For clothing I ascribe to the three-layer system. This consisting of a base, an insulator, and an outer layer with a few caveats. The selection of course is (predicted) weather-dependent plus some extras based on experience. For example, the ten-day forecast may predict no precipitation, but in the high Sierras it could rain, hail, snow, or thunderstorm any afternoon. If you are caught high with naught but your shorts and tee-shirt, you are asking to die of hypothermia. During which you apparently fall asleep, so maybe that’s not so bad, but your last thoughts are probably “I could have prevented this,” so there’s that…
“To sleep: perchance to dream: ay, there’s the rub; For in that sleep of death what dreams may come
Shakespeare
Most days I was wearing Fjällraven shorts, Under Armor boxer briefs and undershirt, ‘R1’ capilene long johns, and a Columbia long sleeve sun shirt. I also wore an OR ball cap with a sun drape that covered my neck. I first used the long johns for morning chill. Later I was glad to have them to defend against the sun. One in the party that wore shorts burned the backs of their legs (around the knees between the shorts and gaiters).
On day one due to the possibility of rain, I wore my wax canvas Fjällraven pants. Once it started raining these were soaked through within the first hour. I’ll need to re-wax them before winter time. The rest of the trip they were dead weight.
Jason wore a sun blocking shirt with a hood and used a ‘Buff’ neck gaiter.
I had forgotten my neck gaiters and wish I hadn’t. The hat with drape was hot, and I think the sun blocking hoody would have worked better. In fact, I purchased a similar shirt by ‘Free Fly’ and wore it in Glacier — it worked great. It wasn’t as hot as the hat and still protected me from the sun burn. Better would be something like Jason’s with a quarter-length zipper to allow ventilation.
Further insulation was provided by my hooded Patagonia ‘Puff Ball’ jacket. The beanie and gloves mentioned here were also easily accessible while hiking. In the future I’d carry a second lighter insulation layer, like a vest or lined wind breaker for cold morning starts or windy lunch breaks. But that would be in addition to the ‘Puff Ball.’ Its versatility makes it too useful to leave at home.
What’s Left?
And that’s everything in the closet. Last stop: “Appliances and Accessories” Or you can [re]visit one of these:
- Introduction — Debriefing the Odyssey
- Foundations — what was on my feet?
- Walls — which pack did I use?
- Kitchen — what did I eat and how?
- Bedroom — my tent and sleep system
- Closet — clothing
- Furniture & Appliances — all the other stuff
