I'm going on my first long hike (8 or 9 nights) in a couple of years. Last couple of summers have seen me camping on the river, which is lazy as hell and not at all weight-conscious, so I've been doing a good bit over the last few weeks to get my gear in good shape. I've got a new pack, switched to hammocking, and have been able to replace some of my old gear with some lighter weight, nicer stuff.
Packing up the other day, I found my base pack weight (no food, fuel, water, or clothes that I'll be wearing) to be higher than I was expecting, about 14.5 pounds. Going through, I found that my clothes bag was the big whopper. I don't have the weight of it here at work, but I'll post it when I get home in a couple of hours. I want to say it was between four and five pounds, though. That seems high, so I thought I'd post my clothes here and get your feedback.
I'm packing for a trip next week from CT to VT. Temps in the towns around there have been about 50 at night and 70-80 during the day. I figure being up in the mountains means it's reasonable to expect lows in the 40s.
So, my clothes (I put the weights down that I can remember):
Normal hiking:
Two pairs of Lycra shorts (I'm a chafer) - 5 oz
One pair of nylon shorts - 8 oz
Two nylon sleeveless shirts
Three pairs of synthetic socks, medium weight
Camp stuff:
Nylon shorts - 5 oz.
Nylon tank - 5 oz.
Warm stuff:
Polypro shirt - 9 oz.
Polypro tights - 7 oz.
Rain stuff:
OR Zealot jacket - 7.5 oz.
Old rain pants - 12 oz. (I know these are heavy as hell -- my gear money ran out before I could order a pair of Reed pants. Those will save seven ounces)
Gore-Tex oversocks (I hike in breathable running shoes)
Misc:
Zip off pant legs for my shorts
Fleece hat - 2 oz.
Medium weight gloves - 3 oz.
Light breathable wind jacket - 3.5 oz
I realize I won't use some of this depending on the weather, but I'm going a bit overkill because I'm not familiar with the trail up there or the weather there this time of year. However, other than adding a thick fleece for the beginning, this is about the clothing list I have in mind for a thru-hike.
I'm generally warm-blooded. I don't like being wet, but I'm comfortable being pretty cold. I hate having a lot of clothes on while hiking, but I don't mind bundling up at night when I stop.
So, am I carrying the couture equivalent of a cast iron frying pan?