What to pack for the mist season

Layers beat one big coat

Sa Pa runs cold at 6am and warm by noon. I have watched guests peel off a puffer jacket on the Cat Cat trail before 11am and carry it the rest of the day. A fleece under a thin rain shell handles both ends without the extra weight in your bag.

Bring gloves for the cable car up to Fansipan. The summit platform sits well below freezing from November through February, and the wind at 3,143 metres cuts through anything thinner than wool.

Shoes that already know mud

The rice terrace paths turn to red clay after rain, and it rains most afternoons from June to September. New boots straight out of the box slip on that clay. Bring the pair you have already broken in, ideally with tread left on the sole.

Sandals are fine for the hotel courtyard. They are not fine for the descent past Lao Chai village, where the trail drops steeply toward the Muong Hoa river and the footing turns loose.

What actually earns its space in the bag

• A dry bag for the short boat crossing near Ta Van
• A headlamp — village guesthouses cut the generator around 10pm
• Small notes: 10,000 and 20,000 VND bills, since market stalls rarely break a 500,000
• Motion sickness tablets for the overnight train from Hanoi
• A scarf bought at the Sunday market in Bac Ha, not one packed from home

The one thing everyone forgets

Signal drops out past Silver Waterfall and stays patchy for most of the trek. Download your offline maps while you still have a connection in Hanoi, and warn whoever is waiting for a message that you will go quiet for a day.