[pct-l] trail clothing

[Stephen Adams]

I totally agree with this.  I rarely get soaked in the Sierra, it has to be raining pretty good and that's rarely the case, or for prolonged periods.  But those darned grasses and ferns that are so beautiful growing along the trials edge...  That's what keeps my shoes from drying and thoroughly soaks them a lot faster.  I suggest we conscript  a bunch of munchkins to trim our beautiful trails so that we don't get bush slapped until our trip is no longer the wonderful experience we planned and it seems all we can do to maintain a level of psyche damage control.   
Diane what I was suggesting was lycra tights under shorts.  They are more comfortable than loose rubbery lined pants.  
I do know though that my breathable rain pants, not as light as your sil-nylon, have a mesh liner that makes them a heck of a lot more comfortable against my legs.  My mountaineering pants with the full zip legs do also and are also very comfortable.  The only unlined wind/rain clothing I will use is my Paclite Golite shell, and I don't like it very much as it is no where near as warm as my lined rain shell parkas that are slightly heavier but have better coverage.  
Trying to go UL has its pros and cons doesn't it?  I don't seem to be able to pass into the UL mode.  I think more in terms of medium light, but that changed when I got the light shell, changed to a tarp, and got a G4 pack that weighs 1 lb compared to my favorite 4 lb Mountainlight 5000.  I actually did a trip with the G4 with the camera gear last July.  Wasn't very comfortable, but I could really tell the weight difference.  I'm looking fwd to using it this next season and carrying just a light camera set up.  I've got some peaks and passes to climb.          
On Feb 14, 2010, at 7:27 AM, Diane at Santa Barbara Hikes dot com wrote:

> Since I was in Washington in August, I suppose it wasn't as cold as when most thru-hikers are there. My knees did not get cold. I wore shorts under my chaps (zipped off the legs and saved them for bed time). The silnylon of my chaps felt like just being wet when it was against my skin.