help me with my gear please;
1 techwick teeshirt
2 techwick long sleeve
1 marmot dri-clime windshirt
1 pair mountain hardware canyon pants
1 pair polypro long johns
1 mountain hardware chugach primaloft jacket
1 marmot precip jacket
1 warm hat
i’m thinking of buying a “desert shirt”
i run warm, do you think i need all that gear?? i’m thinking if i start out with it, i could always send it forward to kennedy meadows if i don’t need it. help! and happy new year
robohiker
It sounds like you have a good layering system here. If you’re comfortable and have tested this, then go with it. I’d only add one piece of desert gear to this (though it’s something I carry all the time anyway); a trekking umbrella.
I know they’re an acquired taste, but in the desert there’s nothing better. The
Birdiepal Swing Liteflex (there’s a review at Backpacking Light) is what I use, with the metalized coating. You velcro strap it to your shoulder strap and hike on under your own shade. Nothing like it and it extends your hiking day in desert sun (and even helps at rest stops too.) Best piece of desert equipment you’ll carry.
Strategic
My reference is a late April Socal start.
Shirts: I prefer full sun cover so I would suggest a single lightweight shirt with long sleeves instead of multiple T’s to go along with your long pants.
Driclime: I like and often use my Driclime windshirts but took a separate windshirt and light weight fleece pullover. They weighed about the same but gave more versatility.
Polypro Long Johns: I used a silk weight pair for sleeping only.
I took a Micropore Rain suit, using the pants occasionally for wind pants.
The rest looks like what I took.
I didn’t use one but would seriously consider trying an umbrella on my next desert hike.
Snap
Sano
i run warm and live in a cold winter climate. usually hike in a tee shirt and long sleeve shirt in 20 degree temps, if it’s not snowing,when it’s snowing i’ll put on the marmot precip then a fleece pullover when i stop. what are the temp ranges like in the desert? i’m trying to skip the mountain hardware chugach jacket, it weighs 1lb 4 oz. maybe i’m thinking too much again. i’m goin’ for it no matter what i’m carrying. but i’ve always wanted to go lighter weight but can’t quite figure it out. thanks:cheers
robohiker
In 2003 I had a pretty big range in SoCal. In early May in the southern end, temps would range from 25 F to 105 F. Seriously.
Perhaps 1/3rd of the nights were at or near or below freezing. The hottest it ever got was the low 100s. I bore the heat better than I thought, though I put in a lot of miles in the early morning (6-11) and early evening (6-9), when the temps were pretty reasonable.
Suge
I’ve worked, marched, and just plain existed in a lot of hot environments (mostly in the Army) and what I’ve learned there is true – in sun, wear baggy long sleeves in a light color. Most of the time in the desert I was far cooler in my ACU top that I was with the ACU top off and my tan uniform shirt exposed to the sun. I would recommend a thin long-sleeve t-shirt (something breathable, maybe by columbia or patagonia) instead of a short-sleeve t-shirt.
As for umbrellas, I don’t see the point. If you’re wearing a long-sleeve shirt of light color and wearing a wide-brimmed hat it’s essentially the same thing, without the additional weight. A lot of the heat in the desert is just reflected back up from the ground anyway, an umbrella won’t help there.
Patrick
google “dirty girl gaters” - lightweight ankle gaters to keep dirt and dust out of your shoes.
la
I started in mid-may and encountered several below freezing nights in SoCal. It gets cold fast in the desert. I would ditch your Chugash jacket and get yourself some gloves, I used powerstretch fleece gloves. I had a shortsleeve shirt to sleep in and I wore it in town. My patagonia silkweight white loose shirt was my weapon of choice when the sun was high and heat was hot. I got thru the desert with no rain so I am glad I didn’t take precip rainpants. For warmth I just had my paclite gortex rainjacket,longsleeve patagonia shirt, my sleeping shirt, smartwool knit bottoms, gloves and a cheap winter hat from the dollar store. One crucial piece of clothing you are missing is a sunhat or baseball cap with bandana to keep your head cool. I found that even with a sunhat my neck was charring so I always cape-d a bandana out the back. I also had sungloves that kept my hands warm while hikin into the night, I lost those really quick but they saved alot of sunscreen.
Spigot
i am planning on hiking this year starting april 5th. my desert clothes are as follow:
Top: Baseball cap/bandana combo
short sleeve poly
long sleeve poly(silk weight)
patgonia long sleeve( capaline 4)
marmot precip or or paclite(rain jacket)
Bottom: 1 pair of shorts(lightweight running)
l pair of convertiables
luke
sorry messed up
added to top
Bottom: also 1 pair of long underwear
2 pairs of socks
Wondering what ya’ll think of this? Suggestions?
luke
Luke, personally, I would ditch the Capilene 4 in exchange for a winter hat and gloves. I wore a winter hat almost every night last summer and it was the first thing out of my pack when stopping for a break or for the night when it was cooler. Hat and gloves are just a couple ounces each when the Capilene 4 is alot heavier. Do you have sleeping socks? Also keep in mind that last year was a really low snow year and I started 5 weeks after Apr. 5th so I didn’t have to deal with any snow up near Mt. Jacinto and Mt. Baden-Powell which could be snow covered and cooler. In that case you might want a heavier baselayer for those types of sections. If you don’t want to add gloves to your list, you could wear your sleeping socks on your hands.
Spigot
I think your system looks good, but the Windshirt is unecessary. If you’ve got a rain jacket shell, primaloft coat for warmth and an under layer you’re fine. Agree with Spigot about the hat, a definate must. I carried gloves part of the trip and never really used them. Maybe carry a very thin liner.
Many folks love the Marmot Driclime Windshirt-they rave about it. I argue the opposite. I think its a completely pointless layer. It won’t keep you dry in a real rain, its not warm enough to be your warm layer, and its heavier than your long john top, so what exactly does it do? Cut the wind? A rain jacket does that too, and keeps you dry.
You’ll figure out what you need real quickly. The desert nights can be cold. You can send stuff home 40 miles in, but Id keep everything until getting over Jacinto
A-Train