Clothing Reccomendations

[Megapixel]

Can someone please tell me what is the "perfect" or ideal clothing list for someone starting a NOBO thru between 3-21 and 4-1?

Also, what is the ideal clothing list / swap out once the weather warms, and where is a good or "safe" place to switch this up?

Finally, will or should I switch back to the original list before the Whites, until the end of the hike?

Thanks for this help way in advance... i need to figure out what my wife and I both have and will need to buy before our upcoming thru in 2011.:banana:sun:p:)

[Egads]

I like Omni dry convertible pants, smart wool LS & SS shirts, MB UL innerdown parka & pants, mb windshirt, Driducks rain gear, Wrightsox, Brooks Cascade trail runners, windstopper gloves, Arcteryx wool hat, Outdoor Research gloves & balaclava, some old heavyweight fleece lined wool hat

[Megapixel]

Oh, also not really looking for brand names as much as the clothes that are needed / quantities of clothing.

To Egads: Did you switch out these clothes or change anything at any point in the trip?

[Spokes]

I still think the Mountai Crossings Method (http://www.backpacker.com/november_08_pack_man_/articles/12659?page=4) lists the best system on all fronts. I used Patagonia stuff for my base layers. Swapped out for summer gear in Waynesboro then back again in Hanover. Worked out well. You'll know pretty quickly how to tweak your clothing stuff.

Good luck.

[Spokes]

Dang keyboard...........

Mountain Crossings Method (http://www.backpacker.com/november_08_pack_man_/articles/12659?page=4)

[bigcranky]

This is from a couple of years ago, but it still works:

http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showpost.php?p=487795&postcount=16

[Appalachian Tater]

I started mid-March and kept my winter gear until Harper's Ferry and didn't regret it although you don't have to be so conservative, it was just easy for me to buy a summer bag there. Hikers started getting rid of winter gear as early on as Damascus and definitely regretted it.

Got it back in Glencliff which is really the last and perhaps the best place you can do so as the PO is right across from the hostel, not too far off the trail, and it is just before you need the gear. A food drop there makes sense as well and the post office opens at 7 AM Monday--Saturday!!! You can pull in during the evening, stay at the hostel, get your gear switched out in the morning, and still get a relatively early start hiking.

I did keep long underwear and a wool cap and an insulating layer for the entire summer and the stuff came in handy. I even used my tarptent as a blanket over my sleeping bag a few times--both over my winter bag and my summer bag. It can get cold even during the middle of the summer at high elevations.

[Megapixel]

thanks. this is very helpful.

[garlic08]

Based on my experience in '08, leaving 4/4, be ready for a few days of blowing snow and overnight temps in the teens, whatever that means for you. For me it was a single pair of long trousers (I knew I don't need long undies), a l.s. hiking shirt, a polypro jersey, an insulted windshirt (Marmot Driclime), a rain jacket and pants, two spare pairs of socks, and light hat and gloves.

I had an excellent 15F down bag, which turned out to be critical. If you have a warmer-rated bag or sleep cold, you may need sleeping clothing like a clean pair of long undies.

I also carried a good down vest as back-up, which I wouldn't have wanted to be without. My total packed clothing weight was just over three pounds.

Best advice I heard for switching to summer gear is to wait for the Trail Days weekend in mid-May, no matter where you are. For me, that was Waynesboro, VA, and I very nearly regretted sending mine home the weekend before that in Pearisburg. Whether or not you pick it back up again depends on your hiking pace. I finished in mid-July and didn't need winter gear then, at least not in '08.