hi! I'm packing for an outdoorsy trip to Western Norway. I found a few posts in the archives that were super helpful. I have a few gaps and questions if anyone's interested to offer an opinion. I don't have room for much beyond the things I have to bring.
Basics: Going for 11 days, spending the whole time in the fjord region in Western Norway. Renting a car and changing hotels often, though I will have an opportunity to do laundry at about the midpoint of the trip. I would like to go with carry on only.
Weather forecast: highs in 50s/60s/70, lows in 40s/50s. Showers likely many days. Current forecast period doesn't look very windy, but I've been watching the weather for a while now and I'm expecting will get some windier days.
Planned activities: We'll be hiking 4-5 of those days, and also have days including kayaking up on glacier lakes, doing a via ferrata route and a fjord RIB 'cruise'. Other days will be drives interspersed with scenic stops and walks, and exploring the villages we stop in. I'll go for runs on 4 of the less active days also. A couple of dinners planned at our hotels, rest to be determined.
So most of my clothing will be gear, including:
for the outdoor activities:
waterproof hiking boots - bulky. will have to wear on the flights
hiking pants & hiking leggings, both black
wool T shirt x2, wool LS T shirt, UPF LS shirt, wool midlayer LS shirt (will depend on conditions that day)
insulated vest, waterproof jacket and pants; hat, gloves
for the running:
running shoes
LS running shirt, tank top
shorts
For the other days:
Breton 3/4 sleeve knit shirt
black Cos T shirt
offwhite ES Georgia top
black tank
for spa/sauna/swimming:
swimsuit
plain black tevas
Main questions, though feel free to make other suggestions:
- Thinking I need another pair of shoes for non-hiking/running time - maybe black & white tennis shoes? added as a find below. I have them in all black, black with white sole, and white. I'd like to bring the white but am afraid they would get dirty and look awful. Maybe I could wash & scotchguard them?
- relatively dressy outfit for dinners: torn between bringing a black shirtdress (from Athleta, find posted below), which I would need to wear with the tevas or tennis shoes, or another pair black hiking pants with tennis shoes and a nicer shirt.
- Should I bring another light jacket, like a denim jacket or a chore jacket? I suppose if it's rainy I could just wear my rain jacket over it.
- whether to bring jeans or utility pants or ponte pants My wideleg jeans take up so much packing space, though they would be good for the flights I suppose; I'm a bit tired of skinny jeans right now and don't have any good straight leg ones. So maybe wideleg jeans or utility pants? Both shown as finds below. Or black Ponte pants, though they are thick they may be a little too legging-esque.
- maybe a sweater or fleece that is non-gear?
Thanks in advance for any advice! After a hot and dry summer in the US northeast, it's hard to imagine myself in cool wet coastal conditions.
edited post trip
A few post trip reflections!
I ended up bringing the Athleta stellar pants as (despite choosing expedited shipping) the brooklyns didn’t arrive in time. I went with just the black rain jacket and my various warm layers to wear underneath. One scarf.
I ended up being really happy with the athleta stellar pants and my sneakers or flats along with my off white ES top, a wool long sleeve t, or my athleta urbanite dress for dinners.
I wore the Breton shirt only once and could have done without it. I ended up buying a pair of white leather sneakers in Bergen - not because I needed more shoes on the trip but because they fill a wardrobe hole and were a great price. I wore them a few times.
I never wore the scarf. I needed some combination of my warm layers on some of the hikes. Wore my rain jacket often and my rain pants twice.
Only wore my hiking leggings once, but I’d still bring them just to have them as an option. Most nights we had dinner at the hotels we were staying at, so outerwear with a dressy outfit wasn’t a need after all. Didn’t wear one tank top at all, as I wore one on the plane and had packed two others. Could have managed with one instead of three.
Used my swimsuit and tevas a lot - swimming in the fjords was amazing!
Could have used a second swimsuit but got by with one. Once I wore my dress as a coverup.
Wish I had another wool tshirt in a different color for the sake of variety - black and navy felt a little repetitive, but I was comfortable at least. I was able to do laundry at the halfway point and it was perfect.
Thank you all for the advice and suggestions - it helped with my final choices and made me confident in what I brought.