Quote Originally Posted by Chop View Post
With the pants and long sleeves... I realized I was carrying sunscreen anyways....a collared shirt is nice. When I switched from pants/long sleeves to a T-Shirt and shorts, it was soo welcomed. I didn't feel nearly as dirty (my legs get dirtier with pants than without because of a sweat) and just loved the air flow. I think if I was standing around in the desert, that'd be different...but hiking, I will do shorts and short sleeves.
Point taken. I prefer shorts in most weather.
Poncho vs Raincoat. Its probably even debateable if either are needed for a large portion of the PCT. I liked having the raincoat in the windy mornings a few times in the Sierras... I wore it for about 3 hours cumulative for mist the entire trip...but we had outstanding weather. If it is cold, its a nice extra layer.
I figure a wind shirt will do for me most of the time.
With the Sierra cold...it wasn't cold for me during the day. And in the evenings, I just hit the hay if it was cold...but that didn't even happen much.
Good to know.
Depending on the timing of your start, you can slackpack the first 20 miles. That'll work if you go to kickoff. There are people who will take you to the border in the AM and you can just walk back with minimal gear.
I just did 19 in the Smokies with a full pack, so a 20 mile slack might not be too bad.