[pct-l] Worrying about your gear and clothing

[CHUCK CHELIN]

Good afternoon, AsABat,


The jacket turned out to be a better deal than I expected.  When I got it
home I found a piece of chewing gum in the pocket.  It even had quite a bit
of flavor left.


Steel-Eye

Hiking the Pct since before it was the PCT – 1965

http://www.trailjournals.com/steel-eye

http://www.trailjournals.com/SteelEye09


On Mon, Dec 13, 2010 at 8:56 AM, AsABat <asabat at 4jeffrey.net> wrote:

> Steeleye if you paid $3 for that ugly  jacket you overpaid!
>
>
> AsABat
> PCT Water Reports SoCal http://pct.4jeffrey.net
> Send water updates to water at 4jeffrey.net
> --
> Sent from my Android phone with K-9 Mail. Please excuse my brevity.
>
> "CHUCK CHELIN" <steeleye at wildblue.net> wrote:
>
> >Good morning, all,
> >
> >I totally agree with Diane – well, almost totally.  I believe the
> >infatuation with gear evaporates well before Kennedy Meadows; for most
> >it
> >may be gone by Warner Springs.  With wear-and-tear and grubby personal
> >habits most hikers soon end up looking like flood victims anyway, and
> >I’ve
> >never heard anyone wearing a $200 Patagonia fleece poke fun at my $3
> >thrift-store equivalent.
> >
> >The objective is to hike, not become wrapped-around one’s own axle
> >worrying
> >about all the esoteric details.  It’ll all work out, just as she says.
> >
> >Steel-Eye
> >
> >Hiking the Pct since before it was the PCT – 1965
> >
> >http://www.trailjournals.com/steel-eye
> >
> >http://www.trailjournals.com/SteelEye09
> >
> >
> >On Mon, Dec 13, 2010 at 6:56 AM, Diane Soini of Santa Barbara Hikes <
> >diane at santabarbarahikes.com> wrote:
> >
> >> To those worrying about what gear to get, what clothing to buy.
> >>
> >> First of all, with the gear, just get something and then don't worry
> >> too much about it. Pick the tent or whatever that does the most of
> >> what you want. You'll be fine, you won't die, nobody will laugh at
> >> your decision, and your decision isn't final anyway.
> >>
> >> The "fashion show" kind of ends after Kennedy Meadows, which really
> >> simplifies your life. After the Sierras nobody talks about gear
> >> anymore. It's just a tool by then. There may be disappointments about
> >> various things, but you really won't care about gear anymore.
> >Honestly.
> >>
> >> And as for choosing clothing for the temperature. The range really
> >> isn't that great. The human body is really quite adaptable, too. I'm
> >> a typical female who freezes in the office, wears a down jacket every
> >> day, even in summer, while living in Santa Barbara. But out on the
> >> trail, I was constantly moving. When I wasn't moving I was in my
> >> sleeping bag. I didn't need that many layers. I hiked in spring and
> >> summer so it never was all that terribly cold. Perhaps there were
> >> some mornings in the 20s and some mid-days in the 40s at the coldest
> >> and I think 103 was tops for the hottest. A small amount of clothing
> >> was capable of taking me through that range comfortably.
> >>
> >> When it was cold (and I did get cold a few times), I felt a little
> >> cold but that's all. You can endure more than you think you can. I
> >> wasn't dying, I was simply not perfectly comfortable. We really get
> >> spoiled, soft and weak in our culture. Fortunately decades of
> >> freezing in offices has taught me to endure being cold quite well.
> >>
> >> To deal with being a little cold, I just kept moving and stayed warm.
> >> When I stopped, I went to bed. I was never at risk.
> >>
> >> At one point I did get tired of being too cold and managed to solve
> >> the problem by purchasing a $3 crappy old shirt at a thrift store in
> >> Mammoth (in 2009 it was snowing or hailing every day brrr). The thing
> >> had runs in it, no brand name, the collar didn't work right, and it
> >> was an ugly shade of blue, but it felt warm and I moved on up the
> >> trail feeling like luxury. I crossed the Canadian border wearing that
> >> shirt.
> >>
> >> My point is, do the best you can with your gear but after that,
> >> remember it is only a tool. Tools are available in most towns. You
> >> can always get more tools, swap your tools for different ones. They
> >> don't have to have fancy brand names or even be all that high
> >> quality. Sometimes cheap stuff works as well or better.
> >>
> >> Diane
> >>
> >> On Dec 13, 2010, at 4:44 AM, pct-l-request at backcountry.net wrote:
> >> >
> >> > Hey Paul,
> >> >
> >> > I know I am bouncing a 9 day old post, but I just wanted to thank
> >> > you for
> >> > sharing this data.
> >> >
> >> > A constant struggle is knowing what kind of temps to expect and
> >> > thus what
> >> > cold weather gear to take - as that tends to be the heaviest items
> >> > in our
> >> > pack, outside of food/water - and while we can of course expect
> >> > different
> >> > temps from year to year, having a base-line from which to go on is
> >> > amazingly
> >> > helpful.
> >> >
> >> > So, thanks!
> >> > John
> >>
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