High elevation Clothing Assistance/Guidance

[CARLOS C.]

Hello Everyone

I am trying to get my upper body insulation selections down for an upcoming trip I have over the last week of august and labor day weekend time period in the Uintas Highline Trail (over 10k feet mostly) with a couple friends. I’m from the east coast and have not really been much above 5000 feet so my experience with alpine weather is minimal for a weeklong trip. Because of this I am hoping I can get some pointers and insights into which garments I should bring (obviously depending on the forecast). I just don’t want to overpack insulation. I tend to run pretty warm while hiking but get cool at camp/

I will be bringing a 20 degree quilt and warm pad and would potentially use the puff as a supplement should the temps really drop.

Below I have some of the garments i have in question.

Rain/Wind Shell

SD Hurricane -12.9 oz- Basic rain wear

Marmot Ion Hoody Wind Jacket 4.5 oz  (is this redundant with the rain shell)

Stopped at Camp Insulation.

MB Down Alpine Light Parka 14 oz – Warmest but worried about loft loss over time

Rab Generator Synthetic Jacket 15 oz warm very wind resistant but no hood for sleeping

Rab Strata Hoodie approx. 16 oz – worried not warm enough but good at drying out

 

Fleece for camp baselayer and potentially on the move if it is windy and rainy and I need more insulation or a buffer.

R1 hoody 12.5 oz

R2 Vest 8 oz

TKA 100 Jacket quarter zip (no hood) 8 oz

 

Base Layer

Paradox (Costco) Long sleeve wicking Synthetic/ Merino mix quarter zip 5.6 oz

Columbia Tamiami PFG Shirt with SPF 30 6.6 oz (good for sun and has antimicrobial potentially good for bugs?)

Merino T 5 oz

32 degree brand short sleeve or long sleeve base layers approx. 5 oz each

If I am lucky I will have another thin grid fleece base layer before then like cap 4 or sitka core lightweight crew

 

Like I said any insights would be appreciated.

[CARLOS C.]

I am leaning towards this, but im worried it may not be warm enough

SD Hurricane -12.9 oz

Marmot Ion Hoody Wind Jacket 4.5 oz  (is this redundant with the rain shell)

MB Down Alpine Light Parka 14 oz – Warmest but worried about loft loss over time

TKA 100 Jacket quarter zip (no hood) 8 oz

Columbia Tamiami PFG Shirt with SPF 30 6.6 oz (good for sun and has antimicrobial potentially good for bugs?)

Merino T 5 oz

 

I forgot to mention i will have a beanie and fleece gloves as well regardless

[Brad Rogers]

You are right on with what you are thinking.  Personally I like a windshirt separate from my rain shell, especially a non breathable one like the Hurricane.  You should have no problem with down in Utah.  You probably don’t need the fleece, but its hard to blame you if you take it.  I would probably hike in a long sleeve shirt and pants due to the sun.  Also be sure to bring a hat to cover your neck and bring sunglasses and lip balm (with sunscreen).

[CARLOS C.]

Yeah I will probably drop the merino t for camp to justify the fleece. I can use the fleece to sleep in if I am not using the down jacket.

Yeah sun was a concern hence the columbia shirt and I will be wearing pants. I have sunglasses and lip balm planned but still up in the air about using my trucker style cap with the shammie under or if I should get something like the OR radar sun runner or a large brimmed hat.

 

I don’t usually bring a hat but i’m not used to this level of exposure Since most of my trails have a good amount of trees.

[Brad Rogers]

I burn easily, but I love my OR Sun Runner out west.  My wife, thinks it is the dorkiest hat ever, but I don’t think she has ever seen a Sunday Afternoons Adventure Hat.

On my normal hikes in the SE, I don’t worry about the sun either due to tree cover.

[Lester Moore]

+1 on the OR Sun Runner hat. It closes down in the front and protects the neck and much of the face very well. If you get the white color it’s dark on the underside of the bill – very important IMHO. Last August during 14 days of nearly complete sunshine on a SOBO JMT hike my friend I used these hats. We never put any sunblock on our necks, ears or face (other than lips and nose) and never had a sun burn.

As for clothing, +1 on Utah being dry and a good environment for down. You can get afternoon thundershowers, but it will dry out very quickly after they pass. Down is fine even in wetter places like the Pacific NW, so long as you keep it dry. If concerned, put all your clothing into a pack liner (a trash compactor bag) and roll it tight on top to keep it closed inside your pack bottom. The clothing you’re leaning toward should keep you plenty warm IMHO, and you could go lighter, such as a lighter down jacket or vest, for example.

[Ben C]

Western weather is typically drier, so your down should be fine.  Even when it rains, it tends to clear up quickly and it’s not nearly as humid.

For me, I would wear the lightest, most breathable knit long sleeve base layer.  That Columbia shirt doesn’t breathe well enough for me when hiking.  I also like a wind shirt.  For me, the fleece is a “maybe”, depending on weather report and how long I planned to be out; the TKA would be perfect.  I think that MB 14 oz puffy is plenty of camp warmth.  The SD rain gear sounds fine, or you could save 6 oz. with dri-ducks (but less durable).

+1 on the hat for sun.

 

edit – posted before Les Moore’s substantially similar post.

[CARLOS C.]

Well it is definitely reassuring to hear that the down should be fine and more than warm enough. My last 3 trips have all turned into rainy humid treks. It was hard not to feel the raw humidity  so I guess i’m still lingering on those thoughts (Mid Atlantic wet winter sucks!)

@brad yes the dorkiness is high with the OR Sunrunner…I imagine I will never hear the end of it.

@Lester I usually bring a compactor bag which works well for me but i was worried more about general humidity getting to it. I will hopefully be carrying an SO Divide rather than my usual Circuit so that should also help mitigate any moisture.

@ben I am not a heavy sweater and the columbia has some mesh venting so hopefully that will help. I am more concerned with the sun or bugs at that elevation. I plan to treat all my clothing to permethrin before the trek. I have been considering the driducks rain gear specifically for pants, but i think it will be hard to justify another purchase to the little lady.

.

[Ben C]

Dri-ducks are $25.  The jacket is fine but the pants are not worth carrying, IMO.

I wouldn’t expect bugs to be a really big problem that time of year.  Your windshirt will protect you from bugs if you ever need the protection.

Good luck.

[Brad Rogers]

It’s hard to predict completely, but that time of year, you “should” be past peak bug season.  I think the last week of August/First week of September is the best time of the year for high elevation trips out west.

You will have a blast

Please report back with some pics and TR as I have the High Unitas on my to do list in the next few years. :)

[CARLOS C.]

Will do!. Thanks for the help guys

@ben, I know $25 seems like nothing and it is , but I have replaced a lot of gear recently so it is a timing issue.

[Lester Moore]

I usually bring a compactor bag which works well for me but i was worried more about general humidity getting to it. I will hopefully be carrying an SO Divide rather than my usual Circuit so that should also help mitigate any moisture.

I grew up in Pennsylvania and remember how sticky-hot-humid hiking is there in the summer. If you’ve never hiked in the mountain West, then you’ll likely be struck by how desiccating it can be – on your skin, your sinuses and on any damp clothing.

[CARLOS C.]

If it is really that dry there should I not even bother with wind/rain pants?

[Brad Rogers]

I agree with Lester –  after the vastness of everything – the one thing that stood out to me my first trip out west (JMT in 2011) was how quickly everything dried and how arid the air was.  Things that would have remained wet for days back home dried in just a few minutes.  I had no problems with dry skin, but found myself drinking a lot and applying chapstick a lot.

I would bring light rain pants.  It doesn’t rain often, but when it does it is a cold rain, usually with a wind and can be very chilling.

[Lester Moore]

While it’s dry most of the time, you can still expect daily afternoon thundershowers, often very heavy but also short lived. After the rain passes, it will usually get sunny and things will dry out quickly. But if you’re “lucky” you could get hit by an uncommon monsoonal flow, with a couple days of intermittent rain pluses and overcast skies – likely worst case scenario for wet weather.

So unless doing a short overnighter with no realistic chance of rain in the short term forecast, I would take a light rain jacket at the least (like DriDucks). If you plan your rain jacket to be used as part of your general insulation system (wear over everything in camp for warmth), then there’s no reason to leave it behind anyway.

As for rain pants, unless it gets really wet, cold and windy (shoulder season typically), I never carried rain pants or wanted them. Even if the legs get wet they never feel that cold to me, unless it’s in the 30’s and windy (atypical summer conditions). But Brad makes a good point about a cold wind on the legs. Having pants that block at least a good amount of wind (either tight weave hiking pants or wind pants) is a very good idea if you forgo rain pants. Wind pants make a lot of sense if you wear shorts (or compression tights) as your general hiking clothing and don’t use traditional hiking pants.

[CARLOS C.]

I better play it safe and bring them anyways

[jared h]

i usually take a buff or similar head/neck cover and a ball cap. even with dark skin, dark hair, and beard, i sometimes use it to keep sun/dust/bugs off my neck, and i can pull it up over my face and ears if needed.

definitely check the weather before you go. i looked at climbingweather.com for that time last year at eleveation (11k), and it was low 60s to mid 50s during the day, mid 40s to high 30s at night, and stormy. big change from the 90s/60s down below.

take the fleece. i love fleeces.

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