Opps I missed it, thanks Izzy

I have the poly version in tops and bottoms. I have very very very old cotton net from LLBean and some Devold wool net that is also quite old.

I much prefer the Brynje poly net (Super Thermo if I remember right) to the cotton. The cotton net is great mosquito protection but not a good in the wet or winter as the poly net. The Brynje net is also great in the summer under a tightly woven fishing shirt...the added layer keeps mosquitos from poking though and you can very easily ventilate with a couple of shirt flaps. Great under a backpack too....hunch your shoulders a couple of times and "huff" some cooling air under there.

The Devold wool net is my warmest top....very very comfortable in deep cold but way to warm out here in the Pac NW. This is the stuff I would wear if I was ice fishing or something very sedentary but cold. Impossible to find anymore too which is unfortunate.

Merino is the new high tech.....capiline and its brethern are the old tech much like Dufold cotton thermals of the 60's...except they stink to high heaven as well as freeze your ass off.

UnderArmor is a marketing sensation....pure expensive stinky junk in my view.

Last weekend my wife and I went up to Mt Rainier National Park for a 4 day get-away. I had no idea how the weather would turn out....cool and cloudy with rain or even snow, or sunny and warm.....we had sunny and warm (60's-70's). Perfect weather for hiking around the area. But Rainier like most of the larger peaks in the Pac NW can change from beautiful to blizzard in mear moments.

Having a wind/rain shell and a few other items is always prudent on this mountain. A cup of hot cocoa "spiced" up the mountain views too.



I wore my 190g/m2 Ice Breaker top under a fishing shirt and was comfortable in the cool mornings and evenings as well as during the day. I wore the same top 4 days in a row and could easily go into the dining room at Paradise without killing small children with the stench of poly.

Myrtle Falls at sunset.

Lord, Schwert - that is the prettiest picture of Myrtle Falls I've ever seen!

Thanks Lono. It was a difficult one to get as the slot canyon is so narrow it does not get much light. I had to work at this one using a split ND filter to hold back the light on the mountain and balance it with the low light in the canyon.

I was more than a little happy with the way it turned out.

Pulling this all around....

I was also happy to have a merino top on as the air was chilling down fast as I was working on that image. Mosquitos were out and trying to work me too.

If I had been wearing poly-stink-o-rene underwear I am sure the waterfall would have run up hill and I could never have gotten this image. Of course it may have killed off the mosquitos.


Rainier in the early fall is a wonderful place.

Hi Schwert,

Great photos, the night sky must have been pretty spectacular that evening, with the atmosphere being so clear.

There is an synthetic alternative to Merino called X-static which doesn't stink in the same way as other polypro or polyester wicking layers.

http://www.berghaus.com/technologies/clothing/X-static.aspx

And if you can't stand you own parfume whilst wearing synthetics, just think what others must be enduring! Might make a good bear repellent though.

Thanks for the info Schwert.

Your photography is amazing as always, that Myrtle Falls shot should be a postcard!

Mike

Thanks Mike. I lucked out on that shot.



The lower slopes of Mt Rainier are pretty wet in the dense forest cover. Loads of fungi all over the place.

Schwert,

Thank-you for posting these shots. They are truly awe inspiring. These are the best glimpses I've had of the Mt. Ranier area.

You have some great talent.

Schwert,

Is it possible to eat this kind of mushroom ?