whats a mossie?Originally Posted by Spirit Walker
I have zips I wore in desert sometimes as shorts sometimes pants. I do get sunburned and it sux . I lather on the sunscreen.... I don't need skin cancer ... yuck.
mossies=mosquitos
mosquitos! right...
Definitely - long pants, long sleeved shirt, wide-brimmed Tilley hat WITH integral net cape, dark polarized sunglasses, and now after a VERY painful experience in the Sierra years ago, special home-made sun shields for the backs of my hands and thumbs to prevent severe sunburns when using trekking poles all day. I look really wierd to all who see me, but when I explain the function, they look at their own reddened hands and go"" Hmmmm, you may not be so dumb after all". Function before form folks!
Yes, sunscreen and shorts will work, but if you think you got dirty before from all that fine dust, just wait until you see what happens when that trail dirt joins forces with that oily, sticky lotion on your legs. Do you really want that grit getting to the thin, soft inner lining of your expensive sleeping bag/quilt?
A very select few can cowboy hike it - shorts and no sunscreen. I can't. Imagine trying to sleep when your thighs are so burnt that you can not tolerate anything touching them. Imagine trying to walk the next day. HYOH............maybe.
IT AIN'T WORTH THE BRAGGING RIGHTS. Suck it up and go long. YMMV.
Addnedum: bug juice is also a dirt magnet. I fully understand, and have experienced, the grief of trying to hike in a headnet when it's hot.
There is a solution. Try the Backpackinglite bug net. The mesh is not nearly so fine as normal headnets. Small midges can get through, but so can the breeze. It's much easier to see through, especially when the sun is to your front. It's tight enough to keep out the mossies and biting flies of WA while being noticeably cooler and more comfortable. You'll still be warmer than you'd like, but it beats plastering Deet all over your face and ears.
Or so I've learned over the years.
Addendum 2 - have you ever noticed the long wool robes and head ocverings the nomadic tribes wear in the Sahara desert?
Ever think they might have more than a slight clue about what it takes to keep from being parbroiled by the sun every day of their lives.
Learn from the experts.
or you can just HYOH. the choice - and consequences - is yours.
Aside from the sun and bug factor, it really depends on what type of desert you're hiking in.
I took a trip to Big Bend NP last month and was hiking around in the South East part of the park. The trails there are only marked by cairns and the cacti run thick. I wore pants but even so, by the time I was done with a 3 day hike, it looked like i lost a fight with a dull raiser while trying to shave my legs for the first time.
3 days later I was still picking cacti out of my skin. Had I not been wearing pants, I would have had major problems!
those long wool ropes are called dishdashas and they are more often made of fine cotton linen. My friend plans on wearing one when he thrus the PCT next year. i will probably be the crazy one if i dont join him
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