Ellis
re smelly socks
Socks are a very personal thing along with boot selection. If your socks smell, regardless of what type they are, then maybe something about your foot gear is just wrong for you. I wear the same polyester socks from Costco everyday whether I'm hiking skiing or hanging out t home. Works for me with my boots.

I second the balaclava recommendation. I carry a polyester balaclava all year round. They keep bugs off your head in the summer.

I remember going up into Hoover wilderness on the north east corner of Yosemite in HIGH country at the end of June. I had long underwear, 300 wt fleece pants, 300 weight jacket, down jacket and goretex bibs and coat. I stopped in Markleville and bought a pair of cotton sweats to wear over the 300 fleece. Then it snowed for 5 days, and without those cotton sweat pants, I would not have been warm the whole time. We were around 9 to 10 thousand feet. It gets much worse at 11,000.

I nearly froze to death at minus 40 in the Alps. I swore I would never be cold again while camping. One winter in the Sierras the temps dropped to minus 5, snowed and blew at 50 mph gusts. Minus 60 with wind chill. I pulled on my gear which included goretex shelled down bibs and winter coat, balaclava, and big mitts and I sat out in the blow and cooked breakfast and melted snow and I was toasty warm in my everyday clothes that I carry for temps in the teens.
Jim