Leaving the rain jacket at home… thoughts

Its like anything in the outdoors the more you know the less you need…. there are plenty of ways to try to stay dry in an emergency. build an emergency fire to keep warm… set up your shelter and hang out….. ration your food… use a ground sheet or your shelter to keep you dry while moving… your not going to die this time a year unless you have no survival skills or will to survive at all.

There are plenty of ways to die in the sierras but hypothermia in the middle of summer on a short trip should not be your biggest worry? shelter and insulation and your fine.

There are times when raingear is not necessary. The possibility of rain is either all but non existent, or conditions will make that rain benign. I'm thinking of April-September within the Grand Canyon, or August in the Sierras.

There are times when raingear is probably not necessary, but circumstances will make not having it a bit more serious. If you're on the JMT in August, it's pretty easy to assess impending storms and either bust over that pass and find some trees, or hang out below, maybe pitch your tarp, and wait for it to pass. No rain gear might require a minor alteration in daily routine, and enhanced situational awareness. Go in the same place and season, but do a technical ridge traverse and things might change. Less expedient egress might make it a good idea to have raingear. For example.

And then there are the situations where not having raingear would be stupid. The Alaska Range in July, the Smokies in September, etc.

"And then there are the situations where not having raingear would be stupid. The Alaska Range in July, the Smokies in September, etc."

Alberta / BC Rockies Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, June, July, Aug, Sept, Oct, Nov, Dec.

All other times you would be guaranteed fine without the jacket.

I have been snowed on in August in the High Sierra.
this is a friendly benign mountain range … until its not.

Dave C. – I seem to believe in a bit more worst case preparation than you, but I've been a climber a long time and have a desire to avoid worst case.

Like some others, I'm a big fan of trash-compactor bags. It isn't so much that I don't bring rain gear, but that the trash bag IS my rain gear.

I am NOT a fan of "$1 emergency poncho from walmart" those are vinyl (trash bags are HDPE) and vinyl isn't tear resistant and in a hail storm, can get brittle enough that hail stones will make holes in it (I've seen it happen – 30 holes from a 15-minutes Sierra afternoon thunderstorm. Sil-nylon? Great. But that's not $1.

Also, re-examine the rest of your clothing. Without solid rain gear, all your other layers have to dry while you wear them. In my mind, that means no down and of course no cotton.

Aaron prefaced this by saying he could just wait out a storm in his tent.

Justin wisely pointed out that you need to be ready to miss work on Monday.

Get-there-itis is dangerous and can sneak up on you. You start leaving the rain parka at home. You rarely miss it. You get feeling comfortable going without and you start to forget that you had predicated that decision with plans to hunker down. You start going without on trips where you DON'T have the schedule or campsite flexibility Aaron describes. Some day, you hike in a downpour to make your schedule. . . .

People get reminded of this all the time up here. Hopefully only a boat or plane was lost or bent and the people made it out cold but alive. But not always.

Had I brought my Triumph anorak on the trip which ended up raining/sleeting for two days, I WOULD have continued on over a pass the first day. I didn't have rain pants–it's June in the Sierra–and the anorak would have wetted/sweated out. I probably would have been o.k. but it was really cold and it took hours to traverse the pass and even then it was cold and raining heavily at lower altitude. In short: I won't always make the right decision to hunker down, especially since in this instance it would take another day and night for the heavy rain to end. I'd get antsy and go. Maybe better to just have dependable rain gear–11 oz.s. Know thyself.

As with anything else, we assess our needs, our plans, and pack accordingly. What you pack and what you carry is a judgement call that every experienced backpacker can and should make for themselves.

I, for one, would always pack a rain jacket for anything beyond a brief day trip.

Many of my trips are in places with fickle weather and can get pretty cold even on hot days, additionally there is often no chance for "rescheduling" a campsite due to bad weather — I have to make it to my intended campsite every night. I have had trips where we did not expect rain at all, but ended up being rained on the entire week. Even with a hard shell and synthetic insulation, the weather was cold and wet and often times trying. When we stopped for breaks, we couldn't stop long before beginning to shiver, with the rain taking away much of our hard-won warmth. I would not want to be in a situation where I hadn't packed one.

In cases where you do not pack a hard shell, it is prudent to consider whether the other clothing you plan to carry would offer enough protection and warmth if the weather goes outside your expected bounds, as well.

I think its rediculous to say that there is some real danger to not bringing a rain jacket for occasional rain. We all bring shelters and warm sleeping bags, a storm would be inconvenient but not dangerous.

It is actually possible to be warm while wet. I learned this when doing canyon bushwacking adventures in the middle of winter where i was sometimes wading through chest high water while it was 40 degrees out. Good tight fitting fleece, polyester, or wool clothing will keep you warm enough in some surprisingly cold rain if you keep active and moving. You just need to up your insulation. I wear running tights and even when wet they are much warmer than bare legs. I have worn a light wool sweater or a fleece under a windshirt in the rain many times and have been warm.
My friend wore a 3 lb wool coat (wet) in a 45 degree rainstorm and he was overheating.
When you stop moving and generating heat the clothing doesent do much for you. You need to change into dry clothing around camp. Those who arent warm hikers, especially women, might freeze when wet regardless of what their wearing.

Of course most backpackers wear light clothing for hiking and have down for insulation at rest, so what i posted above isnt all that relevant but i wanted to make a point.

No experience in the Sierra, but my strategy in the Rockies when there's not much chance of rain is to leave both the rain jacket and the shelter at home and replace them with a 7 oz. poncho/tarp. If the forecast and/or my judgment was wrong, I can still keep moving in the rain and set up an adequate roof to sleep under.

I think this is an area where one must apply common sense. Where I hike, I carry a raincoat, but that's because when it does rain in my area of Alaska it also often is in the 40's/50's for temps which is the perfect storm for hypothermia. I don't carry rainpants, typically, because I've found that having cold and wet legs doesn't pull my core temperate down the way having a cold and wet torso does. I wear quick drying nylon pants, which generally dry from my body heat in 5-10 minutes after it stops precipitating.

But if I were in an area that was warmer- say 70 degrees plus, and I had a shelter with me? I probably wouldn't bother with rain gear. I'd be as soaked by wearing rain gear and sweating under those circumstances as I would be by the rain.

Always take raingear esp if hiking alone.

Yes, I too had an actual experience though not in the Sierra since I would always bring some form of rain gear there no matter what.

About 10 years ago, late April, on the Sunol Wilderness Trail (not so aptly named, but that is another story). Everyone had told me it would be dam hot, prepare for it to be damn hot, and so on. I want to say there was a bad forecast, but I'm pretty sure I didn't look. The Mediterranean weather was just kicking in in the bay area, and we had not had rain in weeks. I was just gong UL at the time so I figured here is a good chance to go SUL. No rain gear. Had a windshirt as my primary insulation layer. Shelter only a light tarp. Started raining on day 2 and the temperature was only in the 50's. But all day wet, with it blowing, as soon as I stopped I was very cold. I was not just uncomfortable, but by the end of the day (I felt) really starting to function badly, with some anxiety about this as well. Alone and too far to just walk out. My designated camp spot was at the top of a bare airfoil with 30 mph winds and couldn't get warmed. Eventually found a big downed tree with two trunks to camp between with the tarp over top. I proudly wore my garbage bag (a real lifesaver) the next day on the way out. Anyway, a real eye-opener experience. Not saying I was in mortal danger, but I can say that even in such mild conditions you can get to a place of advanced misery. LOL Also was a bit of a noob and probably did not handle it optimally. For instance, didn't wear the garbage bag right away, and so on.

Anyway, I never had another story like that, because that taught me (like some others here) to always bring one in the future. The combo of cool but mild temperatures + wet + windy + plus a lot of time with the accumulated heat loss over say 10 hours was quite a bit more devastating than I had imagined in the abstract. My observation is that most/all people who advocate it will be alright without rain gear have not actually experienced this. My advice is if you want to leave the jacket behind then go out reach that point first (under controlled conditions), so you will know what you are actually risking and not what you just think you are risking. Then you can make an educated choice.

But of course you want the kind of rain jacket for those conditions you expect NOT to wear. You can get it down to about 6 oz for almost no money (Driducks) or fancy (Marmot Essence). You can make a poncho out groundsheet material and duct tape for less weight. If not any of those then the cheap plastic poncho in you emergency kit, but always bring a garbage bag! At least that is my 2 cents.

I always take my rain gear with me even though I hike in the Sierras and even if the forecast is for good weather. I use DriDucks which are pretty light weight. Even if it doesn't rain, it often cools down a lot in the evening and they work great as a second layer or as windgear. If it does rain or the thunder gods do their thing then I have rain gear.

Shoot, I take a rain jacket with me on my half-mile walk to work. There's better places to save weight. At least promise us you'll take an extra garbage bag!

Lots of good thoughts and experiences here. Thank you all for your input. I still plan on bringing my driducks with me. I like the idea of making polycryo groundsheet into a poncho.

It can snow and rain and get below freezing in the high mountains any month of the year.

My rain jacket weighs 7 oz. I use it for rain, but also as a wind shell and for warmth. In my opinion it is one of the best values in comfort and safety per oz. that I carry.

As usual, HYOH.

I'm not into fear-mongering, but… dozens of people have died of hypothermia on Mt. Washington since folks started keeping track; I don't have stats for the rest of the Presidentials. Plenty of those deaths occurred during summer months when valley temps were most likely in the 80s. In the northeast, forecasts don't mean a thing. It can be cold and wet anytime of year. Conditions can go from sunny, humid, and mid-80s to horizontal rain and 50 degrees plus windchill in the course of an afternoon. I've had some miserable day hikes where I thought I'd be okay leaving the rain shell at home, only to be totally drenched and shivering by the end. Hopping in the car and cranking the heat? A day hiker's luxury.

For a long time, I never bothered with rain pants, but I finally succumbed last year. I was just tired of getting caught in downpours and seeing my performance decrease as my muscles got chilled. Even moving at a steady 2.5-3 mph, I find that with exposed wet skin I often can't keep myself warm. Blame it on my girl metabolism and low BMI. I don't *always* bring the pants, and have already had a couple of long, wet slogs where I regretted that decision.

As many have mentioned, a full set of Frogg Toggs costs $20 and weighs 12 oz. Montbell makes some pretty sweet rain pants that weight less than 4 oz, and there are lots of 6 oz rain shells out there. For me, those ounces are hard to justify leaving at home. As a long-time bike commuter and pedestrian (in both the Northeast and the PNW), my rain shell is basically part of my everyday carry. Why wouldn't I put it in my backpack? Just yesterday, after weeks of nearly 90-degree days, it rained all afternoon and the temp barely broke 60 degrees–in town. In this case, it's more a question of comfort, but I would have been miserable doing my errands if I hadn't had my jacket. Plus, how do you justify spending $$$ if you never use the thing? ;)

I will often leave my rain gear at home if its a summer hike and the chances of rain are low(30% or less). Summer in the southern Appalachians is typically low 80s during the day and low 60s at night. So walking while wet isnt a big deal. If it does rain, I just walk in it and then change clothes after I am set up for the night. I always take a change of clothes for summer sleeping anyway. (Sleeping in sweaty clothes isn't for me). As always, what works in my area may not work in yours.

Ryan

Leave at home if you feel confident in your ability to maintain warmth while wet (either retreating to your shelter for hours on end, no NEVER stop moving).

I've definitely experienced unpredictable weather in the mountains and been caught unawares. My worst experience was on San Francisco peaks in AZ in October. Forecast called for a dry weekend and my overnighter turned into any but. Got caught in snow, sleet, hail, and rain for several hours on end (highly unusual even in October out here). Not the usual brief afternoon thunderstorm. I only had a bivy bag since the forecast was so benign, a softshell (early days of my UL hiking) and no rain gear. Well I learned on that trip that I can keep moving at a steady pace with a sorely inflamed knee for hours on end all in an effort to stave off hypothermia.

I promptly bought the best and lightest goretex winter jacket I could afford as soon as I warmed up enough to type properly (about 24 hours). I've calmed down these days and carry a 6oz summer oriented jacket if anything. Still those 1% statistics fail me routinely. I don't get out often enough but living in a state that has 330 days of sunshine, virtually every single one of my solo trips receives enough rain to worry about.

Look at the ACTUAL risks. In most cases "death" via hypothermia is not a real risk (especially in the summer and with a flexible mindset). The true risks are more like "will I have to bail on me trip?" or "will I be more uncomfortable than I desire?" or as others said "Will my trip run longer than I have time allotted?"

I hate bailing on trips, I have limited flexibility, and 6oz isn't enough to break my back, so I tend to carry a rain jacket more frequently than necessary. The trash compacter bag though is a perfectly valid alternative and serves as multipurpose survival gear (emergency water carrier, shelter, etc).

Look at the ACTUAL risks. In most cases "death" via hypothermia is not a real risk

it absolutely is … shall we start quoting recent accidents, rescues and deaths from the great outdoors from hypothermia? .. i can think of a whole bunch off the top of my head

what many dont realize is that hypothermia is VERY REAL … if twist and ankle, break a leg, take a fall,etc … and you have to wait it out … or you simply got lost at night

i suggest people read the nice article on BPL about close encounters with it

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/ihike_hypothermia.html

ive said it over and over again … go out and practice you SKILLS in the rain so you dont panic … and bring something waterproof with you whether it be a jacket, poncho, etc …

;)

A rain parka is an "essential" for protection from rain, wind, snow, sleet, and (for your down jacket) briars and sharp branches.

Leave it home at your own risk.

No.

If you want to leave it home to shave weight, you need to shave weight somewhere else until the 6 oz of a rainjacket doesnt matter.

." if twist and ankle, break a leg, take a fall,etc … and you have to wait it out … or you simply got lost at night"

I guess a lot of people are pretty confident that will never happen to them. I do think about that possibility and don't mind a few extra ounces.

> …if twist and ankle, break a leg, take a fall,etc … and you have to wait it out … or you simply got lost at night

Many of the posts here propose planning for one thing gone wrong. 'It rains'

Your post is a reminder more than one wrong thing can happen.

Planning to walk as fast as possible and/or continuously is a little shallow. What is the plan if you couldn't move fast.

"what many dont realize is that hypothermia is VERY REAL … if twist and ankle, break a leg, take a fall,etc … and you have to wait it out … or you simply got lost at night"

Conveniently, rain makes all things slippery and brings fog a lot of times, pretty much setting you up for falling or getting lost.
With that said, I don't always bring rainwear in the Sierras.