Clothes

COTTON KILLS! I cant stress that enough.

When cotton gets wet it can rob your body of heat. In most cases you don't get hypothermia in the dead of winter, but more likely in early spring or late fall. When daytime temperatures are high enough to create a sweat and night time temperatures are still hovering just above freezing. Hypothermia can make you do really stupid thing. I'm sure you have all heard about people being found dead butt naked in the middle of a freak storm. In attempt to keep your vitals working, your brain has to shut off other parts of the body. You become confused and lathargic, to say the least. The only peice of cotton I owend were my underwear, and I know quite a few people who had synthetic underwear.

Socks and underwear: I only carried two pairs of undies. I would usually switch them out about mid week. Three pairs of socks, two to alternate while hiking and one pair to sleep in. The pair that I used to sleep in were the knee high type just to give me a little extra warmth at night.

Base layer: Sythetic under armor type long sleeve top and bottom. One pair.

Mid layer: I brought with me a single pair of basketball shorts, and a synthetic shirt. I also had a fleece pull over.

Outer layer: Your outer layer is your rain gear. Your rain gear should be made out of gortex, a fabric that repels water and lets out heat from your body. It should also be able to protect you from the wind. I spent close to $300 on my rain gear. The jacket can be folded up into it's own pocket and I manage to squash the pants in there too. It weights about a pound and a half.

If your spending most of your time in the woods you don't need a hat or sunglasses. It's just more to carry and more to loose.

When I would hitch-hike into town I would hide behind a tree or something and strip down and wear my rain gear while I did my laundry so that I could get all my stuff cleaned at one time. That was what I used for winter and summer, I didnt mail my fleece home until late april. There were many days where I would simply keep hiking just to stay warm despite how sore and tired I was. There is a very fine line between staying comfortable and keeping a light pack. On one end you have to carry everything you need, but whats the point of carrying it if you dont NEED it? The second I stopped hiking I would get into my sleeping bag and do everything from inside it. There were many night where I was wearing everything I owned and I was still cold.

If you find yourself in a situation where your still too cold, boil water and pour it in your nalgene. Stick the nalgene inside one of your socks and curl up around it inside your sleeping bag. It works, trust me.