Date: 2006-09-09
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Miles today: 0.0

Trail Magic & Trail clothes - First, the TM. Although I live 30 minutes from Kincora, I had never been there nor met Bob Peeples. This afternoon Jane and I drove up there to say hello and to do Trail Magic, we hoped. When we arrived we met Tom & Ann, a married couple about our ages from MD, section hiking from Hot Springs to Harpers Ferry. We visited for awhile and shared some clean water, soft drinks, peanut butter crackers, and candy bars. Also met Bob (in a tux, believe it or not).CLOTHES - My socks were polyprop liners and various thick smartwool or wool blend outers. Except for smelling like a 12-day-old dead possum sometimes, they did well. I carried one pair and wore one, all the time. UNDERSHORTS - I had never worn "boxer briefs" before, but they were great from beginning to end. No chafing at all. Comfortable and soft and fairly quick to dry when wet. Mine were Terramar "Body Sensor", 100% polyester. I carried an extra pair till I got to ME, then sent one pair home in a late effort to reduce weight as much as possible.TEE shirts - Again, Terramar Body Sensors, 100% polyester. Felt great, cool, wicked sweat or rain away quickly, dried quickly. I wore one and carried a spare. Some people only took one, but I would recommend two. Putting on a wet tee shirt early in the morning will certainly wake you up, though.PANTS - My one and only pair of pants were nylon convertibles from Ex Officio. They were as good as it gets - repelled light rain, dried in a very short time, easy to clean, light weight, cool in the heat, and tough. I wish I had gotten a pair with 2 cargo pockets instead of only one. With a pack on, regular pockets are covered by a hip strap and therefore inaccessible.SHIRTS - My favorite, most used, outer shirt was a long-sleeve, button-up, nylon shirt from Columbia, with polyester mesh liner on the shoulders and poly. mesh chest pockets. One pocket had a zipped inside pocket, great for carrying things you REALLY don't want to fall out, such as digital camera or town wallet. It was so flexible for cold / cool / or windy weather, since front and sleeve buttons could be hooked or unhooked as needed, depending on temp. The nylon resisted mosquito bites, and it could be (and was) layered for more warmth in the Smokies. At first I also carried a long-sleeved, mock turtle neck, polyester pullover from Columbia. It was very warm and comfortable during stops or at night. Too warm for hiking, even in windy, cold conditions. Sent it home in Damascus. LONG JOHNS - I carried a set of silks, tops and bottoms. They were so light in weight that I carried them the entire trip, even though they weren't used much in the middle, except on cool nights. Comfortable and warm with other clothes on cold nights. Also perfect for wearing while hiking on very cold, windy days. Just enough to keep me warm without overheating. During the first month or so I carried a pair of cotton/ wool Duofold bottoms for sleeping, never for hiking. Plenty warm and comfortable. I'd do it again, and send them home as soon as night time lows got above 40 F. Finally, I took a merino wool long-john top from Icebreaker. Great warmth for the weight. Slept in it often in GA, NC, and TN and never got cold. Sent it home in VA.JACKET - Besides my rain gear, the only jacket I took was a light-weight, Patagucci polyester zip-up with a collar and 3 zippable pockets. The material was very loosely-woven, so that it was almost a mesh or see-through jacket. With this jacket and the wool pullover, the poly pullover, and a silnylon rain jacket, I stayed plenty warm in the coldest weather. Sent it home in VA and didn't need it anymore, even in New England.OTHER STUFF - Fleece Polartec balaclava and mittens, poly / nylon/ elastic. Kept the balaclava the entire trip; it felt good to sleep many nights even in June & July. Started with a brimmed cloth hat from Columbia, with mesh around the sides for air. By April it was too hot and I switched to a cotton bandana, the most versatile item in the pack. (I am hair-challenged on top, so I had to have something to prevent sunburn).RAIN GEAR - I carried silnylon pants and jacket from Dancing Light Gear. Advantage is that they are extremely light-weight. Good for resisting snow, water, and wind. While hiking in them, sweating is inevitable, but so it is with Frogg Toggs or any other "breathable" rain gear, regardless of what their advertising says. Gore-tex gear can breath adequately if you're sitting in a duck blind or at a football game, but you're going to sweat if you're carrying a full pack uphill in any weather, unless you're completely naked. Save the money and the weight - go silnylon. In warmer weather, you don't need a rain jacket anyway. Your wickable tee shirt will be fine in the rain - you won't melt. I did wear my rain pants in the rain often, to help keep rain water out of my boots and socks. But even then, if it rained all day my legs would sweat enough to get the socks wet anyway. If you want to stay dry on the Trail in the rain, sit in the shelter and read.Other hikers wore different combinations of clothes and rain gear and were just as pleased as I with their choices. The best advice is to field test everything in bad weather. Also, weigh it dry and wet. Somebody (I think Sub-Zero) said that you should never carry any more clothes than you can put on at one time. Excellent advice.