RE: [Philmont]: Rain Gear and Stakes Question

I'll weigh in on the rain gear question , but will leave the stakes opinion
to others...

I was in 2001 crew 730-H3. Obvious from the number, we returned to base
camp in August (presumably warm days?). We were on itinerary 13, hiking
from Upper Clarks Fork to Base Camp via Tooth of Time Ridge. We left the
Tooth about 1pm, after lunch, after climbing to the top, and just as the
seemingly-daily-thunderstorm blew up. I put on my rain jacket and pants.
No one else put pants on. By the time we got to base camp (2-3 hours?) all
were very cold, except me. One of the other leaders was shivering
uncontrollably and stuttering. She had her rainjacket on, but not pants.
She was fine after a hot shower and a night in a base camp tent, but what if
we had still been on the trail? Granted, we pressed on to reach base camp,
and the ridge hike is very exposed compared to other routes, but you can get
really wet any where, any day, at Philmont. Other crews coming down that
day seemed more irritable than normal, etc.

My rain jacket and pants were breathable micro-pore, but not Gore-Tex. When
I go again in June 2005, I will be carrying a Gore-Tex jacket AND pants...
but my experience is different than others',

Y.I.S.,

M.

Mike Hirschi
Committee Chair, Troops 101 & 314
Prairie Fire District, Prairielands Council, BSA
  -----Original Message-----
  From: owner-philmont@troop47.com [mailto:owner-philmont@troop47.com]On
Behalf Of CCPineoIII@aol.com
  Sent: Monday, February 09, 2004 4:21 PM
  To: Multiple recipients of list philmont
  Subject: Re: [Philmont]: Rain Gear and Tent Stakes Question

  In a message dated 2/9/2004 5:02:46 PM Eastern Standard Time,
springmills@yahoo.com writes:
    Is it necessary to take the "pants" part of a rainsuit with you? Is this
a
    necessity, or can the hiker tolerate wet pants?
  COMMENT: Tolerating wet pants is up to the individual. I would strongly
recommend the pants ... they're good not only for protection against rain,
but also against wind and chill first thing in the morning. If you do spar
pole climbing, you'll need long pants, wet or dry. We found a wide range of
"cold" tolerance in our crew of 11. Wet pants are not fun, they're heavy,
they chafe, and they're potentially dangerous -- think, hypothermia. Try to
get material like nylon or similar that is quick drying, whatever long pants
you take along. Most of our crew had Frogg Toggs, and those pants were
suitable for rain and wind protection plus general wear around camp if it
was cool.

    Also, what are your thoughts on tent stakes? Steel?
    Aluminum? Spiraled? Straight? How long?
  COMMENT: We took aluminum roofing nails. Cheap, light weight. Should be
at least 6 inches long. Spiraled will grip a bit better, but that's a
detail.

  Charlie Pineo
  Woodstock, GA

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Received on Mon Feb 9 17:14:17 2004