A Few Words About Winter Clothing

The key to maintaining a proper body temperature during winter backpacking is layering. The concept is simple, wear several layers of thinner clothing rather than one giant coat. Your body will go through many transitions throughout a day on the trail. When you start out, you'll probably have everything on because you'll be freezing but as the morning wears on, you'll begin generating body heat and you'll want to shed some of your middle layers to keep from burning up and also to keep from sweating through everything. Wet bad! (You'll want your intermediate layers dry when you finally do stop to rest or eat.) By the time you stop at the end of the day, you will come full circle and have all of your stuff back on as you setup camp, prepare dinner and head to bed.

So, the question becomes, "What's good for layers?"

• Layer 1) Underwear: You'll want CoolMax, Bergelene, Nylon, Lycra, Spandex or some other type of material that is not 100% cotton. Cotton is very comfortable but as you know, when it gets wet, it stays wet. Wet bad! Especially in direct contact with your skin. I even know people that hike in swim trunks or you can get mesh underwear.
• Layer 2) Thermal Underwear: Shirt and leggings. The same rules apply to this layer as Layer 1.
• Layer 3) Intermediate: This would be your fleece or wool layer. This is also probably your primary warmth layer and depending on how you run (warm or cold natured) you may want more than one layer. I am usually a warm natured person so I usually only wear one fleece layer (but I carry an additional just in case).
• Layer 4) Element Protection: This is the outside layer. You'll want something that is AT WORST water resistant. This is the Gore-Tex or Nylon jacket and pants layer. If you get rained or snowed on, you want soemthing on that will keep you from getting wet. Wet Bad! (In the winter, wet is not just uncomfortable or inconvenient, it's dangerous or even lethal.) This layer could consist of a Gore-Tex jacket or nylon (lined or unlined) and nylon workout-type pants or micro-fleece pants or even army surplus pants (lined or unlined).

In most cases, you can get everything you need at Target, K-Mart, WalMart or the like. There's no requirement that your clothes have to cost a fortune as long as you stick to this formula. The only thing I would really splurge on is boots. Backpacking is a lot of walking and if your feet don't work or get hosed, trip over! For winter, you'll want boots that are waterproof and have good traction. This is the only item that I STRONGLY recommend you go to an outfitter for. They will have a knowledgeable staff that will help you get boots that FIT PROPERLY and will be properly designed for the purpose.

Please note that this primer does not necessarily apply for mountaineering. Those people are crazy. It's a whole different sport and though there are parallels, it's a different animal and different rules apply.