I spent the first half of the week home in work mode, then joined friends in the mountains of Vorarlberg, the westernmost part of Austria.

It was my first time in this particular region, but I immediately loved the mountain passes, the mist, the lakes, the huts… We went on daily excursions, never mind the rain, and I’m coming to the realization that alpine tundra may be my favorite landscape!

Alpine tundra is a type of natural region or biome that does not contain trees because it is at high elevation, with an associated harsh climate. The high elevation causes an adverse climate, which is too cold and windy to support tree growth. Alpine tundra transitions to sub-alpine forests below the tree line; stunted forests occurring at the forest-tundra ecotone are known as krummholz. With increasing elevation it ends at the snow line where snow and ice persist through summer. (Wikipedia)

In hommage to that, let’s geek out on kit.

I’ve been building my onebag travel kit for 4-6 day trips in Europe that combine long-distance train travel and day hikes. Typically I’m wrapping a few days around the weekend to visit a friend. Since this is a trip format that I take a few times a year, and want to continue to enjoy, I’ve become deliberate about developing competencies and heuristics to make it as simple and comfortable as I can get it.

For the bag, a 26L backpack has proved to be the perfect size. I can slip in a laptop or throw in gifts and lunch without overthinking it, but it’s small enough that I can easily squeeze through a crowded station.

I’ve picked up a pair of light trekking boots, which has been great for times when I know we’ll be hiking, but not enough to warrant lugging around my beloved leather Hanwags. My cycling waterproof jacket works well for any other sport or as casual town wear—it’s become a piece of clothing that I use more than I expected.

For this trip, I pulled out an old 12L hydration vest out of the closet. I got it in 2015 for a marathon and haven’t used much since. Seeing the running vest category explode in recent years inspired me to try it for hiking and cycling, and I’m now sold on its benefits.

The key pieces of kit are:

• Backpack: Boondocker from Passenger
• Travel “purse”: the Yamatomichi sacocche which fits a phone and Kindle
• Outings backpack: the Oxsitis Pulse 12 with a 1.5L CamelBak bladder
• Jacket: Salomon Outscape for winter OR the packable Rab Phantom Jacket
• Hiking shoes: Women’s Trekker Lite III from the Italian brand aku
• Town shoes: Sketchers Slip-ins Reggae Slim in the summer OR sneakers
• Speakers: When I have solo hotel stays, I bring the JBL Go 5 to keep me company

Future improvements on my radar are:

• Buy trail running poles
• Try a shoe bag and strap system to secure the trekking shoes onto the backpack
• Add shock cords to the hydration vest, so I can strap on an extra jacket