[pct-l] Umbrellas

[benarmstrong1 at yahoo.com (Ben Armstrong)]

My umbrella lasted from Manning Park to about 150' below Mather Pass.  I loved having an umbrella during days of rain in Washington and Oregon.  Finally, a spooky storm shredded the $12 model at 7 am.  An umbrella, high winds, lightning, rain and High Sierra switchbacks are not a good mix.  After the umbrella turned inside-out for the third time, I thought, "Put your umbrella away," and at that moment it disintegrated beyond repair.   

I remember preparing for my thru-hike, and I used Jardine's books as a resource.  In his discussion of modifying an umbrella, he recommends replacing the wire that holds all of the tines together at the top of the umbrella with a heavier wire.  The wire used on most umbrellas is typically made of sub-par material.  At the time, I was sewing gear and planning with one thousand things left to do, and I thought, "Ah well, I've modified this enough.  It is light, and this is a pretty good umbrella and should hold up fine."  

If you purchase and then modify an umbrella, replace the wire that holds the tines together with a heavier gauge wire. 

Ben 


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