I gather you are going into the Sierra. The temperatures can vary a lot, depending on time of year and elevation. So it is hard to say if anything would be "adequate" until you give more trip details. Your current clothing system is more like what I would wear in the Rockies, shoulder season.

In general, in mid-summer, it does not rain a lot and is pretty warm in the Sierra. Summer rains are convective storms that are short lived, although momentarliy severe. I simply set up my tent and wait out the worst. I no longer take rain pants. As long as I have something on my legs at night (lightest weight Smartwool long johns) I just dry the hiking pants when I can. The worst I have had to do is spend half a day drying things out or start out in the morning with damp pants. Surprisingly, I have been able to wash wool socks in the late afternoon, hang them on a tree branch, and they are dry by morning. Never could do this in the Rockies.

My light nylon hiking pants are roomy enough knee down, that I can simply roll them up if I feel the need for shorts. Personally I have never been a shorts-hiker. I am just to klutzy and do mostly off-trail, so just end up with scratched and bruised legs. In fact, I wear knee-high gaiters to protect my pants because of all my off-trail travel.

Yes, we all have our favorite items that we simply do not want to give up! Focus on those small items is hardly worth it unless you eliminate a lot, which then, can be almost a pound.

I use crocks for wading and they have worked for me for all my Sierra crossings, which are few in late season. Sierra streams are high at peak flow early season, but really go low late summer. Crocks are light weight, dry quickly, and have thick soles that actually are good at not slipping on wet rocks. My crocks weighg 10 oz total (my feet are small). Crocks regularly go on sale at Big 5. I got mine for $25. Crocks would be inadequate for seriously swift deep long crossings. In the Sierra there are foot bridges across most of the major streams that run high year-round.

The new chlorine tablets are quite good. There is NO aftertaste at all. The downside is that it takes 3-4 hours to fully treat and get rid of any chlorine aftertaste. Most of the nasty bugs are killed in 30 minutes, but the chlorine does not break down until hours later. It requires a bit of planning. I am not a big water drinker while on the trail, so do not mind this.


I do not get too worked up about weight savings on things I will always wear. For me, it is the weight in the pack that hurts. I have even thougt of putting my water bottle on a hip holster, to get that weight off my back.

My observation is that most people carry too much water. If you have a system of purifying water in small streams you pass while hiking, you can carry very little. The Sawyer Squeeze filters are good for that. Although I like my Sawyer Squeeze, it did not last very long. Since it broke, I am back to chlorine tablets. The only time I will carry more than 1 liter of water, is if I know that I will have no access to water for the entire day.