[pct-l] California Section L-Donner to Sierra City

[steve_pct at hotmail.com (Steve Setzer)]

Here's the thing about rain gear.  No matter how good it is, you'll be 
soaked by the end of a rainy day. I had a really nice Mont-Bell rain jacket 
with sealed zippers that was supposedly totally waterproof and breathable.  
But I still got wet.  Water would get in through my pit zips if I kept them 
open. So I needed to keep them closed which made me sweat more. Since I used 
trekking poles, my arms weren't hanging straigt at my sides so rain got in 
under the cuffs at the wrist. Plus I would sweat, or just perspire water 
vapor, and that would cause condensation on the inside of the jacket. Its 
very difficult, in heavy rain, to tell if you're getting wet from the 
outside or the inside. Unless its very cold or you have no uphills, you'll 
most likely get condensation on the inside of your rain gear. Also, once the 
outside surface of your rain gear "wets out" you basically have a thin coat 
of water on the outside of your rain gear and breathability is zero (because 
you can't breathe through water).

So here's what most of us did this year (and we had plenty of rain for 
practice):  wear a rain skirt (or a kilt for the guys) made out of a plastic 
garbage bag. That way your shorts stay dry but your legs can still breathe 
(rain pants are WAY too hot for most people).  Then wear your rain jacket 
but don't be too surprised if your arms get wet or if you get wet from 
condensation. Then hike without stopping until your 25 miles are done so 
that you don't get hypothermia.  Then get in your warm dry clothes and get 
in your sleeping bag.  Repeat until you get to the border.

Scrote

I miss the trail!!!!

>From: "JoPH" <joph@piedmontbsa.org>
>To: "Pct-L@Mailman.Backcountry.Net" <pct-l@mailman.backcountry.net>
>Subject: [pct-l] California Section L-Donner to Sierra City
>Date: Mon, 18 Oct 2004 11:39:54 -0700
>

>Just one question though-- part of this trip was to give our rain gear,
>Frogg Toggs, a go to see how they would do. Now, all I've read on this list
>serve is good stuff about Frogg Toggs, and I have to tell you, if we 
>weren't
>planning to come in Sunday, we would have been in trouble. The Frogg Toggs
>failed miserably. We were both soaked from the waste down and in the arms.
>Has anyone else had this experience or any advice to offer on products that
>do work! We used the Frogg Toggs in So. Cal for a two week section trip in
>the spring and they seemed to be o.k. for the brief periods of rain we had,
>but not for all-day rain-- it just seeped through.
>

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