The Importance of Knowing the Whereabouts of One's Towel

"...a towel has immense psychological value. For some reason, if a strag (strag: nonhitchhiker) discovers that a hitchhiker has his towel with him, he will automatically assume that he is also in possession of a toothbrush, washcloth, soap, tin of biscuits, flask, compass, map, ball of string, gnat spray, wet-weather gear, space suit etc., etc. Furthermore, the strag will then happily lend the hitchhiker any of these or a dozen other items that the hitchhiker might accidentally have “lost.” What the strag will think is that any man who can hitch the length and breadth of the Galaxy, rough it, slum it, struggle against terrible odds, win through and still know where his towel is, is clearly a man to be reckoned with."  - Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

One of the most frequent questions I've gotten since I've started telling people is, "What does one pack when leaving for a year?"

Answer number one -- much less than what you'd think and what I thought...

With my apologies to those who received a more sarcastic response, I'm packing the following:

* picture taken before (several) sacrifices to the travel gods were made

Which breaks out roughly as....
- Towel (1) -- see above
- T-Shirts (3)
- Long Sleeve (1)
- Pants (1)
- Belt (1)
- Shorts (2)
- Swim Suit (1)
- Socks (5 pair)
- Polo Shirts (2)
- Oxford Shirt (1)
- Rain Coat (1)
- Down Sweater (1)
- Sandals (1)
- Shoes (2)
- Warm Hat (1)
- Baseball Cap (1)
- Backup Pair of Glasses
- Sunglasses

Sundries
- Accenture Branded Plug Adapter (1) -- Thanks Guys!
- Head Lamp (1) -- Thanks MK!
- Ear Plugs (28)
- Headphones (1)
- Leatherman
- Various Chargers, Plugs, etc...
- Hoener Special 20 Harmonica (1)
- Duct Tape (1)
- Rope
- Rain Cover for Backpack
- Pillow
- Sleep Sheet
- Med Kit
- A tiny pharmacy
- Ziplocs (2)
- Baseball (1)

Data Storage -
- Hard Drive (1) -- Thanks SP and Ty!

Writing:
- Notebooks (6 smaller ones, one for each continent) - Thanks SP!
- Colored Pencils (12)
- Fine Tip Sharpies (2)
- Pencil Sharpener (1)
- Glue Stick (1)

Entertainment
- Kindle -- I had to take a shower after I ordered it, and now every time I turn it on I get served an ad. I mean, seriously!!! That said, I have named him Barnibus.
- iPod Touch- Loaded with all the hits. His name is Tribute.  Tribute to the greatest songs in the world, that is.
- Some photography equipment.  So I can take pictures and make you jealous.

And finally, of course, a proper amount of toiletries

All loaded into my home for the next year, the Osprey Waypoint 85:

or as it looks now:

ahhhhh, my home!

For those wondering at home, the towel is in the upper right quadrant.