A small bit of help - clothing

[Richard Ferguson]

A waterproof windbreaker and fleece should be OK, I rarely wear rain
pants myself.  However, if you do not have rain pants, you should be sure
that you do not have cotton pants, or any other cotton on your body.
Cotton is a disaster, downright dangerous, when it is cold and wet.
Synthetics or wool are fine, synthetics dry faster.   I only brought one article
of cotton clothing on the pilgrimage, a t-shirt for hot days, everything else
was synthetic.

Remember that temperature above freezing, with wind and rain, is actually
much colder and potentially lethal, than a temperature below freezing with
snow.  If it is warm, it is not an issue, but hypothermia can hit you when
you do not expect it.   The victims of hypothermia often do not know what is
happening to them, as their brain function goes down, and need others to
take care of them.

You can find this info in any backpacking book, but I am also speaking
from personal experience.  I remember a rainy trip in Utah in June when
hypothermia was a big issue, the whole group actually stopped, got under
an overhang and lit a fire, a wise decision by the trip leader.  I could tell
stories for pages and pages.

I hope that in May you do not have this issue, but it is something to
consider, especially at the higher elevations.

Richard