[pct-l] Rain pants, rain kilt, wind pants, or nothing for the Sierra?

[Eric Lee]

Alan wrote:
>
I see a lot of gear lists where people do not add rain pants or even a rain
jacket until Oregon.  I struggle with this because where we live, rain is
inevitable on most trips.  I always pack a rain jacket and rain pants.  Are
rain pants necessary in the Sierra at the beginning of July or would a pair
of wind pants be enough?  >

In my opinion, everyone should always have whatever gear would let them deal
safely with a multi-day mountain storm, including the possibility of high
wind, cold rain, and snow.  Sure, those conditions aren't really *common* in
the Sierra in July but they have been known to occur and will occur again in
the future.  If full rain gear is what you need to be safe in those
conditions then pack it.  If you have some alternative plan (like to hole up
in your tent for two days if you hit those conditions) then that's fine too.
But in any case, have a plan.  A lot of people's plan seems to be "I plan
not to run into that kind of weather" but IMHO that's a terrible plan.

There are fairly light possibilities for rain pants out there.  The Marmot
Precip pants are what I carry.  They're not perfect and will tend to wet
through in extended rain but they're enough to keep me mostly warm if not
totally dry.  Remember, the goal is safety, not necessarily comfort.

Eric