Clothing Layers

I would lose the cotton/poly long underwear. You want either 100% synthetic or wool.

Is the polyester rainjacket/windbreaker actually waterproof or just water repellent?

I have a fairly lengthy recommended clothing page where I tried to capture most of what I have learned about clothing with links to other folks stuff as well. I think you would find it helpful.

–mark

I'm with Mark, lose the cotton. Most spring/summer hypothermia deaths are due to some type of cotton clothing. Avoid it.

Hi John, Mark is dead on about the thermals, as he is with all his advice. Definitely check out his webpage; he has a ton of great info, and has more product reviews than any personal page or blog I've seen. Thanks Mark for this great resource!

Anyway, your thermals, or any other clothing you carry, should have ZERO cotton. The old adage "cotton kills" is true. Synthetics or wool are the way to go; synthetics are cheaper and dry faster, which is a huge advantage on the NC AT in spring. It will be wet, and you'll be slightly damp all the time. With cotton, it would be saturated within a few hours, and you would be hypothermic a few hours after that.

As I mentioned, it will be wet, April is typically a pretty wet month in the mountains around here. You will need raingear that is 100% waterproof. If your windbreaker isn't 100% waterproof as I suspect, that's OK. Get a silnylon poncho to accompany it. The windbreaker will work fine for what your typically dealing with: wind, damp fog, light drizzle or snow flurries, and wet brush. When the real rain starts, just break out the poncho and wear it over your windbreaker. The poncho will come in handy around camp as well; if you are using a tent, you can pitch the poncho as a kitchen canopy. It will also keep your pack dry during downpours.

Also, in early April you are going to need an insulation layer. A fleece jacket or pullover would work fine, a synthetic puffy jacket even better. Also, you'll need a warm hat and I would bring some liner-type gloves; Smartwool liners and various makers' Powerstretch gloves have always worked well and would be a good choice.

Don't forget your feet! Socks should have no cotton content either. Again, wool or synthetics. Wool works better for me personally. On a longer trip in wet, potentially cold environments, I carry three identical pair. One on my feet, one either drying in my shell (when it's raining) or on my pack (when it's sunny), and the third in the sack with my sleeping bag. These will be bone-dry and I don't put them on until I'm camped and in my bag. Worth the extra 1.5-2.0 oz. to have warm, dry feet at night.

All your clothes are gonna get pretty smelly after a week or so unless you're wearing all wool. Carry a packtowel, a little Dr. Bronner's, and maybe some Gold Bond lotion or powder. These will help mitigate the odor for a little while, and also help keep any kind of fungal infections or rashes at bay.

John, if ou are needing to pick up a fair bit of gear, check out Sierra Trading Post and Campmor. Especially concerning long underwear, they have alot of good choices for cheap. You can also find great prices on pretty much anything else you might need in the way of gear, and STP has some great casual/streetwear for cheap too!

Mark-
I looks like you put a lot of work into gathering and recording all of the information on your website. Thank you! I found it very useful. Nice job…..

Is silk thermal underwear good for wet conditions in 30-40 degree weather?

If I choose polyester, should I get lightweight or midweight for these conditions?

Silk is no good in wet weather. Weight of your base layer depends on what other layers you will be wearing. Do you plan on taking any insulated clothing?

Yes, I'll be taking a rain jacket. Other than that, I'll be wearing polyester shorts or nylon jogging pants when it gets cool.

John, as Allison intimates, silk, like cotton, absorbs water and does not readily dry out. In addition it distends and sags when wet. Back in the day Mallory and friends wore lots of silk while climbing Everest, probably because that was the height of technology at the time. Now there's a plethora of choices, from natural merino to synthetics. In the Spring and Summer I put on silk longjohns before climbing into my sleeping bag just to help keep it clean, and they weigh less than anything else. However, in the winter I use a Merino top/bottom baselayer.

I hike a lot on the AT in that area and here is what I would wear in April:

For Hiking:

Tops:

Either

A. Patagonia Lightweight Capaline Long Sleeve Crew
B. Smartwool Lightweight Long Sleeve Crew
C. Mountain Hardwear Wicked T Short Sleeve

Bottoms:

Patagonia Active Boxer Brief
REI Sierra Convertible Pants

Misc:

Mountain Hardwear Lightweight Power Stretch Gloves (when/if needed)
Mountain Hardwear Micro Dome Beanie (when/if needed)

For Camp

Tops:

Patagonia Lightweight Capaline Long Sleeve Crew (dry)
Patagonia R1 Pullover (if needed)
Mont-Bell Thermawrap
GoLite Phantom Rain Jacket (if needed)

Bottoms:

Patagonia Lightweight Capaline Tights
Patagonia R1 Pants (if needed)
Mont-Bell Thermawrap Pants (if needed)
Marmot Precip Pants

Misc:

Mountain Hardwear Lightweight Power Stretch Gloves (dry)
Outdoor Research PL400 Mitts (if/when needed)
Mountain Laurel Designs eVent Rain Mitts (if/when needed)
Mountain Hardwear Micro Dome Beanie (dry)
Mountain Hardwear Dome Paragon (if needed)
Sierra Designs Down Socks (for sleeping)
The weather can be anywhere from frigidly cold with ice and snow to warm and in the sixties in April so check the forecast before you go and plan accordingly. The three things that almost always go in my pack are my Thermawrap Jacket, Micro Dome, and Power Streach Gloves. To answer you question about Thermal Underwear, I like Patagonia’s Capaline, but only buy it when it is on sale like it is now on their website.

If you don’t know about it already you should be able to get a good pinpoint forecast here:

http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?site=GSP&llon=-84.057083&rlon=-83.057083&tlat=35.980417&blat=34.982917&smap=1&mp=0&map.x=157&map.y=93

BTW: What section are you looking at?

We're starting at Unicoi Gap and hiking about 70 miles north, leaving on April 4th.

I thought silk boxer shorts were a recommended thing? Are wool boxers better?

That should be a good trip. In fact that same weekend, I am starting at Wallace Gap (Old 64) and hiking into Wesser (74).

As for boxers, I prefer synthetic, but know others prefer wool.

Hey John, glad to see you found this board.you may not remember me but we took a rug course together in Alabama a fews years back.Tons of good info given already but alot depends on your hiking style,fast,slow,ultra-light…whatever the case maybe.I like to change into something clean after a day of hiking,but that might just be my synthetic uppers/bottoms "base layer" or hiking insulation layer,depends how you look at it.

Why are you skipping the Georgia section?

Patrick

Hey Patrick, it's a small world.

Besides cleaning and advertising, this has become my new obsession. I'm trying to go as light as possible with still using a tent. I got a tarptent.