater in the world. Add in unethical labor practices and unsustainable production and suddenly you may vow to never shop again. DESO Apparel was a brand that stood out for me at the 2020 Outdoor Retailer Winter Show. They make all make all their garments in the heart of San Francisco, California, in small batches by experienced tailors, who are paid a livable wage. In addition, DESO aims to source all materials and manufacturing withing a 30-mile radius to reduce their carbon footprint and are working on knitting their own fabrics. To me, that is the breed-standard of a sustainable brand. Since Long Caye is an eco-island, the snuggly eco-friendly DESO Fontanillis hoodie made the packing list. The soft stretchy Polyester and Spandex blend will be perfect for wearing on the plane, on the boat to Long Caye and for island nights when the cool breeze blows off the ocean and for morning yoga classes on the beach. | desosupply.com

Title Nine Namaka High Neck Bikini Top and Holy Grail Bikini Bottom 2.0

No matter your age or size, you can and should wear bikinis because your body is beautiful and you should be proud. I don’t have the body that I had when I was twenty-five and living in Southern California. These days I have the body of a fif—woman of a certain age—and I’m proud of it, even if the six-pack I had in my twenties is hidden under a case of beer and my once-chiseled thighs are lined with a thin layer of cellulite that seems to get thicker each year. I’m one COVID-19 case from my ideal weight for Belize! That’s why I love the Title Nine Namaka High Neck Bikini Top and Holy Grail Bikini Bottom 2.0. The Holy Grail 2.0 bottoms provide better coverage in the front and the rear, meaning that when I’m soaking up the sun on a beach chair my bits and body parts will remain left to the imagination rather than in your face ala Jennifer-Lopez-Hustlers-style. They also won’t feel bunchy under my wetsuit when I’m surfing or scuba diving. The Namaka High Neck Bikini Top is a halter-style top that will keep the blazing Long Caye sun from scorching the delicate epidermis of my pasty-white Minnesotan.  décolletage. I think the crochet’d racerback is a fun touch. | titlenine.com

Title Nine Paddle Board Swim Skirt

To be clear, the Title Nine Paddle Board Swim Skirt is not the swim skirt my grandmother sported in family photos circa 1920. It offers a nice amount of coverage while not completely covering me up. It has an integrated bikini brief so it’s meant to be worn as a swimsuit bottom. Some “swim skirts” are intended to be pulled over bikini bottoms. These really aren’t but I did test this method of cover-up and it worked. Kind of. I’ll use this for paddle boarding (as per the name) and for when I want to walk about the beach or travel from beach chair to cabana on Long Caye. | titlenine.com

Title Nine Double Dare Dress

If it seems like I’m Title Nine-heavy on this trip, it’s because Grit and Gear is a women-centric organization that promotes and elevates the accomplishments of women in the outdoor industry. Title Nine is one of my favorite women-founded, women-led companies. The Title Nine Double Dare Dress is a snappy little frock for dinner and cocktails in the communal palapa. But the real reason I’m packing it because of its SwiftSnap snap at the hem. With just a snap, it converts to a baggy romper that resists blowing wind. Or, if I was traveling someplace where I needed to jump on a scooter or bike I’m “covered”. It’s made from a soft, wrinkle-free fabric which makes it ideal for travel and it dries quickly on its own if it needs to be handwashed in a hotel bathroom sink. Its semi-fitted so I can also use it as a beach cover-up. | titlenine.com

Osprey Tempest 40

The journey to Belize from Minneapolis requires a connection of about 45 minutes in Atlanta. The flight arrives in Belize around noon on Friday. Delta Airlines only has one flight per day. The boat from Belize City to Long Caye departs around 7am on Saturday. The boat only goes out to the island once per week. Lots of variables that equal a heightened risk for lost luggage that likely won’t catch up to me. So I’m carrying all my clothes and necessities with me in an Osprey Tempest 40. Forty liters is ideal because its large enough to carry everything I need but small enough to fit in the airplane’s overhead bin. Note: I’m carrying the Helle Mândra Knife in a Deuter Helion 80, is a cavernous, big-gear hauling wheeled Sherpa for travel on land, air and sea—that was sadly discontinued. | ospreypacks.com

Slickrock Adventures

The outfit that is making it all happen. So, really, Slickrock Adventures counts as a Long Caye, Belize packing list item. I have always shied away from any kind of guided travel because I like to get away from crowds. They own Long Caye on Glover’s Reef and are committed to maintaining it as an eco-friendly island. Their communication updates have been top-notch and timely, they arrange for transport from the Belize City airport, a get-to-know-your-fellow-islander-for-six-days happy hour at the hotel in Belize City, and provide transport to and from Long Caye. On the island they offer every activity I love to do in warm-weather destinations but they don’t force you to do any of it. Their role is to put it out there. If I want to partake, I can. If I want to hang out in my thatched-roof hut all day with a book, I can. Full disclosure: I paid for this trip out of my own pocket. No media discounts, no kick-backs, nothing. Bonus points that beer is included in the price. | slickrock.com

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But Greenland offers a unique experience: It has no roads connecting the settlements and towns. Transportation is by foot or boat transfer. This is not the land of Hertz Rental Car and Lyft. Everything I pack will be carried on my back in an Osprey Xena 85L backpack.

Osprey Airporter Pack Protector

Osprey Airporter Pack Protector

Flying from Minneapolis, MN to Narsarsuaq, Greenland with a layover in Reykjavik means 8.5 hours in the belly of Delta Airlines and Air Iceland Express and rides on grease-caked baggage conveyor belts through sorting machines and junctions with sharp edges.

A backpack’s safety during air transport is always a lottery. My Osprey Xena 85L pack has been my multi-day pack for about six years. It’s still in perfect condition with many years of life left–as long as it’s protected during air transport.

The size large Osprey Airporter Pack Protector ($55) zips into a small, lightweight pouch that I can clip to the outside of my Xena or stuff in the top compartment and holds packs from 75L up to 135L.

Primus PriceTech Stove 1.3L

I look forward to embracing the local food of Greenland. On the off chance I grow weary of Arctic char, muskox, snow hare and lumpfish roe blinis, I have options. Plus, bringing my Primus PrimeTech Stove 1.3L ($149) means saving money because I won’t have to eat out as much.

TrailFork Backpacking Meals

TrailFork Oatmeal compostable and burnable packaging burning in a campfire on Lake Superior’s Apostle Islands

This is a cost-saving measure and the reason I’m bringing my Primus stove. The price of freeze-dried camping food in Greenland will be equal to the GNP of many a small nation. I first met TrailFork Backpacking Meals ($9-$12) when I was sea kayaking on the Apostle Islands.

It’s good for the environment because all TrailFork meals are packaged in 100% home-compostable packaging and are burnable in a campfire. Greenland is a country that hasn’t been soiled by mass tourism (yet). I will do my part to keep it that way.

LOWA Mauria GTX Hiking Boots

LOWA Mauria GTXs get a pre-Greenland spa day

Backpacking in South Greenland means a hiking landscape full of contrasts – from green and lush hillsides to barren rock deserts and rugged mountain terrain. I expect marshy earth, river crossings and boots schlorped in mud and sheep manure. “Trails” marked only by deteriorating cairns.

Though I have a newer pair of LOWA boots, it’s my 5-year old LOWA Mauria GTX ($325), the gem of my gear closet, that I’m taking. They are waterproof. Have outstanding traction, support, stability and reliability.

Most important, they have the hiking cred I need for this trip: Five Colorado 14’ers, Austrian Alps, Swiss Alps, Norway and Scotland.

Wuru Wool Hiker’s Wool

It was “Richard” from the comment page and his “relief for hammer toe on long trek” that swayed me to try Wuru Wool Hiker’s Wool ($11)over the tried and true Moleskin.

Richard “left for a month-long trek in Nepal with open sores on the knuckles of 5 toes due to recently-developed hammer toes, not sure if I would be able to complete the trek.”

Poor Richard. At the moment I don’t have open sores on my feet and it’d be nice to keep it that way while backpacking in South Greenland .

Jack Wolfskin River Rain Pants

No matter where I travel, menacing and black Nimbostratus clouds follow. Even on a trip to Death Valley four years ago. The locals hailed me as a modern-day Chaac on that trip. I’m taking a risk with the Jack Wolfskin River Rain pants ($145).

As of posting, they haven’t arrived yet and I haven’t had a chance to test them with the garden hose. But they had me at “waterproof”, “windproof”, “lightweight” and “small pack size”. Full product review when I get back.

Lightweight, packable, marriage saver

Outside Inside Backpack Mancala Game

I am 100% confident that I will encounter rain while backpacking in South Greenland. Being rain bound in a tent for days without internet is both the nucleus and fountainhead for an argument.

Re-channel your inner Boston Strangler with the Outside Inside Backpack Mancala Game ($21), a soothing process of strategically moving beads around the board to win.  Then the argument can start!

Kuhl Jetstream Rain Trench

I love the Kuhl Jetstream Rain Trench ($199) rain jacket because it’s a longer cut than a normal rain jacket. It also folds into its own pocket and takes up very minimal space in my pack.

I got this early in the Spring and found that even though its light weigh, it still offered decent protection from chilly wind. When paired with a down sweater, it kept me warm to about 30 degrees.

Kora Shola 250 Leggings

Another gem from the gear closet. I got these Kora Shola 230 Leggings ($145)about four or five years ago and they’re my favorite long undies when out in the elements and cold weather. Made of Yak wool, they are warm and breathable, no matter how much vigorous exercise I do, and they never feel wet from my perspiration.

They’re also humane. The wool is collected only during the yak’s natural bi-annual shed when the farmer (almost literally) walks around the pasture picking up the shedded undercoat and giving the yak a nice brushing. Merino sheep are still sheared.

I’ll be in a tent about half the time I’m in the country and the nights will get down to the high 30’s to low 40’s. These will be great for sleeping and wearing under hiking or rain pants.

GSI Microlite 720 Flip

Constructed with wafery-thin 2mm walls that are actually thinner than most single wall plastic bottles, the GSI Microlite 720 Flip ($30) keeps cold beverages cold and hot beverages hot.

I’ve had this bottle for about a year now and have used it sea kayaking, winter camping, backpacking and cycling (fits great in a water bottle cage). When filled with hot tea or coffee, it keeps it warm for about twelve hours.

Stoked Roasters Stoked Stix

American goodwill in a neat packet

Coffee is one of Greeland’s national drinks and they take it seriously. Kaffemiks, social gatherings around a cup of coffee, are to Greenlandic culture what Friday happy hour is to the US. I’m bringing Stoked Roasters Stoked Stix ($9) to spread goodwill.

My itinerary includes staying over at sheep farms. I want to offer my host a gift from the United States. The packets are lightweight, convenient and instant. The taste and flavor is outstanding. The empty packets can even be burned in the campfire.

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