Hi - It’s me again; The Tick Worrier (if I ever thru hike, can that be my trail name?). I’m curious if you change into your nighttime clothes before bed every single night no matter what. That is, if it’s raining and freezing and you’ve done all you can to just set up camp and eat supper in a freezing rain, do you always then get into your tent, take off ALL your day clothes, and then get into your warm night clothes? The logistics of all that undressing and re-dressing (and then doing it all again in the 20-degree rainy morning) seems like a lot. But isn’t it 100% always necessary in order to not track dirt and sticks and ticks and bugs into your sleeping bag? Maybe my trail name should just be The Worrier.
i hike in shorts & t-shirt
take off & sleep in base layers
in morning, put on hiking clothes & rain pants/coat if it’s cold then take off when i start to warm up
when it was really cold, i hiked in base layers & kept an extra pair of dry clothes but if it’s 20 degrees out, you shouldn’t have to worry about ticks. but ALWAYS keep a pair of clothes that stay dry
Thank you! This all helps a lot!
Yes, always take off your hiking clothes and put on sleep clothes. If it's not raining I change as soon as I make camp, so that both my body and my hiking clothes get to air out. If it's raining I keep my already wet hiking clothes on as long as I can stand and only put on my sleep clothes when all my camp chores are done and I'm heading to bed. Exactly like you said, keeping your sleep system as clean and dry as possible is important. I know no everyone takes that approach, but I did for the entire 5 months, and lots of shorter trips since.
Generally yes that’s the way it works, but it can also depend on when you’re on trail. I started late April and had very few cold nights. Peak summertime on the at is typically quite warm. But also it’s not changing clothes to avoid tracking dirt in, that doesn’t really make any sense. It’s just being warm for the night. Also, changing clothes isn’t really that much of a chore I don’t think. Don’t you already change your clothes, at least most days?
I change into pajamas every night after a hot shower. I have never changed into pajamas outside in 20-degree weather while it’s raining and I’d just gotten rained on for 30 minutes setting up camp. Hence, my questions.
TL;DR - I’ve never gotten nekid outdoors while wet and in freezing rain hunched over in a tent and repeated that 30+ days in a row.
Fair enough but imo you’re overthinking it. You’re not gonna be in freezing rain for 30+ days in a row. At most maybe a few, and mostly only if you start pretty early, or are up north late in the season. It’s all good tho, you’ll get out there and see that stuff like this is really pretty trivial.
Maybe this is different for people who can barely fit in their tents, but no one changes clothes while hunched over their tent. They do it in the tent, cause you know, privacy; and if it's raining, to keep their sleep clothes that they're putting on dry. Your tent will get a little dirty; but neither are your clothes nor you are really that clean.
Hi -- it seeks like you might be an anxious person, an over-planner. Worrying that if you don't consider every little detail you might miss something and end up not enjoying your experience.
You're definitely overthinking this situation.
Some things are learned by doing. Have you been on shorter trips yet? Spend a week backpacking before you try to do 30 days. Mistakes will be made, lessons will be learned the hard way, and that's okay.
AT aspirer here, but avid camper. I am a clean freak at home and on the trail as much as can be. Even if it's cold I like to freshen up best I can and get into clean and dry clothes on the trail.
At home I always shower and wear clean pj's to bed.
It does suck for a bit and it might even suck for a few minutes until you warm up your bag.
But I mean people do polar plunges and stuff. You're probably not going to die of hypothermia or anything, just be a little uncomfortable.
Also you're right to be worried about ticks. So many people I know from the east coast have lymes disease and it can cause problems for life. And they haven't done anything as intense as hike the AT.
Ticks are no joke.
I’ve not hiked yet, but I know that for my boyfriend, he has a set of clothes to hike in and a set of clothes to sleep in now if it’s pouring down rain, he tends to keep his hiking clothes on until he’s ready to settle down in his hammock and under his rain fly then he’ll go ahead and take off the wet clothes and put on his camp clothes. He always makes sure to keep his camp clothes, dry and clean best he can. you do not want to sleep in wet clothes and get your gear wet!!
You are way overthinking this. Change into your sleep clothes, or don’t, it doesn’t really matter. If it’s cold, and your clothes are wet, you’ll be much warmer without them on.
You can be the Fretful Dodger.
I sleep in loose fitting base layer bottoms, my fleece (mountain hardware air mesh), and sleep socks. On extra cold nights I’ll put my sun hoody on over my fleece and use both hoods.
I pretty much change into jammies the second I get to camp
I can't stand being in my hiking clothes once I get to camp. I change as quickly as possible and it brings me so much joy! 😄
Yeah I’d change at night, but you’ll want to do so bc you’ll be wet and cold…it’ll feel totally natural and you’ll be happy to change. The part you won’t want to do is put them on in the morning when they’re cold. And tbh if it’s actually a 20 degree morning I wouldn’t, I’d prob get hypothermia if I put wet clothes on in 20 degree weather. If it’s too cold in the morning to wear wet clothes you can 1) hike a bit in your sleep clothes until it warms up, 2) sleep in until it warms up, or 3) put your wet clothes in the bottom of your sleeping bag the night before so you’re drying them out with your body heat overnight. Method 3 doesn’t get your clothes completely dry unless they weren’t that wet to begin with, but at least they’re not freezing cold.
Luckily, it probably won’t be a 20 degree morning, which will make it easier to put on wet clothes in the morning if you need to do so. If it’s warm enough just put your clothes on and warm up while you hike.
The prospect of changing into my dry payamas and wrapping myself into my dry quilt kept me going on many a rainy day. It's bliss.
If it was warm and dry I slept in my hiking shorts but usually changed my shirt.
Putting on damp or downright wet clothes on in the morning was a routine I didn't like, but just had to suck it up and do it anyway. They warm up pretty quick when hiking.
You'll figure out what works for you.
Having dry and warm nighttime clothes is so important for morale. I used my wool base layers because they are sufficiently warm and don't make me sweat.
Yes. And I always bathe with some wilderness wipes. Never sleep in your hiking gear. If you don't do these things you will experience chaffing and other unpleasantries.
Yes! Not even thinking about ticks for a second, do you want to go to bed in clothes that are sopping wet?
If it's cold and raining, you'll be miserable going to bed in wet clothes. It'll be uncomfortable and you'll hate it. The time it would take in getting your clothes changes is well worth the feeling of having clean, dry clothes on.
Also, changing your clothes is the best time to check for ticks!
Yes I 100% slept in clothes that weren't my hiking clothes. If it's raining, the warm dry clothes were a huge mood boost. I preferred getting camp set up and cooking right away while I was damp but before I got cold from sitting around. Then dry clothes on and don't emerge until morning.
On occasion, when arriving cold and wet in the evening, I had to put the dry clothes on, shiver in my sleeping bag for a bit, then work up the mental energy to put my wet clothes back on (or, in reality, rain gear with minimal underneath) to go get water or do whatever chores. Dry sleep clothes like puffy coat and sleeping quilt are protected as a safety measure.
Bugs and dirt inside the tent and sleeping bag is a separate issue from cold and wet. Baby wipes, or a pack towel and water, to wipe down each night. Did I skip sometimes, sure, but generally worth the few minutes.
If you are a tick worrier you may want to do what I have done with sleep clothes. I have a lightweight long top and bottom that I sent off to Insect Shield and had them permethrin treated. The idea being any of those little bastards I miss during a tick check will be killed while I sleep worry free.
I change socks each night before I get into my tent for the “final” time. I have two pair of hiking socks and one just for sleeping. I swap into camp shoes and my other hiking socks to set up shelter, make food, ect. Depending on how wet my hiking shirt is, I also put on my sleep shirt. I either hike in underwear or leggings, so I change into the dry one if temperature isn’t relevant. The big reason I change clothes is to keep my quilt as clean as possible. Obviously if it’s cold, I always wear my warm sleep outfit.
Honestly, this is only a problem you will have once. After shivering through a night in wet and damp clothes, you will never do it again.
Shirt goes on, shirt stays on until the end of my hike other than to check for ticks, to swim, or to do laundry. Everything else goes on over for warmth if needed. Sleeping clothing is extra weight better spent on snickers bars or water.
If I were ever to get hypothermic I might get in tent and take off the warm layer but normally I'd anticipate that happening (hasn't happened yet in ~250 days in a sleeping bag) sooner and get in my tent sooner and just use my body heat to dry my shirt.
When I hiked the AT in 2022, I kept my one set of hiking clothes and one set of nighttime sleeping clothes. It was absolutely necessary to get out of your wet clothes at night in both summer and winter.
Not a thru hiker, but have done plenty of trips. Change into warmer/comfier clothes, you won't regret it. I usually keep my sleeping clothes in a dry bag, just to BE SURE I have nice dry stuff to sleep in.
As far as ticks are concerned, permethrin is beautiful.
The logistics of changing into warm dry clothes don't seem so intimidating when you're cold and wet.
Toward the end of my hike, I became a savage that would sleep in my hiking clothes if they were dry.
I hiked last year from May-October.
With 180 nights out there these were my takeaways regarding your question:
If <60 degrees and wet you are almost instantaneously cold as soon as you stop hiking. Evaporative cooling is a B. This means first order of business once shelter is found (place in a shelter or my tent is up) I Changed into my [keep dry at all costs] base layers.
Is it AWFUL the next morning to put soaking wet clothes on in 40° weather when it’s just going to keep raining on you all day (or all week….)? Yep. But it’d be worse if I didn’t have those 10-12 hours of dry warm clothes to sleep in.
If >70 and I was still warm hanging around camp I was less quick about it but 98% of the time I still changed out of my hiking clothes because we all stink. And getting whiffs of your own hiker smell when you roll over in the middle of the night? Unpleasant. The sleep clothes are overall cleaner and give you a way to use a wet wipe for some hygiene.
Dirt, bugs, and sticks are going to find their way into your tent whether you’re in your hiking clothes or your sleep clothes. Diligent careful checking and doing your best is all you can do when out in the woods without running water. I sleep in a silk liner regardless of temp to keep most of that off my much less washable quilt, but even so my tent smells and looks like a thru-hiker died in it!
Yes. Your trail name can be "the Tick worrier" no one has to have a trail name and you don't have to except one, the flip side of that is you can choose yours or someone can give you one and they don't have to stay the same. Just introduce yourself by your name.
Don’t worry about ticks (or rain) if it’s 20F. lol.
In all seriousness, ticks aren’t active if the temps are under 40 degrees, so no worries if it’s cold. There are other reasons you’ll want to change into sleeping clothes too, like you’ll be more comfortable, warmth, cleanliness, drying out hiking clothes, gear checks, and etc. There really isn’t a hassle to it and it’s part of the everyday routine.
I had to get off trail a couple weeks ago at @ 700 miles (Springer to McAfee Knob). It actually only rained 30% of the days I was on trail (I started end of Feb); however, half of those days, it did rain most of the day. Our only snow days were in April and it wasn't too bad as far as clothes getting wet.
I only changed clothes for bed when my clothes were really wet; otherwise, I just slept in my hiking clothes. If your clothes are just damp, they'll dry fairly quickly in your sleeping bag. I never had any issues, BUT my sleeping bag does have a slight odor of a locker room filled with road kill.
Yes because I’m certainly not sleeping in my wet clothes…. Either sleeping naked or in my dry clothes.
Dry sleep clothes were such a blessing after a day in the pouring rain. I was purely miserable and while it wasn’t a complete 180 in mood, it sure helped. Also, you’ll sleep much warmer that way.
At first I usually slept in my leggings and a warmer top (wear your clothes at night and carry less sleeping bag). As it warmed up I slept naked but then ditched my sleeping bag entirely for just a bag liner and went back to sleeping in my warm clothes. Eventually swapped back out for the sleeping bag and bought merino underwear to sleep in once I had gotten rid of some of the warmer clothing.
Sleeping bag got pretty stanky but came clean when I got home. It ain't new but it's tolerable to have it sitting out now lol
Yes. Keep a pair of warm and dry socks at the bottom of your sleeping bag. These are the "sacred socks" and they stay there except when air drying and for laundry. This is one of the easiest ways to stay warm.
Yep, 100%. You just sweat in that shit all day, I would never sleep in my hiking clothes.
I don’t change unless I must (if I’m wet or very cold). I’m just lazy. I don’t feel like it and I don’t care enough to do it.
Yes. Always change into warm clothes. It’s a short chore that’s always part of your camp routine. I also recommend a baby wipes bath as part of this