High Sierra Topix

BrendanM wrote:Hi everyone,

I'm doing the Sierra High Route from June 26-July 19 and am trying to decide what layers to pack for my lower half. I'll obviously have a pair of hiking pants but beyond that am not sure whether to pack long underwear pants, rain pants or both.

Everybody is different.

For that trip on those dates I'd "obviously" go without hiking pants since they won't be needed and just take shorts, long underwear and rain pants.

My theory is that during the day it's too warm for pants (and I hate pants unless it's really cold or there is a lot of scrub or deep snow), it's chilly at night and in the morning so I'll want long underwear for the evening, sleeping and early hiking, and rain pants are survival gear. They help keep you warm when wet.

If you don't like my theory I have others.

I'd take hiking pants, lightweight running shorts, fleece tights (long johns), and rain pants. I sleep in the fleece tights. I have to get out of my sweaty clothes at the end of the day and put dry clothes on - they don't have to be real clean, but they do need to be dry.

I do shorts, expedition weight longs, and wind pants. I found I never wore rain pants in the rain - too hot to hike in. So I only wore them around camp and if it's raining I'm under shelter so wind pants do the trick. I used to carry lightweight long johns, but then I got a scale and weighed all my long johns. The lightest were only 2 oz lighter than the expedition weight, and the expedition weight are much warmer and very cozy feeling, so I take those. They make great jammies. If it's very warm - like it's August and I'm not going to be above 8K - then I skip the longs and just take the wind pants. I have zip-offs - wear them for work - but they are heavier than my shorts & wind pants combined plus then I'd need underwear - my shorts have a liner.

Paul, what do you mean by expedition weight longs?

I'm heading out on the JMT with some High Route segments starting in late June myself. I will bring a pair of long pants (nylon, rather thin) and a pair of really light Marmot Precip rain pants, although just like Chris, I rarely ever use rain pants, even when there's a light rain. When it rains hard, I usually just set up the tent. The only justification so far to pack the rain pants was layering, but perhaps I should just leave them behind and bring another lens for my camera instead :-)

Brendan - performance long underwear comes in three broad categories - lightweight, medium weight, and expedition weight, with expedition weight being the thickest and warmest. It's really more like a light fleece, or like Powerstretch fleece if you are familiar with that.

longri wrote: Everybody is different.

For that trip on those dates I'd "obviously" go without hiking pants since they won't be needed and just take shorts, long underwear and rain pants.

Yes, everybody is different. I left the trail a day early because I had a guy who brought only shorts - no long pants at all. He took a chill in the middle of the day and got in his bag about one in the afternoon to warm up. The following morning it started to snow on us. I hiked him and his shorts and cotton T shirt out to Agnew Meadows and got a shuttle into town. It was August. The day temps when we started had been quite warm.... Don't be "too" different.

AlmostThere wrote:

longri wrote: Everybody is different.

For that trip on those dates I'd "obviously" go without hiking pants since they won't be needed and just take shorts, long underwear and rain pants.

Yes, everybody is different. I left the trail a day early because I had a guy who brought only shorts - no long pants at all. He took a chill in the middle of the day and got in his bag about one in the afternoon to warm up. The following morning it started to snow on us. I hiked him and his shorts and cotton T shirt out to Agnew Meadows and got a shuttle into town. It was August. The day temps when we started had been quite warm.... Don't be "too" different.

No long pants at all seems foolish to me too. Although I rarely wear my rain pants they have saved me numerous times over the years. It isn't always too warm when it's wet out, at least in my experience.

How was it that you "had a guy" who was ill prepared? Are you some sort of wilderness guide?

Well I'm definitely going to bring a pair of long pants. It may just be long hiking pants in lieu of rain pants. Like a few others who commented here, if it really starts to rain we'll be taking shelter not hiking.