Pants

Well that didn't take long...

I bought a pair of Western Mountaineering Flash down pants. I was so jealous of Brendan's last weekend. I think they will work perfectly for the trail. These will strictly be camp/sleep pants because hiking in them would be much too hot. But for 6.5oz, these pants have the highest warmth to weight ratio you can get.

While I'm hiking, I prefer to not wear pants unless I hit some extreme cold or wind. My legs simply get way too hot to wear anything. For hiking leg warmth, I bought a pair of Mont Bell Dynamo Wind Pants. These are extremely thin and light, weighing in at 2.8oz. They will protect me from the wind and add a small layer of warmth that I will need if I'm ever cold enough while hiking. They have a thin waterproof coating that will help with any short rain showers. If I'm ever in a downpour for a long time, these will get soaked. I am still deciding if I should buy a rain wrap to wear on my lower body (like this: http://zpacks.com/accessories/cloudkilt.shtml), or deal with wet legs in any rain showers while wearing my shorts.

Either way, I took a little weight off my base weight. I had planned on getting a pair of 7oz rain pants, so with the 2.8oz wind pants I lost 4.2oz off my base weight. Even if I buy a rain "skirt" to help with the waterproofing, that only adds 1.6oz.

I also figure that since rain will be less severe in California, I can do without the "skirt". Then once I reach Oregon, I purchase a good set of rain pants or even a poncho. 

It is hard to imagine what is going to work best on the trail. In the past, I've always over packed for trips into the wilderness. It comes from my Boy Scout upbringing to "Be Prepared". But since I am trying to go so light, I must determine what is "just enough" gear to survive. While I sit at home, I can guess that I'm prepared enough, but the real test will be once I hit the trail. I could find out that I don't have enough layers or that some piece of clothing is actually a waste of weight on my back. The few weekend trips that I plan on doing before I leave will help narrow down exactly what I need, but once on the trail I'll be prepared to adjust my gear list to what best works for me on a long thru-hike like the PCT.