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  1. #1

    Default 35 degree rain. Your best strategies?

    35 degree rain worries me. What are your strategies for working with it?

  2. #2
    Hiker bigcranky's Avatar
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    Yeah, it should.

    You're going to get soaking wet, and cold. For me, that means I can't stop hiking until the end of the day, or until I reach a shelter where I can get out of the rain and into some dry clothing for a break.

    So, I wear my long sleeve base layers under my rain gear (shell and pants, rain mitts), and I put snacks in my pockets so I don't need to take off my pack. Then I walk so I can generate enough body heat to stay warm. I eat snacks as often as possible to fuel my metabolism. This is usually pretty miserable but survivable.

    The real key is what happens when you stop. Two choices:

    1. Stop for a break, like lunch. Recommended early in a thru-hike when you can't just keep walking all day. The key is to get out of the wet clothing and into dry clothing quickly, then get some food. I put on my dry sleeping layers, and my big puffy, and my hat and gloves, and might even wrap myself in my sleeping bag. Then I make a hot drink and eat. I do hang my wet clothes to drip dry a little.

    Once I'm ready to go, comes the hard part -- taking off the nice warm dry clothing, putting it back in the waterproof part of my pack, and putting on the soaking wet, cold, almost frozen clothing I took off earlier. Then start hiking again....

    2. Stop for the day. If it's still raining, this is easier in a shelter. But it can be done with a tent, too. Either way, get the tent set up (or get inside the shelter), then strip the wet and put on the dry. Bundle up, get some hot food and drink, and stay out of the rain. Hang the wet stuff to drip a little -- wring it out if necessary. Some people put damp clothes at the bottom of their sleeping bag overnight -- they might not dry out, but they won't freeze either. (Putting on frozen clothing takes some getting used to. )

    You could combine the two - stop at lunch time and just stay put the rest of the day.

    35 and raining is pretty classic hypothermia weather -- it combines all the causes: cold, wet, tired, hungry. Keep an eye on the other hikers for the "umbles" -- Stumbles, Mumbles, Grumbles, Fumbles. If somebody shows up at the shelter and can't seem to get out of his or her wet clothes, and can't get a stove lit, etc., it's time to step in and help.
    Ken B
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    Our Long Trail journal

  3. #3

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    Good info from cranky! Layering is where it's at, and dry clothing is crucial!

  4. #4

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    +2 from cranky!
    I've been at 40 deg. rainy and it is a challenge! For me what I wasn't prepared for was trying to keep my hands dry and warm all day. My hands got so cold I couldn't open a zip lock bag of snacks with both hands and my teeth.
    I would make sure to have adequate layers for my hands.

  5. #5
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    Bigcranky more or less covered it all.

    I just want to throw in that this is why I carry a 20 degree sleeping bag in the spring/summer/fall. When I'm hiking in all day rain, knowing that i'm only a mistake or two away from hypothermia I want to be sure that I have a tent and bag that will get me warm when I need it to. On top of that, it is inevitable that one's sleeping bag is going to get damp to some extent and lose some of it's insulating ability as a result, so having a bag that is rated for lower than the expected temperature builds in a buffer for these situations.

    PS, if you think 35 and raining is fun, try 25 and raining I've had the pleasure of hiking at times where the rain was freezing after it tell and covering myself and my pack in a layer of ice. It was the sort of situation that builds character.
    Last edited by Sarcasm the elf; 08-29-2016 at 11:07.
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  6. #6
    Hiker bigcranky's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Sarcasm the elf View Post
    PS, if you think 35 and raining is fun, try 25 and raining I've had the pleasure of hiking at times where the rain was freezing after it tell and covering myself and my pack in a layer of ice. It was the sort of situation that builds character.
    Yeah, another frigging learning opportunity, right? My hiking partner and I did that one day all the way into Damascus, totally covered in crackling ice the whole way. Fun.
    Ken B
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    I've never liked the idea of putting wear cloths near my DRY warm down bag......I've heard people say to sleep in wet cloths to dry them but doesn't sound appealing to me...


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    Covered very well in the responses. I find that if I keep moving and well fueled, the temperature doesn't bother me, and a decent piece of rain gear for the upper body over my hiking shirt is enough to keep me comfortable. The key is keeping sleeping bag and spare clothes dry for when you stop.

    And nothing quite like a beard full of ice.

  9. #9
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    Somewhat buried in this discussion is the detail of having a tent with a separate fly and practicing erecting same. Throw up the fly as a tarp and get out of the weather first.

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  10. #10

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    If it's a short hike or a section hike I bring more clothes than normal if I know it's going to be multiple rainy days in a row. If there's no sunny days in site where I can dry things on a rock, etc, then some extra dry stuff is worth carrying.

    consider a town/hostel stop if possible to dry out and break up multiple days of bad weather. You can still do some decent mileage on those days

    I don't find it's that big an issue during the day when hiking. If it's windy on an open peak... yes, it's going to suck. But when you're moving in the woods and you have proper clothing, you can still enjoy

  11. #11
    CDT - 2013, PCT - 2009, AT - 1300 miles done burger's Avatar
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    I have a few disagreements with what bigcranky wrote:

    1) Wearing extra layers is great, but make sure you have something dry to change into when you get into camp/get into your bag (unless you're okay sleeping naked). I actually never wear my puffy while hiking so that it can stay nice and dry for when I get into camp.

    2) If you start to feel cold, speed up. Walking faster = more heat generated.

    3) As soon as you stop hiking, you are going to start getting cold. You will be wet under your rain gear from sweat or rain that got through, so if you put on your extra layers on a break, you will be getting them wet and making them less effective at keeping you warm when you need it in camp later. If you don't put on more layers, though, you're going to get colder and colder. So my advice is to not stop hiking, period, when it's raining and cold until you are done for the day. In the morning, load your pants pockets and hip belt pockets with anything you will need for the day--snacks, water treatment, maps, etc. Then hike without a break until you get to camp. I've done well over 25 miles in a day without stopping for more than a minute or so at a time to dig something out of my hip belt pockets.

    4) Umbrella. It won't keep you completely dry, but it will keep you a lot less wet (and therefore warmer) than you will be otherwise.

    5) If you have a down sleeping bag, DO NOT PUT YOUR WET CLOTHES IN YOUR BAG. Your bag will soak up the water, and it will ruin the insulation for you. You don't generate enough body heat to cause all of that moisture to evaporate out of your bag, especially if it's very humid out (which it will be if it's been raining all day). The only thing that potentially works to dry wet clothes is holding them near a fire for a long time, but this is not recommended for synthetics because they burn/melt easily. Bottom line is that your clothes are going to be cold and wet when you put them on the next morning, and there's very little you can do about it.

    6) Cold hands, feet, and face are normal for walking in cold rain. But if you start to feel deeply cold inside or you're shivering uncontrollably and walking faster does not help, you're getting hypothermia. Stop as soon as you can, set up camp, get into dry clothes/bag/tent, and eat a warm meal.

  12. #12
    CDT - 2013, PCT - 2009, AT - 1300 miles done burger's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by jeffmeh View Post
    Covered very well in the responses. I find that if I keep moving and well fueled, the temperature doesn't bother me, and a decent piece of rain gear for the upper body over my hiking shirt is enough to keep me comfortable. The key is keeping sleeping bag and spare clothes dry for when you stop.

    And nothing quite like a beard full of ice.
    Telling other people who have yet to hike in all-day cold rain that they don't need extra layers is bad advice and irresponsible. Everyone is different when it comes to clothing, and the risk of not having enough clothing is serious. I'm usually okay in just hiking shirt + windshirt + rain jacket over that down to below freezing. But on the CDT my wife ended up nearly hypothermic in a cold rain despite hiking in the layers I was wearing plus her puffy jacket plus tights under her rainpants and hiking pants.

    Clothing is very individual. When you're hiking in shoulder seasons, until you know exactly what works for you, much better to bring too many layers, and then leave the extras behind on your next trip.

  13. #13
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    I call it "my race against hypothermia" -- not stopping till the day is done if possible is really good advice. The best situation is when you are lucky enough to outwalk the rain, so you can use your body heat to dry off before you make camp. So... walk till an hour or so after it has stopped raining, or walk till it is camp time.
    Lazarus

  14. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by burger View Post
    Telling other people who have yet to hike in all-day cold rain that they don't need extra layers is bad advice and irresponsible. Everyone is different when it comes to clothing, and the risk of not having enough clothing is serious. I'm usually okay in just hiking shirt + windshirt + rain jacket over that down to below freezing. But on the CDT my wife ended up nearly hypothermic in a cold rain despite hiking in the layers I was wearing plus her puffy jacket plus tights under her rainpants and hiking pants.

    Clothing is very individual. When you're hiking in shoulder seasons, until you know exactly what works for you, much better to bring too many layers, and then leave the extras behind on your next trip.
    I think you are putting words in my mouth. I made it quite clear that that is what works for me, and also that the key is having dry gear when you stop. Better to stop and have dry layers, then wet out all of those dry layers. I absolutely agree with you on the extra layers, particularly for those trying to figure it out. I routinely bring extra layers in the Whites, in fact never deployed a windshirt and an extra merino 150 long top in light rain in the southern Pres two weeks ago tomorrow.

  15. #15

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    The nice thing about cold rainy days is you make a lot of miles...if you stop to take a break you know when its time to start again...just a few minutes and you start to get chilled.

    Learn how to start a fire with wet wood. If you are soaked to the bone and don't have any dry clothes you're going to be in trouble at the end of the day.

    Some tips for starting a fire during wet weather:

    (1) Find wood that isn't laying on the ground...blowdowns and deadfall that are leaning up against another tree or rock. If its dead wood that's hanging in the air the rain will drip off of it, and its also exposed to the wind so it will dry faster.

    (2) Use your pocket knife to whittle the bark off and get to the dry wood inside. Use smaller pieces to get a fire started...once its going good the fire will dry the wood as it burns...but having some dry twigs to start with really helps it get going.

    (3) Sometimes when you break a stick it splinters at the end. When you get one of these split pieces split it the rest of the way down the length of the stick to expose the dry middle.

    (4) Sunbleached wood is some of the dryest wood you will ever find...it looks old and whitish gray in color. You will usually find this on a riverbank or sometimes in glades or on rock formations.

    (5) Start with very small pieces of wood and slowly build up to larger pieces. This may sound elementary but it becomes much more important when wood is wet.

    (6) Once your fire is going stack your wood pile close enough to the fire that it will dry out. I remember on a rainy day in the smokies two young guys lined the entire fireplace with wet wood to dry it for later use. Even though it had poured all day and continued to rain all night we had a fire warm enough to dry all of our clothes.

  16. #16
    Hiker bigcranky's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by burger View Post
    I have a few disagreements with what bigcranky wrote:
    I think you misread my post.

    1. I don't wear the extra layers when hiking, and certainly not the puffy. That was for when stopping for a break or at the end of the day.

    3. When stopping for a break, take off the wet stuff and put on dry. Then reverse when starting out hiking again.
    Ken B
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  17. #17

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    Layers work well for me. However, a big part of my strategy is a hat. I always have a acrylic or wool pull over hat to help reduce body heat loss. Such a simple bit of kit can be a huge help in those borderline conditions.

  18. #18

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    We go hiking in Iceland a lot, 3 trips so far. A big problem is storms with high 40 mph winds and heavy horizontal rain at 2 degrees C, even in August. We dress in Icebreaker merino wool from head to toe and have Marmot goretex suits and muckboots (because the ground turns into a wet sponge).

    Your problems on the AT are not so bad, generally. But you still need wool clothing, decent rain gear, and footwear that won't be worthless when wet. This is a life threatening condition. Dressing for active cold/wet is one of the biggest challenges of the outdoors IMO. Very few American hikers are good at this; the Scots are masters of it.

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    my take on it:

    this is when a shelter cannot be beat
    as opposed to what others said - do not try to push long days in these conditions - stop with plenty of energy to spare
    do not dawdle upon stopping - strip, dry off as best you can and get into the sleeping bag
    wring out the clothing - in these conditions hanging to dry does not work
    cook and eat 2-3 hot meals

  20. #20
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    35 degree rain? Avoid it, if you have any choice in the matter.

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