[pct-l] questions

[Eric Lee]

Dwane wrote:
>
1 - With normal weather, will I need a down jacket and rain gear between
Campo and Kennedy Meadows?
2 - Would it be a risk to put off carrying rain gear until OR/WA?
>

Different people require different gear to handle any given set of
conditions, so it's probably better to describe what you conditions you
should anticipate and then let you map that to what you need to carry.

Between Campo and Kennedy Meadows, with a start in April, you could
experience a very wide range of weather conditions.  It could be hot and
sunny one day and then close to (or below!) freezing with rain or snow the
next.  Some years thru-hikers never deal with any precipitation at all
whereas in other years some thru-hikers get hammered with massive rainstorms
or even snowstorms.  Remember that much of the trail in southern California
is up in serious mountains where you can get mountain-like storms literally
any day of the year.

You should absolutely carry enough gear to be able to handle a cold, wet,
multi-day storm regardless of where and when on the PCT you plan to hike.
That might mean rain gear and a down jacket, or it might mean carrying
enough extra food to be able to hunker down in your tent for a couple of
days to ride out the weather, or whatever else suits your skill level.  Just
don't make plans assuming that you won't experience such weather, because
the odds are pretty good that you will.

Speaking for myself personally, I carry a homemade silnylon poncho,
lightweight rain pants, down jacket, light fleece gloves, and a warm hat no
matter where I'm hiking.  I also have a pyramid tarp and down sleeping bag.
With that combo I can handle any conditions that can be reasonably expected
on the trail in the spring/summer/fall.

Eric