[at-l] Clothing - Helping a newbie; the saga continues.

[shane@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx (Shane Steinkamp)]

Those of you who have been following my friend Bob's (Robert 'Coach'
Lindsey) 'training' for the AT in '03 will be pleased to know that despite
several hurdles, his hike is still on.  His journal can be followed at
www.theplacewithnoname.com/hiking, but I haven't done any real updates for
awhile.  We just had a nice three day hike this last weekend, and a trip
report will be forthcoming.  He is making beautiful progress, and I am
hopeful that he will at least make it to the top of Springer mountain before
he realizes what he has stepped in...  :)

I intend to put up his equipment list in a week or two and get some feedback
on that, but he's maxing out at about 35 pounds, including winter gear,
food, and water, so that's pretty good - especially since he's 6'4" and
weighs 240, and 35 pounds is less than 15% of his body weight.

Now, for the question part...

We ran into a slight problem because his sleeping bag didn't fit, and in
order to fix that we had to order a much larger one that is not going to
stuff as small.  To keep him in the same pack, I'm trying to work out how to
get some extra space, and place I think we can do this is clothing...

He intends to start at Springer, with Mr. Berry, who has hiked the AT
before, on or about February 15.  He has six point crampons, poles, and
other things that I think he needs for that - although he's going to
evaluate his situation once he gets there and might push the start to March
15.

Ah, so enough rambling.  I need help with clothes.  To appreciate my
problem, you have to understand that this last weekend, we had a night of
freezing temperatures, and during the day it was between 45 and 55 degrees.
In the early morning, I wore boots, shorts, and a flannel shirt.  Once we
got moving, I switched to sandals and a sarong.  Bob, on the other hand,
wore briefs, polypropylene long underwear (top and bottom), socks, boots,
long pants, long sleeve shirt, gloves, and balaclava.  I'd have melted, but
he was comfortably cool.

In addition, besides wearing all of that, he's carrying an extra pair of
socks, an extra pair of briefs, and an extra pair of polypropylene unders.
He will NOT negotiate on these, despite telling him that he doesn't need the
briefs, and doesn't need the extra unders.  From there he's got a Packa for
rain/wind and a pair of light Target wind pants for rain/wind.  For me, all
of this would be more than plenty for sub-zero temperatures, but on top of
this he's got a large and heavy fleece jacket.

Now, Bob is obviously cold blooded, and I have a roaring fire within.  This
is further evidenced by the fact that I sat at the campfire stark naked
while he was dressed in every stitch of clothing he had with him and STILL
looked cold.

So, my question becomes, is this adequate for Springer in mid February?
Should I try to switch him out of the fleece jacket and into a down vest?
Should I try to put him in a down jacket?  Opinions?

TIA

Shane

Shane