Rain drops keep falling... well... everywhere...

H:
Dave keeps saying, "It was a good idea to delay our start because I don't know how we would have gotten all these things done in time."  As we were already supposed to be hiking for at least 5 days by now, I completely agree.

Today we spent time at the fabric store looking for material for last minute items.  There seems to be so many of them that we need!

We found water resistant, coated, stretchy, polyester fabric (a lot of adjectives there), at 50% off a 50% off price!  Not bad.  Actually, all the fabric we bought today was reduced, and reduced again, thanks to a sale on the Red Tag table at JoAnn Fabrics.  It's a dinky little JoAnn's here in Newport News, but they had the goods.

What I bought today actually coordinates nicely, but it doesn't go with anything else we have!
We'll look a bit like walking rainbows when we're hiking.  

Today we talk about rain gear.  A drawback that everyone talks about with rain gear is that it works so well to keep out the water that it keeps in the sweat and you end up damp on the inside anyway.  Not a problem when you're walking, just something to be concerned about when you stop, as you can get chilled. 

Now, a poncho allows for ventilation and movement and also keeps your lower half mostly dry.  It's easy to toss over yourself and pack and cheap.  But they may not last all that long and can be problematic when walking through some overgrown areas. 

And if you're interested in reading all about it, there's a lot more pros and cons out there and strong opinions to go with them all.  In the end though, it all comes down to your preference and that is derived from your experience.

That said, we're going hybrid on rain gear.  We have our clearance rack Patagonia rain jackets for our upper halves. 

We found these on clearance at Dick's Sporting Goods.  For whatever reason they were marked down 50% off of the sale price.  Originally $129, marked down to $99.97, and we paid $49.99... times 2, one for each of us.  That's a pretty good buy for a really great jacket.  We've worn them several times now for rain and wind protection, as well as added warmth. 

For the lower limbs we're going to wear a rain skirt (or kilt) over either pants or shorts.

A rain skirt and rain kilt provide the same coverage, there is only a difference in design.  My observation is quite bland in that "skirts" are a tube with an elastic or drawstring waistband, "kilts" are flat and wrap around the body.  Of course it could also just be semantics, or even gender... women wear "skirts" and men wear "kilts".  A Google search of "rain skirt" and "rain kilt" does bring up an array of photos of all genders.

I have come across skirts/kilts commercially available, ranging in price from the ULA rain kilt at $30 to the Rainskirts.com skirt at $142.  I have seen homemade ones that are as complex as a skirt sewn from Tyvek house wrap or as simple as a trash bags cinched around the waist.

In essence, both are a poncho for your lower half, but we'll be making kilts no matter which one of us is wearing them because they will be of a wrap around design for ease of putting on while hiking.  I can just see me with my pack on my back, hopping on one foot, trying to get my skirt on.  Add in water to this scenario and it's starting to look scary.  I will be using the lightest colored waterproof fabric in the photo at the top which in real life is a light blue.

My fabric purchase for this project is 100% polyester that is waterproofed.  It's very lightweight but seems quite durable.  We considered taking a lightweight poncho apart and making the kilt out of that, which would allow for replacement along the way if it was damaged and very little money would be invested.  But the fabric that we purchased today would probably not need to be replaced for the duration of the trip and, due to the amazing sale price, our skirts will be about the same price as a few cheap-o rain ponchos. 

I just have to make them!

I will also be making gaiters to be worn around the ankle and strapped to the shoe to prevent trail grit from getting into the shoe.  I bought the fun fabric for that.  However, after getting the dark blue and green fabrics home, I realized they may work very nice as waterproof gaiters and I have a good bit there to work with.  The plan with the taffeta is to make stuff sacks for clothing, food, and little ditty bags.

Now, off to the sewing machine!