+1 on that, I feel like I have 10 years of experience in an area I've never stepped foot in. We're now starting to get gear purchased, my nephews and brother have to purchase some base, insulating layers and rain gear. I just sprung for a new EE 20 deg Revelation quilt during their Black Friday sale.
We still need to finalize our route, but with this thread and other tools, there's lots to pick from.
Any body got a half way reliable weather forecasting resource for the area? Where kinda tracking to mid to late April, but will start looking at reservations in early April.