Packing Advice, Please, for Two Weeks on the West Coast - YouLookFab Forum

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Packing Advice, Please, for Two Weeks on the West Coast

Windchime

Veteran

I’m going to be on the West Coast for two weeks in August and am considering what and how much to pack. There will be a couple opportunities to do laundry.

Activities are varied, including...

—four days at a professional conference in Portland, Oregon. I’m attending, not presenting. One night there’s a banquet.

—doing touristy things with DS, 18, in Portland, and later San Francisco.

—driving slowly down the coast, over several days. We’ll stay a few nights in lodging on the beach.

—lots of walking on city streets, the beach, and nature trails.

—a jet boat ride!

Here’s what I’m thinking so far.
Colors: simple, neutral palette of black, white, and navy blue

Bottoms: Banana Republic black lace midi skirt—lightweight, packable
can wear for conference, banquet, and/or tourism.
Blue denim crop flares
White crop flares—can dress up or down
Blue denim shorts

Tops: White cotton sleeveless top
Navy blue embroidered tee
White tee shirt with black stripes
Black fluid tee
Red sleeveless top
White 3/4 sleeve boatneck top
Purple faux velvet top; short sleeves

Toppers: Black lightweight 3/4 sleeve cardigan
Levi’s olive green hooded jacket, lightweight
Blue/grey denim/hooded sweatshirt

I’ll also bring sweats and swimwear.

QUESTIONS
Am I crazy to consider trying to pack for this two-week trip in only a carry-on bag??!

Should I bring long pants? So far I have a skirt, shorts, and two pairs of crop pants. Maybe I should bring full length jeans instead of crop flares.

What footwear should I bring? My best walking shoes are light blue Brooks athletic shoes. I want to bring at least one other pair of shoes—maybe my BP white mules, or my black gladiator sandals? Both are good for an hour or two of stop/start walking but not for hiking. I’d consider buying different walking shoes.

Should I bring a warmer coat? I’ve been warned it can be quite chilly in San Francisco in August. If necessary, I can layer the sweatshirt jacket under my Levi’s jacket.

Should we bring a backpack for hiking and touristing? Or just my crossbody bag?

Thanks so much for reading and responding! I haven’t taken a trip like this in many years and have only been on the West Coast briefly, many years ago.

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18 replies

Latest reply was from Windchime

bj1111

Veteran

Carry on for two weeks is very doable especially if you pack multipurpose bottoms like your lace skirt with a range of tops. What adds weight is the shoes. So limiting those to a walking shoe and a dress shoe should help.

Windchime

Veteran

That’s encouraging, BJ1111, and along the same lines I’m thinking.

I have to admit I’m intrigued by the challenge of managing this trip in a carry on.

DonnaF

Veteran

Clothing needs partly depend on whether you plan to be out early before the fog burns off and late after it rolls in. Also, do you run hot or cold?

If you plan to go to Muir Woods or walk the Dipsea trail, be aware that they changed the parking policy so you may have to bus in or maybe make reservations.

In SF, don't leave ANYTHING in your car, ever, even if it is in the trunk. Break-ins are rampant, and the thieves can identify rental cars by a sticker or their license plate. I wouldn't normally take a backpack, but you may need to in order to schlep your stuff around.

The area near the Golden Gate Bridge is always cool and windy so I always need a windbreaker there. The Mission has interesting murals and is usually sunny. Golden Gate Park and the museums there can be cool or not.

I am super temperature sensitive and run cold. I can only go sleeveless, collarless, bare ankles and sandals if it is in the 80s so I am probably the wrong one to ask. I can go cropped flares with covered toes in a variety of temperatures, but since I have Raynaud's in my toes I can't wear my gladiators even if I dress relatively warmly elsewhere. My vote is for the mules since tootsy protection is probably safer as long as you can walk in them.

bj1111

Veteran

If it helps, I’ve taken 4 international trips of 3-4 months with just carry on bags. Occasion ranges similar to yours. It can be done!

Barbara Diane

Veteran

I’m not good at packing details
BUT
Please be prepared for daytime high temperatures from 55 to 100. Most obvious sign you are a tourist-walking across the Golden Gate Bridge in shorts, tee shirt and sandals. But you could maybe hit it on the one right day to dress like that.

Check the weather each day, look at the hourly data, and be prepared to add or subtract at a moments notice. The SF Bay Area is known for it’s micro-climates. A mile or less can make a significant difference.

LaPed

Veteran

I guess my big question is, will one pair of non-gear shoes be enough for the four-day conference? If you have a pair that is versatile and comfortable enough for the whole conference plus dinners out etc during the rest of the trip, then you might be able to get by with two pairs. The jeans are okay for the conference? I'd be tempted to swap out one pair of jeans for some lightweight dressier trousers -- silk/linen/those Eileen Fisher pants that everyone loves for traveling...

I would want a lightweight backpack or similar for hikes -- something to hold, at a bear minimum, a water bottle and jacket (on the coast it's often chilly in the morning and then hot by mid-day, then chilly again in the evening or if fog rolls in). I guess it depends on the length of your planned excursions.

As far as climate, I lived in Portland for a while and have spent a fair number of weekends in the Bay Area. The weather always just struck me as... pleasant. The lack of extremes and the ability to get by with hoodies and jeans pretty much whenever is kind of amazing. Portland weather can get pretty hot and sticky in the summer -- not so different from New England. There are definitely days when jeans would be unpleasant, but if you're mostly in the AC'd conference during the day maybe that's not too much of a concern.

Windchime

Veteran

This is all so helpful!

DONNAF—the first thing we’ll do in San Francisco is turn in the rental car. We plan to use public transportation in the two cities. DS wants to do photography early and late, so I’m sure I’ll be outside when the fog is still there. I run cold but don’t have Raynaud’s. The backpack is making more sense when I think about needing to adjust layers multiple times in a day.

BJ1111–super impressed about your international packing!

BARBARA DIANE—yes, I’m expecting Portland will be hot and San Francisco very cool. Layering will be the way to go. If I’m really cold, I can buy a warmer coat in San Francisco, but I hope to not have to do that. Re the Golden Gate Bridge, I want to rent a bicycle and ride across it!

bj1111

Veteran

Ok, one more pair of shoes that transitions from conference to sight seeing. Wear the heaviest pair during plane travel.

Windchime

Veteran

LA PEDESTRIENNE—excellent question about conference footwear. Both the mules and the gladiators are great, but people might start to wonder if I show up in the same footwear four days and nights in a row! They’re both lightweight; maybe I should bring both in addition to my Brooks.

Women wear everything from dresses to shorts for this conference; I’m sure I could wear one of the four bottoms each of the four days of the conference. That being said, let me think about your smart suggestion of long, silky pants...hmm, I have a pair of black silky cuffed track pants I bought a few years ago...maybe I could bring them instead of the blue denim crop flares.

DonnaF

Veteran

They may not be out any more, but Uniqlo at Union Square has inexpensive items to keep warm. I have the down coat that I've worn a fair amount and the jacket not at all because I seem not to wear jackets, but the great thing is that they pack up into their own tiny stuff sacks. I also have a puffier Bernardo down vest that I got at Nordies years ago which also came with a stuff sack.

Maybe if you opt for full length jeans you can pack a pair that you can roll into crops if you want to?

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Bonnie

Veteran

It is cool on the coast in northern California. Fortunately there are plenty of shops selling hoodies and fleece if you need something extra. The backpack will be useful if you are going on longer hikes on rough terrain.

Greyscale

Veteran

The Union Sq Uniqlo just put out the down jackets for fall, so that's a great emergency option if you misjudge the temp.

Your list looks fine to me. You're unlikely to wear shorts in SF, and full-length jeans would be fine, but so are cropped jeans. Really, the climate makes dressing pretty flexible as long as you have one warm layer.

Vix

Veteran

Hi Windchime --

Lucky you, generally that's a fantastic time for PDX/SF.

Expect hot in Portland (with global warming a run of high 90s/100s temps is common) and less A/C in public places than many other cities. However, in the PNW layers are always your friend.

The utterly fantastic Oregon coast tends to be high 70s and then cooler in am/evening. If you're doing anything more than very groomed, fairly level trails I'd want a boot with ankle support vs a running shoe. Esp on the coast, there are some fantastic trails but the up tends to be a fast UP and the down correspondingly steep. TBH SF is like that for me and I sometimes wish I were in hiking boots vs street shoes there!

REI used to make small, superlight backpack that takes up minimal room but holds a surprising amount -- I'd check there. Have gotten my ~ $25 out of mine, for sure.

Re pants the silky ones you mention sound great, but for max versatility you may want to look at something like the Athleta featherweight SPF ones. Convinced someone to buy them for a combo city-then-desert trip and she loved them (as do I, hence the rec!). They come in several styles and dry in a snap.

Have a fantastic time!

Vix

Veteran

Ok, REI has a zillion packs. This looks like mine: https://www.rei.com/product/80.....el-daypack

There's an REI mothership in PDX (as well as smaller stores) so if you didn't want to commit to something online you could probably find what you need locally.

JAileen

Veteran

I’m generally warm enough in SF with a denim jacket except at night or if I’m out on the bay. We were on a cruise on the Jeremiah O’Brien, a WW2 Liberty ship, and I froze in a sweater and windbreaker. I wanted to steal my SIL’s down jacket.

Christina F.

Veteran

I think you have a lot of great advice already. I will chime in about the skirt specifically. I took it to a work retreat and wore it twice to dinner (once dressed down a bit with a tee, the other with a nicer top for a nicer dinner). It travels VERY well and is light, so I think it's a great choice for your conference.

bj1111

Veteran

You could probably wear the skirt even for sight seeing if it’s city-based.

Windchime

Veteran

Thanks, DONNAF, BONNIE, GREYSCALE, and JAILEEN; it’s super helpful to hear from Fabbers who know the area well. It’d be fun to check out a Uniqlo store whether or not I need a warmer coat!

VIX, thanks for the REI backpack and Athleta pants recommendations. I’ll look into both. For this trip, I don’t expect to hike anything other than well-groomed trails, although that sounds like fun for another trip.

CHRISTINA—high five, skirt twin!