I had been told over and over that, “No one cares!” when it comes to clothing. In other words, people simply don’t really remember if we wear things over and over, and even if they did they don’t care. In addition, being as it was cold, “No one will see what you are wearing!” That was definitely true. There wasn’t one day when I didn’t wear either my long down coat or my raincoat. So whatever was beneath, aside from my pants, was rarely seen.

So where am I going with this? Bring less! It’s just not necessary to have a lot of clothes. And yes, I knew this already. And yes, I started with less and then tossed some things in. Totally ridiculous.

While I loved wearing my merino wool jumper that, too, was unnecessary. Still, I really love it and it makes an event feel more special (as if the things we went to weren’t special enough already!). But because I brought the jumper I had to bring a second pair of shoes. The shoes I brought were nice, but they took a ton of space on the bag. (Hmmm … maybe I need some of those travel shoes I see advertised. Anyone try Vivaia? Something else? I can always add insoles that give a bit of support, since flats so often are bad for my feet. I also should have brought thicker tights — probably wool. What I brought wasn’t really good for cold weather.

But I must mention the shoes I wore every single day (even if I put on the nice dress shoes later). My Bog Sweetpea Ankle Waterproof Rain Boots were THE BEST! I think I maybe should have gotten a size smaller, but I double-socked anyway, since it was cold, so they were fine. I’m frequently between size 10 and 11, and these didn’t come in half sizes. So better bigger than too small.

I could have done with two pair of pants rather than three. I could have done with fewer turtlenecks as well. And even one less sweater. (I wore a cashmere sweater over a merino wool turtleneck.)

BUT … the big, important, wonderful thing?

Merino wool is fabulous! Trust me. It really is. The 100% wool or close to it pieces show no wrinkles. They don’t get stinky as fast (or at all, at least for me). They are moisture wicking, they kept me warm, and they are so darn comfortable!

Other thoughts, not related to clothing:
Dear Patty, when you packed the extra phone screen protector box, which weighed next to nothing, but then rethought it and took it out you did a dumb thing.

Yes, I dropped my phone. Yes, the screen protector I had meant I didn’t break the screen. But then I had a cracked screen protector for the remainder of the trip. Now could I have gone in to a store to get one? Of course. But do I do things like that? Of course not. So next time I will just bring the darn extra box.

Just because you aren’t on a long walking holiday doesn’t mean you should leave the battery pack at home. You just might need it and it’s so small it’s no biggie to pack.

I’m sure I’ll think of other things I would do differently. But, really, I had very few things that I should have changed.

So here we are, at home. Last night I finally slept fairly well. This is the first trip I’d gone on where sleep was questionable close to 100% of the time. I have no clue why. But it does make me ponder a sleep aid. I just hate the thought of that, though.

I unpacked and put things away yesterday. Dan is working on that today. We are both taking it very easy today. Time feels very, very strange.

And I want to go on another adventure!