A few random gear questions - AT Thru NOBO Spring Start

[JJMorse]

I've mostly got my gear dialed in, many thanks to this forum. I have a few questions that I'd love to hear some thoughts on:

-I understand that it is smart to hike with a long sleeve shirt for the first month or so to protect from the sun. What did you use? Did anyone just go short-sleeved and use sunscreen? Did that work out ok for you? Would a wind shirt be a good option for this as someone who hikes hot? I have been considering trying one after seeing lots of love for them on this forum.

-I've decided that it makes more sense to carry lightweight silk layers as always-dry pajamas rather than a sleeping bag liner. My intention is not to increase my sleeping bag's rating, just to keep it cleaner really. In fact, I'd rather use a silk that will still be comfortable on hot summer nights under my quilt. Any recommendations? Any pros or cons to this compared to using merino or techwick pajamas? If I decide to use these silks as a hiking layer in a pinch, do they dry quick and/or retain their insulation properties when wet?

-My understanding is that I'll be fine without sunglasses. Anyone disagree? I have a long track record of breaking or losing sunglasses on hikes, so if they won't help much I'd rather not have a pair with me.

-I do not have a problem with chafing and have lots of hiking experience, but my only long backpacking trips have been in dry climates. So my experience hiking multiples days in wet clothes is limited. Anyone find this to be a problem who didn't before their thru? What remedies did you find?

Sorry for the scattered questions, but I didn't want to create 5 topics. Any help is much appreciated!

[dangerdave]

No sunglasses, but you think you'll need sunscreen? How does that gist? I was thinking the other way around, LOL, sunglasses but no sunscreen.

I'm interested to see the responses.

[Traveler]

You didn't say what your start date was, so long sleeve may be appropriate as standard daily wear if its early in the season, not as much if its April.

The sun protection issue is personal choice. UV rays are not only direct from the sun, they reflect off water, snow, rocks, and pavement, and have a way of burning skin under the brim of caps. Even in deep winter, a sunny day can burn you at most any latitude. Your eyes can be equally affected by sun exposure, if you do wear sunglasses, check the UV rating of them. Up to you if you wear sunscreen or use sun glasses, you won't know if you will have problems with skin cancers until later in life. Some people are fortunate and don't have any, some are not as fortunate. I wear sunscreen (especially on my nose) anytime I am in the sun in any season and wear sun glasses as well.

[Sarcasm the elf]

If you plan to start hiking in the winter when snow is still on the ground, then bring the sunglasses. Like A.T. traveler said, the snow reflects sunlight right back up at you and it does a real number in your eyes.

[jdc5294]

I'm a bit of an enigma in that as white as I am I've never burned easily, I usually just tan. That being said I don't remember there being many areas with prolonged exposure to strong sun, if you're starting NOBO in spring you'll most likely have plenty of shade. Someone with a different complexion situation should be able to help better.

For 90% of my hike I wore rumney shorts as a bottom. No underwear, just the shorts. They ventilate like crazy and dry unbelievably fast so chafing was eliminated, that answers your last question (from my perspective). I had 3 pairs of these that I rotated through, when I slept I just slipped the pair on that I was wearing least in that stretch between towns, not even because they were wet (seriously, they dry out really fast) I just felt better wearing a clean pair. Earlier in my hike I'd wear my fleece hat and my fleece to bed, I had a 20 degree bag and never had a problem and I left on Feb 19th. The Smokies were cooollllddddd but in that bag I was fine. In the summer I was shirtless.

I enjoyed having sunglasses, I'm not bad with losing and breaking them but I still didn't bring my Oakleys along, cheap pairs are like $10 at gas stations and strip malls, buy 2 pairs and use 1, if/when you break/lose it use the 2nd pair to get you to the next town and buy another one.

[Slo-go'en]

Starting in April you will definitely see a lot of sun (hopefully). It's not until early May you start to get into the "Green Tunnel". As an example, on my last hike from Springer to VA, starting mid April, I carried a solar garden light on the back of my pack. (Great night light) On days which actually had sun, it stayed on most of the night until I got almost to Damascus, at which point it wasn't getting enough sun to stay on very long at all.

I bought a nice sun block shirt at Mountain Crossings which is ventilated along the front-back seam. A bit pricey, but had little choice at the time. Although a bit heavy, a Dickie work shirt like the Rangers wear is a good choice. Dries reasonably quick, blocks wind and is warm, but not hot.

I never needed sunglasses, but I wear glasses which have UV block coating on them. If you don't wear a hat, definitely have some sun block for your nose. Chaffing shouldn't be a problem unless you have "Thunder Thighs" which rub together.

[freightliner]

The last time I hiked northbound from Springer I had a pair of sunglasses but I never used them because I would have to stop and dig them out. I would say about 93.857% of the time I was just fine without sunglasses. I also wore a long sleeve shirt right up until the leaves came out. When it comes to silk pajamas I have to wonder how are you going to clean them. I thought you can't put silk in a washing machine and then toss it in the dryer so are you going to have to hand wash them. You might end up being called citifiedmuffcake for wearing silk pajamas to bed. You also have to take everything off to put those on and that just sounds too cold to me. Some food for thought you might want to check out a down coat and down pants. Really great at the end of the day when you're cooking your meal and after just go to bed in them. I'm not okay with being a little cold so that's what I do.

[Sandy of PA]

I carry a silk nighty on every hike. It works far better than a liner and mine is machine wash and dry. Wash off each night with a wet rag, go to bed feeling human!

[MuddyWaters]

Depends on when you start. By third week of April, trees are in leaf-out in GA and sun isn't issue. Before that, just hike in L's base layer top most days it will be cool enough. If you need sunscreen, it would only be a dab for your nose, ears, cheeks.

I hate sunscreen. Proper clothing is always a much better choice for sun protection, and doesn't get your all over you clothing and expensive gear, and Sunscreen can do bad things to certain polymers.