[pct-l] how cold will it get?

[brentramsby-pct at yahoo.com (Teflon)]

How ?cold? you feel is a very relative thing.  What one person
considers cold, another person will consider comfortable.  Thus, each
person is going to have different clothing requirements.

When it comes to cold, there are at least four things you need to
take into account:

- temperature
- precipitation
- wind
- activity level (hiking, resting, or sleeping)

Cold temperatures / Dry conditions:

Last year, most of the High Sierras were like this.  During the day,
I usually hiked in shorts and wore a t-shirt and a light windshirt. 
As soon as I stopped hiking at the end of the day, I put on thermals.
 (it gets cold fast when the sun goes down)  I also slept with my
thermals on at night.


Cold temperature / Snowy conditions:

Parts of Washington were like this. It felt much like the above.  I
usually hiked in shorts and a t-shirt with my rain gear on. Hiking
with light snow flurries wasn?t nearly as bad as hiking with cold
rain.


Cold temperatures / Rainy conditions:

Large chunks of Oregon and Washington were like this.  When temps
were in the 30s-40s and it was raining, it was extremely cold.   At
one point in Washington, we hiked for four straight days in these
conditions before the sun finally came out.  Remember:  if the sun
doesn?t come out, it becomes really hard to dry your stuff out.

While I was hiking, I wore a t-shirt, shorts, and my rain gear.  My
raingear was made of Goretex XCR and had lot?s of ventilation
control.   By adjusting the ventilation zippers, I was able to stay
quite comfortable.  However, if I stopped, the chill would set in
within minutes.

At night I wore every piece of clothing I had (2 t-shirts, 1
midweight top, thermals, windshirt, convertible pants, warm hat,
gloves, warm socks) inside a 20 deg bag, with a warm body next to me
? and I was still cold.  


Some Helpful Notes for Hiking in Multiple Days of Cold and Rainy
Weather:

- Goretex XCR lasts for 2 straight days of solid rain before it soaks
through

- Use a separate liner and shell for keeping your hands warm.  They
will dry out much faster than regular gloves or mittens with sewn-in
liners

- Take along extra trash bags to keep your warm dry clothes safe from
everything else that?s wet.  Always have warm dry clothes available
to wear at the end of the day.  

- I triple bagged my sleeping bag (sil-nylon stuff sack, 2 garbage
bags) to keep it dry.  (garbage bags tear easily)

- Think about how your shelter setup will allow you to make a hot
meal while remaining inside your sleeping bag.  If you have to stand
out in the rain to make something warm, you?re going to be one
unhappy camper.

- A hot cup of tea totally breaks the chill at the end of the day. 

- If it?s going to rain all day, have all your lunch and snacks ready
in advance.  I made stacks of peanut butter and honey sandwiches
while I was still nice and toasty in my sleeping bag in the morning. 
That way I could eat something immediately when I stopped for a break
and I wouldn?t have to open my backpack in the rain.

-teflon



--- Joseph Niemiec <whitethunder10@hotmail.com> wrote:
> Hello all,
> 
> Just wondering how cold it will get in the in the mts when I
> thru-hike.  Do 
> I need anything warmer than my precip and fleece with a long sleeve
> capalene 
> under it?
> 
> Also just planning on wearing shorts and using my precip pants when
> it gets 
> cold.. what you think?
> 
> I know there is snow but that doesn't always mean cold...
> 
> Thanks again,
> 
> Joe
>