[pct-l] Is this weather typical? - Sierra City to Belden

[Brian Westlander]

My wife and I (section hikers) just hiked from Sierra City to Quincy-La
Porte Road over the last few days. We felt like we were unusually slammed
by fairly constant rain and thunderstorms. These did not seem like your
typical afternoon thunderstorms. We only saw sun for about an hour each day.

We checked the weather reports before leaving so did expect some
rain/storms. But we felt the reports we saw underestimated the storms quite
a bit.

1) Does anybody know if this stormy weather, in this region, is typical for
this time of year? In other words, can we expect more of the same weather
as we continue?

2) Or, is the weather very unpredictable in this region - i.e. Don't put
much stock in the weather reports?

3) Finally, does anyone have recommendations for lightweight rain gear? Our
rain gear turned out to not be waterproof (Frogg Togg Dri-Ducks - they may
have been too old to protect us) sending our soggy selves off the trail and
into Quincy earlier than planned.

Thanks so much for your help!

- Strog and Bling
(at a motel in Quincy rehashing our plans)