question about fleece

[DavidNH]

Hi,

I am going to be doing an AT thru hike Northbound starting March 21st at Springer Mountain. My hiking familiarity is New England. I have never hiked south of NY/NJ before! Never even seen those mtns down there except in videos!


Briefly ( cause I just lost the post I spent 10 minutes trying to write!):

I have an ll bean polartec 100 fleece jacket with full zipper, quick dry, wonderful to hike in. But not good enough for insulation when temperature is mid 20's on down and I am inactive.

I also have an LL bean polartec 200 fleece (a pull over, NOT full zip) that is very toasty and wonderful when inactive in cold weather but too hot to hike in unless it in New England winter conditions

I will have frogg toggs as rain jacket and ems system III pants as rain pants --the have full side zippers. Also fleece hat and gloves.

so will the polartec 100 fleece jacket be adquate?

I can write up a full clothing list for folks to review and critique..but another night.. I had just written most of it and lost it!!

I could bring long synthetic pants as well. Would it be adequate to just have the shorts with rain pants doubling for insulative pants?

Assume that when I get to 5000 feet plus in the Smokies the weather goes to hell and its cold, rainy, snowy windy. How does the clothing list I have described above stack up? too much? not enough? thoughts suggestions?

David

[SnakebiteSurvivor]

Leaving Springer on March 21, you definitely need to be prepared for weather in the 20's and lower, and probably snow, sleet, etc. (I ran into 11-degree weather just north of Damascus in April a couple years ago). Of course, you could be lucky and it could be balmy, but don't count on it! So you're going to need that Polartec 200 (probably along with the 100-weight to hike in). Your legs probably aren't going to get cold (they have low surface area and good circulation), so the rain pants and shorts might suffice (I've hiked in shorts in snowstorms), but synthetic long johns aren't heavy and you'll probably be glad to have them on a few days.

[Skidsteer]

The weather may go to hell long before the Smokies at that time of year. You just never know.

[shades of blue]

Patagonia makes a good synthetic pullover it's called the a puffball pullover or jacket. I think they call it something else on their website now...but I have one and it can be useful when the temps drop. I think your body will generate quite a lot of heat while hiking, but cold rain, lack of food/energy, dehydration and other factors can lead to hypothermia fairly quickly. I would carry synthetic longjohns to hike in and a pair to sleep in (I used silkweights bottoms to hike in, but you could use spandex tights also...great support). You can drop the extra pair whenever you feel comfortable. You also may want to invest in a neck gator....it will protect your neck from cold wind and the back of the neck is one of the key places for your body's temp control. I think the hands, top of the head and ankles are some of the others.

You will love the southern trail, it is quite different than the NE trail, but still very beautiful. The balds are awesome. Congrats on your upcoming hike, and good luck.

[Tim Rich]

Definitely go with the 200 weight. Perhaps north of Mt. Rogers you can swap it out until VT or the Whites. A full zip would be nice for temp control, but I don't know that you'd want to carry both the 100 and 200. I always resisted the urge to hike in my fleece. Some mornings it would be the last thing I'd stuff, then I'd be off, seeking heat from my feet.