Somewhere Slowly

With the thought of Hadrian’s Wall constantly in my mind, the packs have been brought out of the cupboard again and put on the famous two-seater packing settee. The Scouse Spouse and I each have a kit box, a large plastic box with lid, where we are supposed to keep our travel and walking stuff. Clever, right? All in one place from one trip to the next, kept safe and moth free and dry and that. Exeeept — mine is overflowing. And by that I mean that even after I took out the 14 pairs of socks (plus thin liners and also a single merino sock of unknown origin) there were three lightweight, fast drying, sun protective, super clever shirts in there, in two different colours and two different sizes; two long and one short pair of trousers; two Buffs (one plain, one merino), two zipped fleece jackets, five merino tops (two short sleeve, two long sleeve, one vest), one skirt, two pairs of tights (one long and one capri), two merino dresses and assorted bits and bobs. That’s not counting the stuff I sometimes wear at home or for day walks, or the stuff that’s in my daypack which is ready to go with wind jacket, layers, first aid, rain poncho, spare socks etc. Wait a minute – aren’t I supposed to be the experienced lightweight packer??

My Scouse Spouse has two changes of clothes: one pair of zip-off and one pair of long trousers; one short and one long sleeve merino top to walk in, one short and one long sleeve merino for afters. One clever sun protective etc shirt if overly sunny. Three pairs of socks: two 1000 mile for walking and a warmer merino pair for cold mornings or evenings. Wind jacket, fleece, Altus, sandals and shoes. Packing for him is easy, but I have been at this minimalist packing thing for so long my house is full of it!

I’m trying to tell myself that it’s knowing exactly which carefully researched items to combine that is the hard part. And since it gets harder the more carefully researched minimalist stuff you have, that means I must be really good!