[pct-l] Marmot Precip

[Diane Soini of Santa Barbara Hikes]

I don't know what the Marmot Precip is like but I'm sure it's better  
than anything I've ever used. My relationship with rain and rain gear  
is pretty much on the wrong side of the line between well- and ill- 
prepared.

I didn't get much rain on my 2008 hike so my lack of real rain gear  
wasn't a big deal. I had a tyvek hazmat suit. I never did get rained  
on, only snowed on. I later found an umbrella in the trash in Kennedy  
Meadows. No rain after finding that.

I brought that found umbrella on my 2009 hike from Santa Barbara to  
Canada. I got a hell of a lot more rain on that trip. I got rain in  
the desert, rain in the Sierras and rain in Washington for about half  
the state. The umbrella worked pretty well in the desert, even in the  
wind. I just held on to the front of it and attached the handle to my  
backpack strap with some shock cord.

In addition to the umbrella, I had rain chaps. I had no real rain  
jacket. I had a Patagonia Houdini which only offers a little bit of  
short-term protection. The rain chaps worked well but I would get hot  
in them. So I had to remove the legs from my pants or roll up the  
chaps and pants and basically walk in shorts to cool off. But if you  
are basically wearing shorts, what's the point?

In Washington the rain was cold. I was wet, cold and miserable. With  
the chaps I could not stop and sit down to eat or else my butt would  
get wet. I had to eat standing up. The trail is very overgrown with  
wet plants that slapped me in the face. I was drenched and frequently  
on the verge of hypothermia. The only dry place was the top of my  
head. I walked very fast to warm up. I was pretty miserable. The wet  
rain chaps against my skin felt exactly the same as just being wet. I  
decided what is the point of something that feels the same as being  
wet? I always warmed up at night though. Nights were oddly warm. I  
survived and actually developed some pride in my lack of adequate  
protection from the elements. I'm tough. Hardcore. I did hole up in  
Seattle and wait it out after way too many days of weather, though.

Last year I did a section hike in the Deep Creek area. I woke up to a  
storm in my camp near Van Duesen road. I realized then I had  
forgotten my umbrella. I had the same rain chaps and Houdini.  
Basically, I had no real rain gear and here it was snowing and  
raining. I was wearing sandals, too. I walked very fast to keep warm.  
I stumbled upon a nice roaring bon fire just when I decided I was  
going to have to run to stay warm. Even section hikers get trail  
magic! Wading across Holcomb Creek was pretty miserable. But heck,  
here I was a survivor again. Not only did I have crappy rain gear,  
but I used my polycro ground sheet as a shawl. I'm not just hardcore,  
I'm resourceful. I laughed at the rain.

Later, beyond Deep Creek the wind blew so hard my tent fell down and  
wouldn't stay up. I slept on top and woke to rain coming down from a  
cloudless sky. WTF??? The PCT is a crazy-ass place. Rain falls on a  
sunny day or a starry night. So I slept in my tent like a big bag and  
let it beat me to death all night. What else could I do? I hiked out  
to the hotel at Cajon Pass the next day, spent a night being warm and  
dry and not having to listen to the freight train sound of the wind,  
then hiked on to my car the next day and laughed, grateful that I  
wouldn't have to stay out here in this crazy weather like a thru- 
hiker. I got a little taste of my thru-hiker badass self, but didn't  
have to commit to it.

Disclaimer: I don't recommend such reckless disregard for safety and  
security. You'd be crazy to be as foolish as me. I'm an idiot  
ultralighter who is ill-prepared for rain. Heck, I even turn OFF my  
cellphone and don't bother turning it on again for weeks at a time.  
Go ahead, pile on. I just don't seem to care, despite the risk,  
despite my misery. I have everything else I need except rain gear.

Diane