[at-l] Fleece/Other Clothing Recommendations

[spiriteagle99@hotmail.com (Jim and/or Ginny Owen)]

Ed Williams wrote:
>OK - heading to the outfitters tomorrow with sufficient money in hand to 
>try and finalize the clothing for my thru-hike...Here's what I have so far, 
>and I'd appreciate all the recommendations I can get to fill out the gear 
>list!
>
>What I have:
>(2) Patagonia Silkweight Cap. T-shirts (to hike in/base layer)
>(1) Patagonia Midweight Cap. Bottoms (hike in these usually until I warm 
>up)
>(1) Patagonia Midweight Cap. Top
>(1) Patagonia Exp. Cap. Bottoms - Winter Only
>(1) Precip Pants - Rain and Outer Layer when needed
>(1) Precip Jacket - Rain and Outer Layer when needed
>(1) Marmot AT Gloves - winter only
>(1) OR Balaclava - winter only
>(2) Socks and liners


Ed -
OB is giving you good advice but I figured another viewpoint might not hurt. 
  Some years ago we stayed with a friend who was leaving the next morning to 
start his thru and he asked us how his fully loaded pack "looked" to us.  My 
only comment was "heavy".  The next morning his pack looked somewhat 
different - and a lot lighter.  The single most common thing that people get 
to Springer with is unnecessary clothing.

I'm not gonna tell you what to take - I don't do that.  But I'll tell you 
what I carry and/or wear for the conditions you'll find on the Southern AT 
in Spring (cold/wet/hot/dry/rain/snow/fog/sleet/???? - beautiful).

Top down - for the head - a floppy hat that'll protect my ears and bald head 
from sunburn (that IS a problem on the southern AT before the leaves are 
out) and a fleece or wool hat for warm and for sleeping.

Top - a (yeah - one) Thermax T-shirt, a lightweight Capilene top for really 
cold hiking and a midweight top for camp/sleeping, a Supplex shirt for 
hiking and for bug protection (it works), a 200 wt fleece jacket and a Frogg 
Toggs jacket.  Used to use Goretex jackets - too heavy.  Just got a Precip 
jacket but haven't tried it yet.

Hands - 1 pr fleece mittens for for really cold, 1 pr REI MTS liners for 
anything else.  Mittens are better than gloves for warmth.

Bottom - 2 pr nylon shorts, one Capilene bottoms (for sleeping or for 
extreme cold hiking), one pr Supplex convertible pants.

Feet - 2 to 3 pr socks (most people carry liners but they give me blisters), 
lightweight boots.

I've used Exp weight only once - too hot.  Then it stayed home until I gave 
it away.

One of the recent discussions on the list was acclimatization.  Once you're 
on the trail, your metabolism will adjust to the temperatures.  How much it 
will adjust is an individual thing.  One thing to watch is that for some 
people, when it's cold hiking will keep them warm, but as soon as they stop 
they go into instant "headed for hypothermia" mode.  Someone mentioned that 
just this week on the list.  Several of my hiking partners have had that 
problem - including my wife.  If it's cold, what we do is to change 
"immediately" when we get to camp.  We don't set up the tent or start dinner 
or anything else first - we change.  If you're young and invulnerable maybe 
that's not necessary - we're not and it is.  Unless you're invulnerable, 
you'll probably want to change before sleeping anyway.  Some people think 
it's not necessary, but I don't like sleeping cold (or not sleeping) because 
what I'm wearing is damp and the evaporation is drawing the heat out of my 
body.  Note that it doesn't have to be "wet" to do that - normal body 
emissions (perspiration) will make your clothing damp enough to be 
uncomfortable even if you're not hiking - especially when it's cold.

In any case, as you get further North the weather and your body will both 
change and so will your clothing requirements.  But you'll work that out as 
you go.

Carrying a lot of clothes for an hour or two in camp is neither smart or 
necessary.  If you're in camp and cold, get in your bag - it's your best 
friend and you'll spend a lot of time with it.  As a thruhiker, you'll 
likely be in the bag early anyway.

As long as we're here - a pillow - some people carry one, some don't need or 
want one.  If you do, I'd suggest that you use your "extra" clothing, heavy 
jacket, pack, boots, whatever.  I stuff everything into the sleeping bag 
stuff sack.  Works for me - and I don't have to carry the extra weight.

Bottom line is - you can have whatever you're willing to carry. You can have 
more if you can con a partner into carrying it for you, but that's not nice  
:-))


>What I need:
>A heavier upper layer - was thinking a Puffball or R2?
>Anything Else??
>
>I also typically hike in cheap Wally World nylon soccer-type shorts - but 
>was considering buying something like the CloudVeil Cool Shorts, or other 
>"hiking" shorts.

If you're used to hiking in something, don't make massive changes just 
before starting a thruhike - just make sure you've got spares in your 
maildrops.

Walk softly,
Jim



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