Thanks for the replies so far. Very helpful and informative.

BarryP: I left very early Monday morning. I failed to check the weather before I left, especially the radar. I'm no meteorologist, but I can read a weather map. Had I done so, I would have seen that rain was coming and made appropriate changes to my plan and/or gear.

I hiked about ten miles in the rain, and got soaked through. I think the wet vegetation soaked me more than the rain. I kept thinking the rain would stop before long. The sun started to come out about 3PM, so I decided to make camp and try to dry out some. However, the wind picked up and the sun went back in. I simply couldn't get warm.

As for food, I found those Knorr sides (Spanish Rice to be exact) at the grocery store and mixed one with a pouch of chicken. It helped, but not enough. I also made a cuppa tea.

As I see it, I made five poor choices. The first was my clothing selection (although I am glad I was wearing pants instead of shorts, and I am glad I chose the shoes I did). Second was not checking the weather Monday morning before I left. Third was not putting a dry set of clothes in a drysack in my pack (I only had an extra pair of socks and undies). The fourth was my quilt selection; it was perfect for most Alabama summer nights, but not for this trip. I should have taken my sleeping bag or an additional quilt. The fifth was that I didn't hole up early in the day and read and just wait out the rain.

Of those mistakes, the last four are all mental or planning issues, and I have learned from them so that I will not repeat them. The first one, clothing selection, is one I think I need the most help with, since I have limited experience in that area.

Thanks again for your help.