gear list JMT Aug 16-Sept1

I can probably add some insight, as I finished up a JMT thru 2 weeks ago (7/11-7/24), and got dumped on pretty heartily by the weather, so I feel like I can probably provide some insight. I got hit directly with bad storms (all of them torrential, all of them with hail, one of them with snow, which was miserable but wonderfully pretty) on four days, and I had rumbling clouds on probably 9-10 days. (FWIW, I also had a bit of a layover in Lone Pine when I finished, and Whitney got stormed pretty good for 3 straight days.)

I brought an Outdoor Research Helium II jacket and O2 rain pants (the ugly but cheap and light ones, similar to DriDucks). I was pretty grateful to have the rain pants, since the downpours got very heavy, and were usually coupled with hearty temperature drops. The jacket was definitely not up to the task (nor was it designed for these kinds of rains), and I started dealing with the storms by sitting them out and wrapping my tarp over me like a bothy because I was getting soaked through my jacket. I would have probably had to wait out the storms anyway, since they usually hit when I was approaching a pass or other exposed area.

It's also worth noting that everyone I talked to HATED their rain jackets and my experience wasn't unique- when it's coming down that hard, there's a limit to what anything is going to do to fully protect you. After the first round of storms, I can say from observation that VVR sold an awful lot of ponchos, and the people who brought them seemed pretty happy with the choice.

My experience on the JMT isn't necessarily super typical, and there are certainly people who don't bother with raingear/shelter on their hikes and get away with it, but I will say that good protection is worth having.

TL/DR version of what I just said: I got rained on often enough and hard enough on my JMT thru that I'm now in the market for a heavier, more robust rain shell.

(My trip report for the hike is posted here if it provides any additional insight, but it's loooooooooooooooooooooooooooooonnnnng: http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=93834)

I used driducks , was glad to have them, and found them perfectly suitable. Pants were much appreciated, I spent 1.5 days hiking in rain. Crossing Mather pass in wind, rain, hail, and whiteout conditions. Didnt pause at the top, no reason to, just hustled down to lower elevation on south side where it was warmer. Lots of people sporting ponchos, which really suck when the wind blows hard, and leaves your legs exposed to cold.

Your list looks good for beginning your lightweight transition. Personally, I would cut some of the electronics, first aid, and leave the flip flops to drop weight. I would also leave the jetboil for a regular canister stove. You could easily drop a pound off your back.

Regarding your question about rain pants. I would not bring them. I just got back from 2 weeks on the JMT with a week of rain wearing only the golite poncho. It was fine for the majority of the rain we got. Only when it got windy was it a pain and I got soaked. At the time I cursed the poncho but looking back at it now, it was only a brief period where the poncho sucked. For me, I'd rather suck it up for an hour of crappy weather then carry an extra pound for 2 weeks.

The current weather pattern is not normal and it is unlikely that you will encounter as much rain later this month.

You have no lower body insulation. You have shorts and the terramar underwear. I have the latter so I have some familiarity with them. While they are nice inside a bag it is stretching it to call them insulation…unless you are in the Mojave. Therefore take the rain pants, and plan to use them as wind pants for your legs when they are freezing. Win win. With only shorts and silk underwear your junk is way too exposed, IMHO. Don't take them as rain pants, take them as insulation you might occasionally use as rain pants. When you get up in the morning and it is 28 degrees, you will will be glad you had something. When it is 55 degrees, overcast, and the wind is howling over a pass, you will also be glad – even if it never rains a drop during your trip, which is unlikely.

On a trip of this length, and especially in the Sierra, never plan you clothing system around "normal". Plan to be able to handle whatever will be thrown at you comfortably. That is my two cents.

The point about lower insulation/wind protection is an excellent call. (I'm at work, so only did a quick skim of the list and didn't catch that.) If nothing else, if you wind up on Whitney early in the morning, it's going to be proper cold and proper windy. (I was there for sunrise, and I'd say a good third of the people who were there had wrapped themselves in their sleeping bags. There are plenty of other high places where this would also hold true.

I'm not sure if you already have something, but I was very fond of my O2 Rainwear pants, which, if I remember correctly, cost me about $20 on Amazon and came in at about 3.9oz on my scale. They also have enough substance to them to be a useful sleeping layer on colder nights. (Disadvantages include not being super durable, not wonderfully packable (although not super problematically so), and looking like MC Hammer.)

Thanks for the advice. I will add some kind of rain pants
Eric