Crossup
04-04-2019, 14:24
Two outings ago(mid 2018) I had my first opportunity to use my Frog Togs. I was Nobo from Comptons to HF not long after weeks of heavy rains. It was very obvious the trail had been practically liquefied- I saw evidence of hikers sinking knee deep in the mud but thing were starting to dry pretty well so I did not worry.
Sure enough I get up one morning to drizzle and dense fog that lasted a day and a half. While not rain, it did in fact wet the trees so much it was like rain from them dripping so much. So I don my Toggs and start hiking. After a mile or two I stop and notice my Frogs are covered in mud several inches up the pant leg. Odd, I dont walk with my legs rubbing, so how am I getting mud above my shoes(waterproof Merrells)? I start watching my stride and dont really see where I'm splashing or rubbing but the mud crept higher and higher. By days end it looked like I had been mud wrestling. Given that I shudder to think what it would have been like to hike during the trail flooding previously as I only dealt with a few inches of mud. And that lead me to wonder how other have coped.
With that in the back of my mind, I'm reading over at BPL and run into Roger Nisleys review of the 3F UL rain kilt which he rates highly. The price is right, and it has some extra utility as a ground cloth etc. https://backpackinglight.com/forums/topic/3f-ul-gear-rain-skirt/
So first question is, is the mud issue unique to me or more common. Obviously, my issue was made worse by not having real rainfall to wash my Froggs off.
That leads me to question two: would a kilt work better? I see how ventilation is better and one can always don an extra layer if its too much, but wondering if that prevents any possibility of keeping dry feet.
I used waterproof gators under my Froggs and my Merrells kept the water out all day so a kilt would be a difficult choice if my feet suffer- mud covered and (perhaps) dry or clean but soaked shoes that are not going to dry outfor the next day(only a partial issue as I am one those who carries Salomon Speedcross4s for dry days).
Anyone have ideas or a solution?
Sure enough I get up one morning to drizzle and dense fog that lasted a day and a half. While not rain, it did in fact wet the trees so much it was like rain from them dripping so much. So I don my Toggs and start hiking. After a mile or two I stop and notice my Frogs are covered in mud several inches up the pant leg. Odd, I dont walk with my legs rubbing, so how am I getting mud above my shoes(waterproof Merrells)? I start watching my stride and dont really see where I'm splashing or rubbing but the mud crept higher and higher. By days end it looked like I had been mud wrestling. Given that I shudder to think what it would have been like to hike during the trail flooding previously as I only dealt with a few inches of mud. And that lead me to wonder how other have coped.
With that in the back of my mind, I'm reading over at BPL and run into Roger Nisleys review of the 3F UL rain kilt which he rates highly. The price is right, and it has some extra utility as a ground cloth etc. https://backpackinglight.com/forums/topic/3f-ul-gear-rain-skirt/
So first question is, is the mud issue unique to me or more common. Obviously, my issue was made worse by not having real rainfall to wash my Froggs off.
That leads me to question two: would a kilt work better? I see how ventilation is better and one can always don an extra layer if its too much, but wondering if that prevents any possibility of keeping dry feet.
I used waterproof gators under my Froggs and my Merrells kept the water out all day so a kilt would be a difficult choice if my feet suffer- mud covered and (perhaps) dry or clean but soaked shoes that are not going to dry outfor the next day(only a partial issue as I am one those who carries Salomon Speedcross4s for dry days).
Anyone have ideas or a solution?