clothes for JMT

[Bear Cables]

I am beginning to plan a hike on JMT ending in Yosemite Valley. Nothing long, probably 40 miles or so. I have never hike this area before and need input about my clothing pack list. I welcome all suggestions. Plan to hike in either late august or early sept.

[Dogwood]

Bear Cables, go to www.nps and look up California National Parks. Click on Yosemite NP There, you will find weather avgs. for every month of the year Just make note of the elevation of where those avgs were taken. Subtract 3 * from the avgs for every additional 1000 ft of elevation gain. Be safe for sure, but also keep in mind that the Sierras have some of the mildest weather for that time of the year for those elevations of any mountain chain in the world. Always slight chance of afternoon rain w/ possible lighting(but no where near the number of lightning strikes as in Colorado at this time of the yr. at similar elevs.) and wind gusts, but USUALLY mild weather in AUG.

[Marta]

I was there in late July to mid August. It gets pleasantly warm during the day, and quite cool at night. It was never hot, by southeastern US standards. Most hikers wear shorts and T-shirts during the day. I don't like to wear sunscreen so I wore long pants and a long-sleeved shirt. I was never uncomfortably hot in those clothes. For nighttime I had a microfleece baselayer, a thin fleece jacket, and (as a last resort, which I never had to resort to) silnylon rain gear. I also brought, and wore, a knit cap and fleece gloves.

Here's a link to a photo where you can see what people are wearing:

http://www.trailjournals.com/photos.cfm?id=252736

http://www.trailjournals.com/photos.cfm?id=256945

http://www.trailjournals.com/photos.cfm?id=258532

[RedneckRye]

I was just out there Aug 31 -Sept 17.
Hiked every day in a synthetic tee with a half zip, zip off shorts, and a wide brim hat.. Never zipped the legs on to the shorts even though I was carrying them.
Carried wool baselayer, Patagonia Wool 2 bottoms, Smartwool microweight longsleeve crew top.
Windpants and a waterproof shell, fleece hats and gloves.
A lightweight puffy jacket, Primaloft insulation.
2 pairs of boxer briefs, 2 pair of shorty socks, 1 pair of crew height socks.
Salomon trail runners.

Puffy jacket, fleece hat and gloves were essential for chilly evenings and mornings.
Most mornings temps were mid to low 40's, usually 70's in the afternoons. 2 nights toward the end of the hike were cold, my watch read 27 and 17 degrees in the pre-dawn hour.
It rained on us 3 times, one evening for about 2 hours as we got into and set up camp, 2 afternoons for about 20 minutes each.

Have fun out there.

[Rambler]

Aug. 10-24.
Beautiful. No bugs. (Put on a dab of DEET one night) Used a tarp.
Nights get cold. I was glad for a 20 degree bag with a bivy. Condensation had turned to ice one AM. Shorts and T-shirt during the day. I wore a long sleeved shirt to avoid the use of sunscreen. Eco Mesh Long sleeve (Tropical weight) from RailRiders.
Also had a handy removable sun shade that fit over the bill of my hat and covered my neck which is a vulnerable area for sunburn.
A great piece of clothing is the MontBelle UL Liner. It is very lightweight, but down filled and nice to have around camp evening and AM.
Also handy is the Mont Belle potty trowel. The ground is very firm hard pack in many spots, not easy digging. The trowel is light, but strong.
Do you wear low cuts? If so, try Dirty Girl Gaiters. They are the only gaiters that have ever worked for me. ($15 free shipping!) The trail, shared by pack animals, can be quite dusty.
I had long underwear bottoms, a Golite DrimeMove Long sleeved collared shirt with zipper V for warmth over a t-shirt at night.
I used a Goilite Wisp wind shirt in place of a sweater and used Golite Reed rain pants for long pants.
Off the AT near Reds Meadow (Mammoth) is a trail to Minaret Lake. Well worth it. Steep parts, but great campsites.
The ever changing scenery is amazing. In response to it, here is a quote from an AT Thru-hiker I met on the JMT, "I spent six months on the AT and never saw anything!"
Why did I hike the JMT? One rainy day hiking along the AT in NC, I stopped in at a shelter for lunch. I met a hiker there with his dog. He had thru-hiked both the AT and the PCT. He told me the JMT was the most beautiful section he had ever hiked and hoped to return there some day.

http://www.amazon.com/Dr-Shade-Universal-Display-Khaki/dp/B001G6OMYC/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=sporting-goods&qid=1255461564&sr=1-2

MontBell has an Inner Parka and inner Jacket. The inner parka has a hood which I like.

http://www.campsaver.com/itemMatrix.asp?GroupCode=mtb0052&MatrixType=1

[Dogwood]

Clothing is so different for different hikers(I've never seen the exact same outfit on any two hikers) so I hesitated mentioning specific pieces but one thing you might want to consider, as someone else has mentioned, is a way to protect yourself from the intense UV light at the higher elevs, which is something you might not be used to. It has a tendency to sneak up on you. A wide brimmed sunhat, sunscreen, and lip balm w/sunscreen can help.

Yes, you will enjoy the JMT emensely. It's one of my favorite trails, in terms of scenery. Expect something very different than what you are used to in Lousiana. Late Aug/ early to mid Sept is a great time of the year for exploring the area. If you need any help with anything about the JMT please feel free to start another thread or PM me. I'm finding myself returning to the Sierras again and again.

[Rambler]

For example:
Hers is what my daughter was wearing at 7:30 AM (Tuolumne Campsite) and later on the same day around 11AM in the Lyell Canyon :

[Bear Cables]

[quote=Dogwood;906400]one thing you might want to consider, as someone else has mentioned, is a way to protect yourself from the intense UV light at the higher elevs, which is something you might not be used to. It has a tendency to sneak up on you. A wide brimmed sunhat, sunscreen, and lip balm w/sunscreen can help.


Thanks for the input. I do have a UV protection long sleeve white shirt that is very light and would not get too hot. Also have a uv protection long sleeve fishing shirt from Bass Pro. I also never go with out sunscreen.