Should you bring your wallet backpacking? It certainly seems a bit silly. Unless you’re hiking up Mount Snowdon, you’re not likely to find a cafe at the top where you might want a little cash for a cup of coffee and a cake. Plus, if your wallet is anything like mine, it’s bulky and heavy.
When you’re looking to drop as much weight as possible on a backpacking trip, the last thing you want to be lugging around is your George Costanza-style billfold that’s crammed with old receipts, saver cards and god-knows-what-else. Then you’ve got the fact that your wallet is also often filled with things you’d probably rather not lose, like money, credits cards and IDs – do you really want to risk leaving all of that on a mountain top? Well, as I’ve learned from experience, you can probably leave behind previous photos of your kids, but there are some items in your wallet that you’ll want to carry with you, even when you’re venturing into the wild wearing your best hiking boots.
