[pct-l] help with layers of clothing

[Eric Lee]

Bill wrote:
>
I want to get a reality check on my clothing options.  Any help would be
appreciated.
>

The down jacket is probably sufficient.  I almost never hike in my down
jacket, except maybe for 10 minutes first thing in the morning - moving
usually keeps me warm enough.  I might wear a vest and/or windshirt while
hiking if the temperature is very low.  The down jacket is useful for in
camp and when taking breaks.  If it's not enough to keep me warm when
stopped then the weather is probably bad enough that the smart thing to do
is to hole up in my tent and sleeping bag until it improves.

I realized that in a previous thread I gave a partial inventory of my
clothing but didn't cover everything.  For the sake of completeness, here's
my full clothing kit for normal summer hiking where I expect mostly good
weather but want to be prepared for bad weather:

REI Sahara long-sleeved shirt
REI Sahara long pants (not zip-off)
UnderArmor boxer briefs
Drymax socks (two pair, one worn, one drying after being washed)
Lowa Renegade boots (leather-lined model, no Goretex)
Western Mountaineering Flight down jacket
Marmot Driclime vest
Patagonia wind shirt (don't remember the model, probably discontinued but
similar to the current Houdini)
Mountain Hardware hat (don't remember the model, probably similar to the
current Dome Perignon)
Generic light fleece gloves
Homemade 5'x7' poncho (no hood, but I can cinch the head opening closed and
use it as a supplementary tarp if needed)
Marmot Precip  rain pants
Sunday Afternoons Adventure hat
A homemade waterproof cover that I can attach to the Adventure hat when
raining

And my shelter system:

Mountain Laurel Designs Duomid
Mountain Laurel Designs Solo InnerNet
Marmot Hydrogen 30 deg. sleeping bag
Gossamer Gear polycro ground cloth

That might seem like a lot of stuff but my total dry weight (including other
gear not listed here, not counting food and water) is about 14 pounds.
That's not crazy-ultralight but it's definitely lightweight and I'm
comfortable with the balance I've found between lightness and safety.  There
have been multiple times over the years when I've used every single thing on
this list over the course of a day and have been glad of them.  I've never
been in a summer-time situation where this list wasn't sufficient to keep me
safe.  (I swap a few things in and out for late fall and winter.)

A general note about dealing with extended rain in Washington: remember that
the goal is not to stay completely dry, because that's going to be
essentially impossible.  The goal is to stay warm.  It's easier to stay warm
if you're not totally soaked, but you're going to get at least moderately
damp regardless of how much money you spend on fancy gear.  Allow for that
in your calculations.

Eric