john_and_lisa

We're planning to spend seven weeks, from mid-Nov to late Dec, travelling in California, Oregon & Washington. We fly into Los Angeles, spend a few days there, drive up the coast, and cut inland from just below Santa Cruz to Yosemite. We will drive back to the bay area and fly to Seattle for Thanksgiving, hire another car, and then travel down the north coast through Oregon and the redwoods, landing in SF, where we will spend the month of December.

Sounds great, but we are puzzled about how to manage our wardrobes, as, obviously, there are a number of different sub-climates and requirements.

To make matters worse, we are from Western Australia and don't have many really warm winter clothes (parkas etc).

We know about layering, but the time in Yosemite, especially, will be spent mostly outdoors, and the north coast could be pretty rugged at that time of year too, so a fleecy, thermals, a hat and gloves, may not be enough.

Any suggestions? We are happy to hire stuff, or even buy something in LA and dispose of it in SF before we leave, if we know what to get and where to get it.

mlgb

If you dress like you are going to Tasmania in the beginning of winter, you will get the idea. Rain suits and a fleece jacket at a minimum if you are going to be hiking.

suze

For Seattle over Thanksgiving you need a coat, scarf, hat, gloves. Not necessarily a parka for in the city, but a decent wool coat at the least.

Orcas

In the Pacific northwest we have a moderate oceanic climate. It's not unlike England or Ireland in the winter. The mountains will be cold and snow covered, but the valleys and coast will be cool and wet.

Your idea of what to wear is pretty accurate - fleece, thermals, hat (or hood) and gloves. And you may want a waterproof shell for the outside. It is very wet. We don't get a lot of snow in the lower elevations. Mostly mist and sprinkles and sprinkles and mist.

enzian

If you have thermals (not cotton; get the polypropelene or polyester kind), long-sleeve tee or light sweater, fleece, and waterproof jacket, you should be warm enough even in Yosemite if you wear all of it. Layering is the key. I live near Seattle, and when I go to the mountains near here for winter hiking or snowshoeing, I usually am warm enough in a warm thermal shirt plus waterproof jacket, and hat and gloves. I carry fleece to put on when we stop.

It may not be cost-effective to pay the shipping to Australia, but a good website for outdoor clothing is
www.sierratradingpost.com

They have closouts, overstocks, etc., all heavily discounted. And there's www.reioutlet.com, the outlet store for REI. If you want to wait to purchase in Los Angeles, REI has stores in the LA area, including this one in Santa Monica:

Address:
402 Santa Monica Blvd.
Santa Monica, CA 90401
(310) 458-4370

It would also be fine to wait and buy what you need as you go. Even in Yosemite there is a store selling outdoor clothing, although they are less likely to have goods on sale.

kleroux

I think its a great idea to buy as you go... prices here are a lot cheaper than in the rest of the world. You can always give it to a homeless person as you leave.......

john_and_lisa

Great, thanks everybody. I know that at the very least we will need something for rain at that time of year, and we don't really have clothes like that. So someplace like REI sounds like the go, and we can leave whatever we buy and won't use again behind, with someone who can get good use from it.

Hopefully our layers will be enough, but it's also good to know that if we get desparate, we can pretty well buy anywhere (granted, for a price). That's not really the case when you travel around Australia, so it will be nice to have all those options!

suze

You could go to a Value Village type store (used clothes) and get what you need very cheap, then leave it behind. I have a friend who always does that for traveling.

REI is a very expensive store (imo) aimed at people who have a need for real high-quality outdoor clothing. I doubt you need a $300 jacket for a 6 week trip.