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  1. #21

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    My last section hike on the Long Trail, 7 days, had rain all but one day. Wet feet are what you get. Forget about any fairy tale Goretex this, Sympatex that. The wet gets onto your legs and into your boots (or trail runners if you're me). Back then I WAS using heavy boots (Limmers), and I regret that I hadn't considered footwear that would drain and not stretch. Nylon strapping with nylon breathable fabric is what makes a good wet weather shoe or boot.
    Upper body: If it's not too cold, just wear your polypro (poly-whatever) or wool, and be thankful that you're being cleansed as you walk. In temps. below 60, I recommend a poncho. If it's windy, tie a cord around the waist or hoist the back corners up and tuck them into the front of your pack belt.
    Any way you look at it, you'll get wet.
    I've found that, for the feet, a little rubbing alcohol toughens up the soft skin caused by constant exposure to dampness (and kills bacteria, etc. that can cause infection).
    Don't use it on the "personal areas", however, as it will burn like heck.
    Thigh chafing is something I deal with on most long hikes.
    There are sports lubricants which work well for that area. Wiping with a baby wipe helps immensely in "that" area.
    As I live, declares the Lord God, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked turn back from his way and live. Ezekiel 33:11

  2. #22
    2010 complete
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    Quote Originally Posted by mudhead View Post
    It was grim, but we will have a spectacular 3 days of summer this year to make up for it.
    Come to think of it, the summer before was wet, too. I had to abandon the wilderness from the back side of a mt due to rising water after several days of rain. I remember at one point I couldn't find the trail because I was in a gap and it was a lake. Water was pouring down from all sides. Then, the planks were underwater. Oh, the memories.

  3. #23
    Registered User Pootz's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Tagless View Post
    Last year my wife and I had success using Hydropel Sports Ointment. We only applied it during very wet rainy weather. It seemed to create a protective barrier, keeping feet from getting shriveled.

    I had not heard of this ointment, will have to give it a try.

    I am surprised no one from 03 has commented. They had something like 130 days of rain from April to September. I section hiked in PA that year and there was water everywhere. Just north of Quarry Gap shelter there was a 50' wide stream 8 inches deep. The trail is normally pretty dry in this section.
    Pootz 07

  4. #24
    Registered User goedde2's Avatar
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    That's the beauty of a hammock, off the ground. No worries. Helps me enjoy listening to the little pitter pats on the tarp, and makes for a very restful sleep. Getting wet for me is just part of the experience, and not really a big deal. The correct nylon clothing or Under Armour base layer makes drying out less painful.

  5. #25

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    1. Baby da feet with heaps of TLC - get them out of the shoes during longer breaks (with wet socks off), massage with a good salve, lotion, or whatever works for you - rinse the mud and as much of the microgrit out of the socks as possible.

    2. Eat as much good food as you can.

    3. Do your best to keep a positive attitude.

    4. Plenty of posts about gear management.

  6. #26

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    If you're starting early March from Springer you're going to get wet. And all of your gear will get wet...by the time it all dries out it will start raining again...everything you have will smell mildewy, and the stench won't wash out when you get to a laundromat. You just get used to it.

    There was a guy who never hiked in the rain...he didn't make it very far...he stayed 10 days at Fontana Dam waiting for the weather to clear. He got off the trail at Newfound Gap after getting drunk and punching the manager of the Grand Prix.

  7. #27

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    Quote Originally Posted by singing wind View Post
    1. Baby da feet with heaps of TLC

    2. Eat as much good food as you can.

    3. Do your best to keep a positive attitude.

    4. Plenty of posts about gear management.
    IMO your number 3 is my number one. Perception is everything. If you can convince yourself hiking in the rain is actually preferable, everything about hiking changes for the better. Rain water is better than sweat due to no salt.
    You see more wildlife because your scent and sounds are knocked down. The color of everything is more vivid when wet. There are far fewer humans and the ones actually out there are never pack sniffers. I love the sound of wind and rain together. Sometimes at views the mist flows like water thru vallys. In the beginning it was self deception, now it is real, I prefer the rain.

  8. #28

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    Quote Originally Posted by Pootz View Post
    I am surprised no one from 03 has commented. They had something like 130 days of rain from April to September.
    They FINALLY got tired of sniveling, it eventually happens to everyone.

  9. #29

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    Quote Originally Posted by DavidNH View Post
    If you've met such conditions, did you stay on the trail? if so how did you deal with things?

    DavidNH
    Never experienced the mud, but I have experienced rain for over a week on the PCT. I hiked 30 miles a day until I could check into a nice warm room in a nice dry hotel for a few days, then got a ride to Seattle and enjoyed a few more days there. When the weather improved, I got back on the trail.

    If there had been a lot of wallowing in mud, I think I would have found my way to Seattle sooner.

    The thing I don't like about rain is that my stuff got wetter and wetter the longer I was out in it. If there hadn't been little windows of sun that let me dry my gear, I would have ended up with very damp gear quickly. Even if I could keep my sleeping bag dry, if I had to sleep in a wet tent in the rain, it would soak up water from the environment around it.
    Some knew me as Piper, others as just Diane.
    I hiked the PCT: Mexico to Mt. Shasta, 2008. Santa Barbara to Canada, 2009.

  10. #30
    Donating Member/AT Class of 2003 - The WET year
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    Hey David, with the exception perhaps of this year, 2003 was one of the best examples of the circumstances you describe in your original post.

    The first thing I did when I realized that the rain was going to be a constant companion was to get my hands on some plastic trash compactor bags. I lined my pack with one and kept a few spares.

    Although they are of limited value during constant downpours, I did get a silnylon pack cover and used it routinely. Main reason being that once the pack cloth soaks out it takes days/weeks to fully dry. So even if it only sheds a little water it's better than nothing.

    Next, I switches my footwear to lighterweight trail runners that would drain instead of trap water. I was wearing a Gortex lined boot at the beginning and found that once they soaked out they stayed that way and REALLY irritated my feet. Plus, during the initial months they would freeze like cinder blocks every night. I carried several bandanas and several times during each day when it was raining I would take every opportunity to stop under a shelter or thick stand of trees, take off my shoes and examine/dry off my feet.

    Last but not least was the clothing I wore. Unless lower temps dictated otherwise, I generally wore as little clothing as possible and it was all synthetic. You're going to get wet anyway so trying to wear clothing/raingear that supposedly keeps you dry only ends up acting like a sauna, trapping perspiration and ultimately leaking - - even the best and most expensive stuff.

    Eventually the sun comes out (or at least it did in 2003) and I took a zero or two in a large open area, spread out all my gear and turned my pack inside out to allow it to thoroughly dry.

    'Slogger
    The more I learn ...the more I realize I don't know.

  11. #31
    Registered User Disney's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Blue Jay View Post
    They FINALLY got tired of sniveling, it eventually happens to everyone.

    I think that brings up a larger issue. I know, I know, No Sniveling. But what do you do if it's non stop rain? How do you cope? Do you cope? Is there something that changes in the way you approach the trail? An increase in yellow blazing seems inevitable.

    I can only imagine what it must be like for someone to work and plan for this their entire life and then have to trudge through nothing but rain. Pretty severe mental blow.

    The standard responses (no pain no rain no main, no sniveling) really just ignore that aspect. I think it's a legitimate question. Although obviously you have no control and complaining is useless and self-defeating, does anything change?

    Example: You might do more night hiking. If the storm clears at 10 pm, take a 10 mile dry walk just for the change.

  12. #32

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    Quote Originally Posted by Disney View Post
    I can only imagine what it must be like for someone to work and plan for this their entire life and then have to trudge through nothing but rain. Pretty severe mental blow.
    Let me first say that I failed at this advice myself miserably, but I'm going to give it anyway because it was lesson I didn't learn but should have.

    If you go at it like the rain and mud is a severe mental blow to something you planned for all your life, then that is what it will be. The people I met on the trail that weren't affected by the bad weather or other conditions were the ones who found the positive in everything. "Rain helps me walk farther," was what one guy I talked to said.

    I tried to tell myself in the rain to focus on the fact that I wasn't going to die, that I was warm and safe and would sleep dry and comfortable. But I was too stuck in my bad mood to switch myself to the positive. I guess I was enjoying being angry and upset.

    Anyway, if you want to make it a great adventure, I believe you can as long as you stay positive, take what the trail gives you with gratitude, and if your limitations have been reached, take a little time off to regroup if you need it.
    Some knew me as Piper, others as just Diane.
    I hiked the PCT: Mexico to Mt. Shasta, 2008. Santa Barbara to Canada, 2009.

  13. #33

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    Yeah, the problem with rain is that it makes you keep going.
    That's ok except i tend to get exhausted without rests.
    Of course, on the AT, you have shelters but on other trails, it's not worth it to try to set up your tent to take a rest. So you just keep going.

    I don't have any other problems with walking in the rain.
    I rather enjoy it.
    For one thing, you usually have the trail to yourself as most everyone else stays in one spot.
    Don't let your fears stand in the way of your dreams

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