Hello everyone,

I'm putting together a lightweight set of gear for 3-season hiking in the Sierra Nevada mountains. I don't expect to be hiking (intentionally) in the rain, in the snow, etc., but I do want to be comfortable if it dips to about 20 at night. I'm not new to hiking, but I am new to trying to do it in a weight-conscious way, and I'm relatively new to layered clothing (I'm usually a T-shirt and big jacket guy). I'm 5'10", 220lb, and am comfortable over a fairly wide range of temperatures.

I'm not looking to jump into high-dollar clothing (Marmot, Patagonia, etc.) at this point... I'd like to try to put together a layered clothing system for under $120 or so. Based on the research I've done so far, it looks like I'd likely need the following (and I'm sure this is a dead horse that has been beaten repeatedly around here):

- Wicking base layer (short sleeve shirt and boxer briefs?)
- Synthetic, quick-drying long-sleeve shirt and lightweight pants
- Synthetic fleece jacket and longjohns (under the above pants) as an insulating layer
- Set of Frogg Toggs as a shell if wind, rain, or cold penetrate the above
- Decent fleece gloves and wool hiking socks
- I like to hike in running shoes... Does anyone have experience with some kind of shoe cover that will help thermal performance when in camp, or is that even the best option? I was even considering buying a pair of very large fleece slippers with vinyl soles and wearing them over my running shoes in camp. ;-) Maybe fleece shoe covers with a nylon outer cover would be a good MYOG project?

I plan to have my wife cruise the thrift stores for a decent fleece jacket, as she likes a good thrift store treasure hunt, but I'll buy the rest of the items new. I'm looking for products you might find at Walmart, Target, Sears, stuff like that... I don't need $50 underwear, even if I do gain a few ounces. My goal is a 22-pound, 3-day setup and I figure I can devote 5 pounds to clothing.

Thoughts?

Thanks!

-Rodney