[pct-l] Long pants & sleeves

[ukstoveman at hotmail.com (David Toms)]

I was worried when reading about the two matching hikers in tan outfits with 
tan tilley hats that Michele & I had appeared to age considerably during the 
hike and looked like we were in our 50's by Mt Hood. I hope it wasn't us, 
but we had similarly embarrassing matching outfits - light coloured long 
sleeves and long pants & tilley hats.  They started out different colours, 
but months of sunbleaching, ground in dirt, and being washed together meant 
they were identical by the end.

We wore shorts for less than a day each on the whole hike - we found being 
covered up reduced our exposure to poison oak, bugs and solar radiation, and 
was much cooler and more comfortable. They were also smart enough for dinner 
at restaurants.

We used berghaus shirts (a UK brand, 3.5oz for Michele's, 5oz for mine) 
which were permethrin impregnated (like buzz-off), fast drying and sunproof. 
They lasted the whole hike with no problems and are still wearable. If you 
want the buzz-off effect without the price, you can buy permethrin from REI 
and impregnate your clothes yourself. Bear in mind it gets broken down by 
sweat, so for a week or so will keep the bugs away but then loses 
effectiveness no matter what the manufacturers claim. I found a button shirt 
was great - made it easy to adjust my temperature and was well ventilated.

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