In this post I want to take a slightly different approach on hiking gear, by looking at another example where it can be utilized to meet other day-to-day needs. By design, many hiking jackets are waterproof and lightweight jackets so if you’re looking for a waterproof lightweight jacket and haven’t considered looking at hiking jackets, read on.

Setting The Scene

I was chatting with a friend last week about the very wet weather we are currently having. He lives only a couple of miles from his work, so as a New Year’s resolution he decided that he would stop driving and start cycling to work every day.

Photo Credit: Ed Dunens

It makes sense for him to do this on many levels. Financially he will save, his health will only gain and even time wise, it works out faster for him to cycle to work as he doesn’t have to sit in traffic on his bike.

On top of that he is quite environmentally aware, so on a personal level he would get some satisfaction of knowing he was cutting down on his contribution to pollution by not taking his car to work every day. A win-win all round it seemed.

However, when he started cycling to work, something he hasn’t done in years I might add, there were some inevitable teething problems. One of these, which we got to chatting about, is that when the weather is bad, he of course has no choice but to wear rain gear to prevent him from getting drenched.

Makes sense. This rain gear entails a rain jacket and pants. When the weather isn’t so wet though, he of course still has to carry his wet gear with him in his pack.

Not a big deal on the face of it. However, from chatting with him I found that he was actually using a set of waterproofs he uses when he plays golf! He said he found them quite bulky and heavy to carry in his pack to work every day and that he also got very sweaty in them.

I asked if I could see them. From what he told me they were what I expected, made from not ideal material, thick and heavy polyester. They are of course very waterproof but not breathable, which would explain the sweating.

They are also not really made to maximize stowing away, which would explain why they are so bulky and heavy to carry. Finally, as an aside, I was also very surprised at the price he paid for them, they were a top brand name but they seemed basic enough to me.

Anyway, I told him that if he was looking for lightweight waterproof multipurpose gear, he could do no worse than looking at utilizing hiking gear. With a waterproof hiking jacket and a pair of hiking rain pants, he couldn’t go far wrong.

Sweating

A seemingly secondary thing for him was that he sweated so much in his golfing waterproofs. I would have thought this would have been top of the list but there’s a shower at work so, as he has his office gear with him in his pack, after a quick shower on arrival, he’s all good.

However, if he was using a good hiking rain jacket and rain pants, they will more than likely be breathable. They also usually have specific quick ventilation features like pit zips. This will help cut down on any sweating for a relatively short cycle so a daily shower on arrival at work may no longer be required.

As mentioned above, he is quite environmentally conscious so using less hot water, and therefore electricity, can only help the environment.

Lightweight

For my friend, his main issue was the weight and bulkiness of his waterproof jacket and pants which he had to squeeze into his pack every day. It left little room for him to bring other stuff in his pack like his clothes for the day after showering when he got to work. He really wanted something that weighs much less and would give a snugger and smaller fit in his pack.

A hiking rain jacket, will normally by default be lightweight. It is purpose built this way as it will spend much of its life on someone’s back stored away in their pack until it’s needed. It will also be ‘stowable’ by design so squeezing it into a tight space is no big deal and will not damage the jacket in any way.

Convenience

It’s worth putting here as a final note that hiking gear is also designed for convenience. That is, it is made to be easy to put on and remove while on the move. To help illustrate this, rain pants will normally have zips or buttons down the side to be easily slipped over hiking gear.

Rain jackets for the trail are also normally quite spacious as a matter of course as they need to accommodate layering. Layering can of course be utilized for many outdoor activities, not just hiking.

Conclusion

To conclude, I thought this was another good example that illustrates how useful and versatile hiking gear really can be in day-to-day life. Just because a lot of it is built for the trail doesn’t mean it can’t be utilized in any number of other activities, whether it’s cycling to work or wrestling through the rush hour crowds across town on a busy and wet day.

I’ve digressed somewhat today but hey, day-to-day life needs some good gear too 🙂

I am not long back from a hike in probably the worst weather I have ever hiked in! Having been hiking for years, that’s really saying something. Today we were battered with high winds, hail, rain and snow.

With temperatures around zero degrees (Celsius) it was a very tough hike. In fact, it got that tough that the hike had to be cut short after only doing two of the planned four peaks. We got about half way round. This was a group of hardened hikers but everyone was grateful when it was decided to cut it short and hit the nearest road back to the cars.

Hiking in High Winds

So what was the toughest thing about the hike today from all the elements listed above? On reflection, I have to say that the wind was the toughest thing to deal with and I found it particularly challenging.

For much of the hike we actually had a boardwalk trail to follow along to the peaks. This is really handy to keep your boots out of really bad marshy and boggy terrain. However, today it was practically impossible to stay on the boardwalk as the winds were just too strong!

I am six feet tall and of a large enough build but even with that, the wind was practically lifting me up off my feet at times in places. It really was incredibly tough going. The other hard thing to contend with was that the direction we were walking was across the wind, not into the wind.

When I’m hiking into a strong headwind I find I can at least put my head down and lean into it. Going sideways though, you don’t have this option so you can easily get blown off your feet to the side.

An interesting thing I noticed today was that while it was practically impossible to walk in a straight line, it was actually possible to run in a straight line! Yes, I said run.

Bizarrely, I found that if I got into a bit of a light run, the wind was easier to handle and it was much easier to not only go in a straight line but also maintain balance. My assumption here is that as I increased my velocity it countered the oncoming speed of the wind and made it a little more balanced and so a bit easier to handle.

The Importance of an Escape Route

Another thing I was reminded of today was the importance to planning out your route in advance. Before you set out on your hike you take your map and compass, in the comfort of your living room, and chart out your planned hike. You should take measure and take note of things like distance, ascent and of course bearings to point you in the right direction on the way in case visibility gets bad. It’s useful to put all of this information into a thing called a route card in advance.

The standard route card I use can be downloaded from the downloads page here on the site. It’s a standard card used by hikers and mountaineers. I’ve included both an Excel and a .Pdf version.

Note, the Excel one has some calculations in it to help you with the totting up of time, distance, etc. Now, I don’t always use these but it is a good idea to get into the habit of creating them, they’re very useful, especially in tough conditions.

As well as the information listed above, a route card also has room for a thing called an ‘Escape Route’. When I started filling route cards in for hikes I often largely ignored the escape route element for the most part. Today I was reminded why it’s a really important thing to think about and define before you head out on the trail. You need multiple pre-planned escape routes on your hikes. Why?

Well, if you’re in really tough conditions and you just want to get off the mountain as fast as possible, it is much easier to refer to your route card and choose one of your pre-planned escape routes. You don’d have to spend time struggling to figure out a plan of action, you just know where to go and what to do.

At one point today, the winds turned to gale force and after some review, we decided, as mentioned above, to get off the mountain as quickly and safely as possible. We knew the mountains we were hiking in today pretty well so we had no trouble executing a quick escape route plan from memory alone.

However, I really see now that when planning your hikes and mapping them out, you should always plan several escape routes off the hills in case the weather turns on you or some other unexpected problem presents itself. This is even more important when you’re going hiking in areas that are new to you.

Mountain Weather can be so Unpredictable!

I did a post recently on how mountain weather can turn quickly and easily, and this was never so apparent as it was today. When weather is predicted to be bad, generally speaking I advise, especially if you’re new to hiking, to leave it to another day. The forecast today wasn’t great, rain and high winds were expected but not at the gale force level we actually ended up hiking in!

Mother nature in the mountains, as with anywhere else, is truly her own master and can turn things on their head in an instant!

You Must Wear the Right Hiking Gear!

Finally, another thing that I regularly see out on the mountains, and it never ceases to amaze me, is that I see people out hiking in mountains wearing totally inappropriate gear.
In our group today, one person, pretty new to the hiking group, didn’t have suitable rain pants with them. The hike leader for the day had to tell them not to come with us. They weren’t happy and argued their case but he’s experienced enough to know what could happen.

Sure enough, if they had been with us when the weather got really bad and nasty they would have been in very bad shape. Drenched to the bone and being eaten alive by the razor sharp wind and hail. It wouldn’t have been pretty.

As if the point needed to be illustrated to me again today, as we made our way down the escape route we passed a group of young kids, probably early teenage I’d say. It must have been a youth group of some sort out for the day.

As I walked past them, some of them were crying and they looked absolutely miserable as they fought with the wind and hail. They seemed to have two men who were their group leaders with them and they were both walking with their arms around a kid each, practically holding them up!

As I passed I asked a few of the kids if they were OK and the group leaders if they needed any help. I got reluctant nods but man they looked so miserable! Unsurprisingly, as I scanned the group all I could see was the wrong gear sticking out a mile.

Some of them were in trainers, jeans and cotton clothes, that type of thing. Absolutely crazy to be out hiking in mountains in that type of weather in winter in standard clothes made from that kind of material.

As already mentioned, I see people doing the wrong things again and again. You need to have the right hiking gear on and with you for all your hikes. Proper hiking boots for the climate you’re hiking in is an absolute must. A waterproof rain jacket is also a must if you’re hiking in wet weather. Good Hiking pants and rain pants are also an absolute necessity for hiking in rain, snow, etc.

While you need to have all the other parts of your gear right too, like base layers, gaiters, fleeces, etc., at the very minimum, for hiking in wet weather, you must have the proper waterproof hiking gear on and / or with you! It will be the difference between a miserable hike and an enjoyable but tough hike and in some cases, could even be the difference between life and death!

Sounds extreme but if you get into trouble and you can’t get yourself off the hills, you’re reliant on your gear to protect you until help get’s to you. The speed with which you get very cold in bad conditions when you’re not moving still surprises me and I am a very experienced hiker. It doesn’t take long for hypothermia to set in.

Speaking of help getting to you, when we finally got down off the mountain and got back to the little village at the base of the mountain for a hot cup of coffee, two emergency rescue vans came shooting by us with their sirens blasting out. I can’t help but wonder if it was that group of kids we passed who they were on their way to, I would not have been surprised if they had gotten into difficulty. Whoever it was, I hope they’re OK!

Hiking is a fantastic activity and part of the fun, for me and for many, is to challenge yourself in different environments and conditions with all the varying elements coming at you. To ensure you have as enjoyable a time as possible, you need to prepare appropriately. Always ensure you:

• Plan your hiking route (including an escape route)
• Check the weather in advance
• Wear the right hiking gear (this is so crucial)
• Bring adequate supplies of water, food, etc.

Conclusion

Today was quite an experience for me. It really was the toughest weather I have ever hiked in, and I think I had a lot of things I haven’t thought about in a long while, not that I doubted them, reconfirmed for me.

I hope you found this post useful I hope you can take something from it to help you stay safe on the trail. It’s a real life example of an experience of hiking in tough conditions, that goes some way to illustrate how easily and quickly things can change.

It can happen to anyone, anywhere and even with the best laid plans, weather forecasts, etc. you can still get caught in a sticky situation you need to get yourself out of as fast as possible..

What are the worst conditions you’ve ever hiked in? I’d love to hear your story in the comments below 🙂

I was thinking today about a hike I was on recently in the context of a recent post in relation to carrying an extra layer of gear when you’re out hiking, especially in the colder months.

In that post I mentioned that sometimes even hiking in winter given the right conditions, like hiking up a steep mountain side out of the wind, you can actually be too warm and you may take a clothing layer off. 

This is of course only temporary but it really got me to thinking about how changeable the weather can be out on mountain trails. I have often been hiking on a morning in low winds with a clear sky and the sun shining only to be caught in the direct opposite only a short time later.

Where you hike, the climate and so on, of course will have a major impact on this but as a general rule mountain weather can sometimes change very quickly.

As a given, when you hike in mountains, you are exposing yourself to the elements more and more as you go upwards. It is not always apparent but at lower altitudes, even distant land masses, mountains and so on often act as wind breaks and provide shelter and protection from the worst of the weather. This is of course diminished as you go upwards.

I’m no expert on meteorology but it certainly does seem that the conditions higher up are prone to change much faster and to much wider extremes in a relatively short period of time.

Again, I assume this is, among other meteorological factors, due to the air patterns and so on having much more room to move about and mix it up with less obstacles in the way. I am thinking in particular of valleys here which can often act as a shield from the wind while providing optimal conditions for rain.

On a Different but Related Note

Actually, and this has just popped into my head, last weekend I was flying back from the Alps in Austria. The weather was fine for flying, a bit windy and some rain. There had been some very bad storms in the previous days, but nothing to be concerned about on the day.

All was on track but just as we were making our approach to land at our destination, the wind picked up and the landing wasn’t possible so we got diverted to another airport. A right pain in the a** as we had to then get coaches, provided by the airline, back to our original destination. It added at least 4 hours to the journey 🙁

The main point of that observation was that when we set out, there was no indication of there being any weather problems. However, even with the powerful weather forecasting technologies we have today, in no time at all, the weather turned, albeit only for a short time, and our plans were scuppered.

This helps to illustrate what you need to prepare for when hiking in the mountains. Even with good forecasts for the day ahead, well documented weather patterns and all the best laid plans, the weather in the mountains is notorious for turning, and turning fast.

Conclusion

I hope you found this short post / reflection useful. The weather is of course something you always need to keep front and center in your mind for all your hiking adventures, especially if you’re setting out to hike in areas prone to extreme and dangerous weather conditions. However, even with the best information available to you before you set out, things can change unexpectedly.

Always Do your utmost to plan ahead for your hikes and of course check the weather in advance, and always keep in mind that things can change very quickly.

Having the right hiking gear with you, good rain gear and an awareness of escape routes off your hike are musts. Plan as much as you can in advance for the unexpected and always do as much as you can to stay safe!

Have you ever had the weather go against forecasts and turn on you while out on a hike? Please leave a comment to let me know, I’d love to hear your story.