Jeans wouldn't be my first choice, but as long as you can tuck your long pants into your socks (for the stinging nettles) you'll be okay. I wore long hiking pants and mid-calf length socks and was happy I did. And it's cold in the early morning there--layers are a good idea.

I agree, jeans wouldn't be my first choice. I didn't see anyone in either of our treks wear jeans. I wore hiking pants that were made of a thick material. Whatever you wear, be prepared to throw it away when you're done. After two treks, there was no saving my pants!

I saw everything including blue jeans and bright colors, but no shorts.

Fodor's poster Seema and husband seemed to be wearing track pants (not sure how sturdy or what if anything they layered underneath). You can find some photos of them and other trekkers on their gallery:

http://culturesconnected.smugmug.com/Travel/719190

Here's their report (brief):

http://www.fodors.com/community/africa-the-middle-east/rwanda-january-2009-trip-report-using-rn-xplorer.cfm

Glad you decided to add this back in, Elizabeth! I'll be following in your footsteps next summer and, yes, pants are a concern of mine too.

I forgot to mention, on one of our treks it poured for about two hours...I can't imagine hiking in wet jeans...

I wore light hiking pants & had some light pull on waterproof pants for when it rained! This worked well for me & one of our hikes was a 7-8 hour hiking day! Have a fantastic time.

Speaking of rain gear - are dark coloured rain pants OK - and woudl a red rain coat be OK or same colour issues as safari?

Hi Elizabeth,

Based on my gorilla and chimp treks, color didn't seem to matter to the primates -- they know you're there, you aren't trying to "blend in." I had a blue raincoat and purple rain pants (hey, I got them cheap), and just wore those rather than buying all new green/brown gear.

I wouldn't recommend jeans for the trek, just in case you encounter a lot of mud (like we did), since it could be really heavy and uncomfortable around your bottom pant legs by the end of the hike (or all over if it rains). I wore some hiking pants made of that "rip stop" fabric, with the rain pants zipped over them. It was a good combination for both comfort and mud issues. The rain pants shed most of the mud easily, so I wore them even when it wasn't raining.

Yes Liz I know my hubby had a red rain jacket & that was no problem at all. Wish we were going back. How many treks are you doing? J

Thanks - that saves money (which is pouring out of here like water right now - just picked up 80 days worth of Malarone - yikes!!!!!)

jules39 - just one trek - taking a bit of a risk I realize but hoping for the best.

Don't worry about taking a risk only doing one trek we did 2 & either of them would have been great if they were our one & only. There is always a risk of course but don't worry about it too much the odds are definately in your favor.

Don't even want to think how much 80 days of Malarone cost!!!

I agree with jules... either of our gorilla treks would have been perfectly amazing on their own, so don't worry too much about only having one.

I just want to sit here for a minute and daydream about being able to go somewhere -- ANYWHERE -- Malarone-worthy for 80 days! Lucky you. Have a wonderful trip!