Cleaning Equipment and Storage

While water filtration systems have become popular in the past few years, we find them frustrating--they are heavy, bulky and generally awkward to use (who wants to sit at a stream filtering for hours?). Over the past fifteen years of outdoor adventures in Africa, Alaska and Europe our family has always boiled our water and/or used iodine without ever becoming ill. However, while iodine will probably continue to be our major water purification system, we are considering taking along a new compact type of filtration system that screws into the top of a bicycle water bottle and works instantly without hours of pumping. We'll let you know if we do, and what we think of its performance on the road.

• 1 sponge
• 1 pot scrubber
• Lightweight wipes (we love these; they are sold everywhere--even in North Africa--and weigh nothing, dry rapidly and can be thrown out when disgusting)
• 4 lightweight backpacking towels
• All purpose outdoor biodegradable soap
• Netting bag for drying and carrying dishes
• Iodine and neutralizer ( the neutralizer is worth every ounce--otherwise the water tastes terrible. In a pinch we use vitamin C tablets)
• 1 large plastic water carrier
• 6-8 cycling water bottles
• 20 heavy weight garbage bags (these can be used for trash, but more importantly, we use them for protecting our gear from rain and the elements; all of our panniers and stuff sacks are lined first with garbage bags and then covered again with garbage bags on the outside if it starts to rain)
• 50 or more zip lock bags (we use them for everything--storing food, storing toiletries and cleaning equipment, and even storing wet and dirty clothes and to separate out underwear--one bag per person)