[pct-l] Rain Theory

[spiritbear2k at hotmail.com (Ginny & Jim Owen)]

Some of you say that because your level of physical exertion is so high, you 
don't really need to wear any rain gear as you stay warm by moving so fast.  
That is certainly true if you are running, or racing or even climbing a good 
steep mountain.  But hiking is not all at high levels of exertion.

Sometimes you get nice and warm climbing a mountain, then on the long 
gradual descent you cool off.  If you don't have protection from the wet, 
that can be dangerous.  Sometimes you hike slowly because the underfoot 
conditions require some careful stepping.  That means you may not be 
generating a lot of heat.  Sometimes you are fine as long as you hike fast, 
but then as soon as you stop hiking the core temperature drops like a rock, 
and hypothermia can set in.  I've learned to change into dry clothes as soon 
as I stop hiking, if at all possible.

I have been hypothermic several times in temperatures that were not all that 
cold (50's) while hiking in an all day rain.  Unless the temperature is in 
the 80's I will put on a rain jacket, so that I am warm even if I get wet 
with sweat.  Warm wet is better than cold wet.  One time I was really in 
trouble because although I knew that I should put on raingear, I waited too 
long and my hands would no longer work well enough for me to get my pack 
off.  (I have borderline Reynauds.  When cold I lose circulation and 
mobility in my hands and feet.)  My hands were like claws. I literally could 
not unbuckle the belt.  I kept moving until I found another hiker who could 
undo my belt.  Now I put on my raingear if it even starts to look like the 
rain is going to last.  Sometimes it still isn't enough.  If I am starting 
and stopping a lot (i.e. last weekend painting blazes in the rain) I can get 
seriously chilled.  When we stop for the day and my core temperature drops, 
it can take an hour or two stuffed in my sleeping bag before I warm up 
again.  I remember in Washington hiking in sleet and the combination of wind 
and ice was too much for my body to overcome, even with a rain jacket.  The 
only solution was to get into a warm dry sleeping bag.   There have been 
times that if I were hiking alone, I probably would have died because my 
inability to use my frozen hands would not allow me to set up the tent 
without assistance.

The issue of what kind of raingear will keep you dry and warm still remains. 
  As a LD hiker, I want lightweight gear.  But it really isn't that warm.  
On the PCT my Frogg Toggs worked most of the time - they were great in wind, 
but they just weren't as good in sleet.  But you don't have to keep hiking 
if conditions are really bad.  And for 3/4 of the trail, I rarely needed 
them.  I have a Precip jacket now that I bought for my husband a couple of 
years ago but he preferred the Frogg Toggs so I inherited it.  It's okay, 
but not as warm as I need for snow and sleet.   I don't know what I'll use 
for the CDT.

Ginny

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