Bellbird

I need your help once again, the advice you give is so good!

My trip involves 3 weeks hiking in the Alps, Dolomites, then 3 weeks in Italy and France doing the cultural bit. How on earth do I pack for such a trip? I don't want two wardrobes, so glamour hiking gear may be the go! Any ideas?

Thanks Bel

nytraveler

Since the two tips are so disscrete why not just ship half your things? Take you hiking stuff with you and ship your good clothes to the last hotel in the hiking segment. At that hotel ship your hiking things home (it should easily get there in three weeks) and move on with your city clothes.

Whatever the cost it has to be better than carrying around everything you own.

suze

Wear all your heaviest stuff on the plane (hiking boots and jacket for instance). Items like black or khaki pants are versatile & will work both places. After the 1st 3-weeks stop at a post office and ship hiking clothes home to lighten your load for the rest of the trip.

The reverse as mentioned above is good too, but personally I'd be nervous thinking "what if it didn't get there".

Singletail

Hopefully you have a map and a compass when you actually hike! Wear them both on the plane.

Gavin

Take minimal quick dying gear for the hiking portion and wash in sinks as needed. Wear the boots on the plane so they can't be lost and don't take up precious luggage space.

julies

Unless you are planning to camp you will need some casual wear for evenings in the mountains. A couple pairs of slacks, some tops (long & short sleeved) and a couple light weight sweaters should do it. Choose things that you can also wear while sightseeing later on in your trip. For hiking buy 2 pairs of quick dry pants whose legs zip off. That will cover you for nice weather hiking and inclement hiking and you will always have a clean pair because you can wash them out in the sink. I bought a couple active wear shirts that are of man-made fabrics, wash and dry quickly in the sink and look acceptable for regular wear with pants or a skirt so you can wear these to hike and also use them later on. Buy a waterproof, breathable jacket that compresses into its own pocket. That will take care of bad weather when hiking. You will also want some kind of fleece vest or jacket or top for bad weather days in the mountains. I am assuming you will be able to count on warm weather for the rest of your trip. Add a couple skirts and some shells along with a pair of sandals and another pair of shoes and you should be ready to go with the addition of a few scarves and accessories. This shouldn?t be too much stuff to haul along the whole trip. Remember to add a sun hat for city and mountain use and a waterproof hat for hiking. A very light weight shawl or large scarf could also be a nice addition for a dressier look with your skirts or if you need coverage when visiting certain churches.

Bellbird

Thankyou, excellent advice. When I saw your posts about mailing my gear home I had a major Homer "doh!" attack. Now why didn't I think of that ...! Jules, I thought of some of those active / quick dry tops but I haven't seen anything that doesn't look like thermal underwear. If you can recommend any brands?...TIA

amelia

My family of four has done this type of trip often. We once did three weeks in Switzerland and France that included mountain hiking with a only a carry-on--in fact, because of the airline regulations at the time, we had to pack our backpacks inside the suitcase, too.

The tips other posters have given you are certainly key: a) wear boots on the plane b) wear zip-off leg type pants c) use quick-dry clothing and d) send your boots packing eventually.

Your remaining question, where to get quick dry tops, is easier now than it used to be. I agree--the CoolMax stuff used to be a bit transparent. With a bit a shopping, though, you'll be fine. TravelSmith and Magellan carry the better line of easy wash/ quick dry dressier clothing. Eastern Mountain Sports has a variety of stuff. Look for CoolMax running clothes, etc.in sports stores. Long-sleeve biking tops and camisoles work really well too--check out some of those sites: Terry, Altrec, PerformanceBike, TeamEstrogen, etc.

If you are a woman, your best resource for quick wash/dry dress-up clothes are places like Walmart. Look for synthetic polyester, etc. knits that don't wrinkle. Usually we bring one black skirt and/or one black pants plus three tops and a lightweight cardigan. I've had good luck getting this stuff at Marshalls, TJMaxx and Chico's, too.

And by the way, I have trip envy. This sounds like a wonderful adventure. Enjoy!

By the way, with washing in the sink, I don't use Woolite. Instead, we pack a little sandwich bag of powdered Tide. It cleans very, very well and very quickly. A couple of blow-up hangers and one of those stretchy twist clotheslines, and you're fine.

Bellbird

Amelia,
Thanks a million. I appreciate the specific advice and will look for brands stated. I'm pleased that finally I'm going on a trip instead of always just planning and cancelling, so I understand trip envy very well indeed!

julies

Check out sierratradingpost.com as they always have good buys on the types of things you are looking for.

julies

Check out sierratradingpost.com as they always have good buys on the types of things you are looking for, both travel clothes and activewear. REI.com or their outlet store would be another good resource.

Bellbird

Thanks julie