[pct-l] Worrying about your gear and clothing

[AsABat]

Steeleye if you paid $3 for that ugly  jacket you overpaid! 


AsABat
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"CHUCK CHELIN" <steeleye at wildblue.net> wrote:

>Good morning, all,
>
>I totally agree with Diane – well, almost totally.  I believe the
>infatuation with gear evaporates well before Kennedy Meadows; for most
>it
>may be gone by Warner Springs.  With wear-and-tear and grubby personal
>habits most hikers soon end up looking like flood victims anyway, and
>I’ve
>never heard anyone wearing a $200 Patagonia fleece poke fun at my $3
>thrift-store equivalent.
>
>The objective is to hike, not become wrapped-around one’s own axle
>worrying
>about all the esoteric details.  It’ll all work out, just as she says.
>
>Steel-Eye
>
>Hiking the Pct since before it was the PCT – 1965
>
>http://www.trailjournals.com/steel-eye
>
>http://www.trailjournals.com/SteelEye09
>
>
>On Mon, Dec 13, 2010 at 6:56 AM, Diane Soini of Santa Barbara Hikes <
>diane at santabarbarahikes.com> wrote:
>
>> To those worrying about what gear to get, what clothing to buy.
>>
>> First of all, with the gear, just get something and then don't worry
>> too much about it. Pick the tent or whatever that does the most of
>> what you want. You'll be fine, you won't die, nobody will laugh at
>> your decision, and your decision isn't final anyway.
>>
>> The "fashion show" kind of ends after Kennedy Meadows, which really
>> simplifies your life. After the Sierras nobody talks about gear
>> anymore. It's just a tool by then. There may be disappointments about
>> various things, but you really won't care about gear anymore.
>Honestly.
>>
>> And as for choosing clothing for the temperature. The range really
>> isn't that great. The human body is really quite adaptable, too. I'm
>> a typical female who freezes in the office, wears a down jacket every
>> day, even in summer, while living in Santa Barbara. But out on the
>> trail, I was constantly moving. When I wasn't moving I was in my
>> sleeping bag. I didn't need that many layers. I hiked in spring and
>> summer so it never was all that terribly cold. Perhaps there were
>> some mornings in the 20s and some mid-days in the 40s at the coldest
>> and I think 103 was tops for the hottest. A small amount of clothing
>> was capable of taking me through that range comfortably.
>>
>> When it was cold (and I did get cold a few times), I felt a little
>> cold but that's all. You can endure more than you think you can. I
>> wasn't dying, I was simply not perfectly comfortable. We really get
>> spoiled, soft and weak in our culture. Fortunately decades of
>> freezing in offices has taught me to endure being cold quite well.
>>
>> To deal with being a little cold, I just kept moving and stayed warm.
>> When I stopped, I went to bed. I was never at risk.
>>
>> At one point I did get tired of being too cold and managed to solve
>> the problem by purchasing a $3 crappy old shirt at a thrift store in
>> Mammoth (in 2009 it was snowing or hailing every day brrr). The thing
>> had runs in it, no brand name, the collar didn't work right, and it
>> was an ugly shade of blue, but it felt warm and I moved on up the
>> trail feeling like luxury. I crossed the Canadian border wearing that
>> shirt.
>>
>> My point is, do the best you can with your gear but after that,
>> remember it is only a tool. Tools are available in most towns. You
>> can always get more tools, swap your tools for different ones. They
>> don't have to have fancy brand names or even be all that high
>> quality. Sometimes cheap stuff works as well or better.
>>
>> Diane
>>
>> On Dec 13, 2010, at 4:44 AM, pct-l-request at backcountry.net wrote:
>> >
>> > Hey Paul,
>> >
>> > I know I am bouncing a 9 day old post, but I just wanted to thank
>> > you for
>> > sharing this data.
>> >
>> > A constant struggle is knowing what kind of temps to expect and
>> > thus what
>> > cold weather gear to take - as that tends to be the heaviest items
>> > in our
>> > pack, outside of food/water - and while we can of course expect
>> > different
>> > temps from year to year, having a base-line from which to go on is
>> > amazingly
>> > helpful.
>> >
>> > So, thanks!
>> > John
>>
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