While you might be able to get away with those pants in a normal year, this year I would not wear a cotton mix. The trail reports reflect that you will be crossing snow fields, meaning that your pants will get snowy and ultimately, a little wet. Cotton will not dry, and so you may get cold and uncomfortable. If you are really at a loss, you are better off wearing long underwear under a light pair of poly pants with zip off legs, and then zipping off the legs if you get hot.
I am going up next week. At this time, I am thinking of using a softshell pant (REI mistral) with no long underwear. Given that the summit will be in the 40s/50s, and the exertion required to get up there, I am not too concerned about being cold (as long as I properly layer to avoid sweating). But that is me. Different people are different of course.
Myself, I eat a fair amount of protein on a hike like this, but than again, I do it as multiple night hike with lots of acclimatization. A lot of folks say you should go with easy-to-digest carbs if you are going to be fighting altitude.
Good luck, be safe, and have fun.
P.S. I am planning to wear softshell pants because (1) if the chute is still glissadeable, I might go for it, and (2) I am camping at trail camp, which gets cold at night. But if I was doing a dayhike, I'd probably just wear my regular zip-off hiking pants (lightweight poly), and carry water/windproof shell pants to put over them if needed. Again, that's me.
Last edited by Akichow; 07/17/11 06:35 PM.
