Sooo.... what do travelers usually bring with them, food-wise and/or drink-wise? What are some good take along food items, or maybe spices or something? What sort of blankets or bedrolls would be good to take? What traveling clothes would be good to wear? What else is good to take or keep in mind?

Well, I don't know much about the food or clothes aspect, but a traveler would want to take good thick bedding, to protect himself from the ground. The ground is not only hard, but it can be cold in the night, and kind of suck the heat away from you. So, a sleeping bag of some kind.

I think a traveler would want to bring along food (or a means of catching food), water, a change of clothes, medical supplies (rubbing alcohol, bandages, suture kit) and something which they can use to start a fire.

I'm not entirely sure what they would bring for bedding, I think that depends on the climate. But a trained traveler or soldier will know how to make bedding out of nothing. When you're special forces in the military, learning to make bedding from natural materials is part of your training. So, what bedding they would bring depends on their skill level and preference.

I usually dress my character in traveling clothes depending on what they wear normally. But I think good traveling gear would be good shoes that will protect you from the elements, a jacket, a long sleeve shirt, an under shirt under your long sleeve shirt, long pants, and hopefully loads of pockets to carry stuff, in case you lose your bag...which you should also be carrying.

Bethany Faith

Here is where rendezvousing comes in handy with writing. Note: We don't do traveling like this, I just learned this stuff by being at/in rendezvous.

A traveler from a fantasy/medieval/pioneer era would want to take only the barest necessities since they're going to have to carry it the whole trip. I'm not sure if you guys have ever been on long hikes with backpacks or not, but it can put a lot of strain on your back and especially on your shoulders. *knows from experience*

Bedding: The norm would be a wool blanket because even when wet it keeps you warm. If needed to, you can also make a poncho and/or cloak from it. (Unless they're already wearing a cloak...which should be wool as well.) Wool comes in various thicknesses, so a thick wool would be great for bedding and medium/light weight wool would nice for capes & cloaks.

Food: If they are journeying they'll want to pack non-perishable or long lasting food such as dried meat/jerky, dried fruit, and nuts. Herbs are great because they're medicinal and add a lot to a plain dish like potatoes. ^^

A canteen of water is good too. If they come run out of water and refill their canteen, be sure its a clear water spring otherwise the bacteria in the water will give you....ickies. *also knows from experience* Never drink water from a creek down stream of a cow pasture. If the water is cloudy make sure they filter it through something before adding bleach (if bleach exists in your story.) If not filter it through, say cheese cloth, to get and debris out of it and bring it to a rolling boil for one minute. Cool before drinking for obvious reasons.

Travel clothing: If your character starts out on their journey they are wearing one set of clothes, yes? Then they can pack one more set of clothes in their pack just in case their present clothing gets soaked or soiled for some reason. Then they can always wash the clothing in a stream and let it sun dry. Starting out, I think for a guy, a shirt/tunic, leggings/pants, good leather boots, a cloak/cape with hood, and gloves/mittens would suffice. For a girl, a chemise/shift, skirt/dress, tunic (if wearing a skirt), leather boots, and gloves/mittens.

Both may want 2 spare shirts (or chemises for girls). A thicker one for cooler days and a light cotton one for warm to hot days. Gloves are handy for cold weather, or depending on what they are made of, taking hold of sharp things such as thorny briars, glass, or a sword (for uncallused hands.)

Some other items to put in the pack would be a knife or hatchet for cutting firewood or kindling or using it as a defensive weapon, rope, a tarp probably made of canvas that has been oiled or has a thin coating of beeswax to prevent rain from soaking through, four iron stakes, a large cup, spoon, and flint and steel to start fires. The rope, tarp, and stakes are great for making a quicky tent if bad weather approaches. (My dad and I made one between two trees last summer.) Also, people can eat anything from a cup because it holds solids and liquids. Spoons too! (The knife can also be for cutting meat, for example.) Then you only have 3 eating items and less dishes.

I hope I didn't give you an information overload. >< I only desire to be helpful. ^^

Good luck!

~Calen

I enjoyed your post very much.

Aw, thanks, Jonathan! ^///^

Wow, thanks, guys! That helps a a lot!

Should a traveler go alone, or in groups? How many people would be an ideal travel group?

@Lady Aria Lillylight: Glad we could help. ^^

I think it really depends on the situation for group travel or not. In a group they'd have more people to rely on if there was danger. If they go singly, then they would be faster since they wouldn't need to wait on the rest of the group to catch up.

There's also personalities that like being alone and not wanting to deal with other personalities and opinions that might irritate them.

~Calen

It seems to me like a good cloak would be very useful. During the day, you can wrap it warmly around yourself, or let it flap to get some breezes. Then at night, you can roll up in it as a sleeping bag. Plus cloaks look epic.

I'm wondering, how long have we had backpacks? Are they a recent invention, or ancient?
And how do you wear a backpack with a cloak?

Depends on the style, but I don't think they're too new. I think the Romans had them.

I'm wondering what J.R.R Tolkien meant when he referred to people's "packs". Did he mean something like backpacks?

I think so.

The modern backpack---with adjustable, wide, comfortable straps and several compartments---I expect is quite recent. But I suspect the idea of attaching loops of rope to a bag (a "pack") to put one's arms through in order to carry it on one's back has been independently invented many times throughout history.

You could wear the cloak over the pack ...

Cloaks are awesome.

If you wore the cloak over the pack, wouldn't it be a little difficult to take it off?

*Will admit that nearly all her characters have cloaks*

When traveling, I don't think people took their cloaks off frequently.

The modern backpack was developed the past 50 years, at least the backpacker's backpack.

Oops, I meant the backpack, not the cloak

Oh. No, not really.

Wouldn't that make an un-epic hump on your back?

Let's see...Another way to carry equipment would be in a sling-type bag, which has a long strap, so you sling it over one shoulder, and the bag rests at hip level. However, this makes your shoulder ache.

Only if the cloak is form-fitting enough to tell your body shape anyway, and only if the pack is particularly bulky.

Well, true.

I think that's called a haversack... (I might be remembering the name wrong. XD)

*wikipedia*

You were right!