by Wendy
I have a few trips on the horizon, but a 4 day trip to New Mexico was trickier to pack for than it should have been. This was one of those trips like Iceland/England where I wanted to bring clothes suitable for several different activities: hiking, pool, walking around a city, lounging around a resort. The weather in Albuquerque and Santa Fe could range from 80s during the day to 40s at night. So this was a puzzle. A nice puzzle to have, but a puzzle nonetheless.
My packing list was as follows:
Wear on plane: jeans, striped t-shirt, black hoodie, wedge sandals
Essentials like makeup / toiletries / ipad / chargers / books / printouts / glasses / medicines
1 dress
1 skirt
Denim shirt
Black short-sleeve blouse
Hiking pants
Yoga pants
1 pair shorts, 2 bathing suits
3 t-shirts
Pjs, 5 pair underwear, 3 pair socks
Hiking shoes, Adidas sneakers – yes this makes three pairs of shoes total. This was a tough decision for me, and it made my carry-on suitcase heavier for sure. I justified it since we had a direct flight and would stay put in one hotel – so figured it wouldn’t be that annoying to drag around.
3 earrings, 1 belt
Flat iron
Very small backpack that I flattened in a suitcase compartment. I was bringing my giant purse I typically carry for work as my second carry-on, both for style factor and because I can fit loads of stuff in it. But I knew I wouldn’t want to take it on a long hike – hence the backpack.
How did it work?
Reader, I overpacked. Although it was good to be prepared, I didn’t once break out the hiking shoes, hiking pants or backpack. All of our walks in the desert were not extensive and managed with my Adidas sneakers. I wore the yoga pants a single time – so not really worth packing. I did not wear one of the t-shirts and one of the bathing suits.
The stars were the go-with-everything hoodie, the only layer I needed when temperatures dropped a bit. And the wedge sandals. I scored these Clarks a few months ago at Macy’s for about $60. I’ve heard travelers rave about Clarks before, and now I see the appeal. After a weekend of breaking them in earlier this spring, they are lightweight and quite comfortable. I wore them with the skirt and denim shirt on the day we walked all around Santa Fe. I wore them with the jeans/black blouse and dress for dinners at the resort. Two complete strangers complimented me on them and wanted to know the brand. Along with Converse and Payless Dexflex ballet flats, they could achieve favorite travel shoes status.
