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because I have this crazy idea of doing a "retro hike" down the JMT one day sporting cotton clothing, film camera and all the old gear I can come up with, and it probably won't be in summer.
"Retro" is wool not cotton. For the "ultimate retro" version, leave the wool unwoven on the original hide. Unfortunately, modern hunting laws may be at odds with the acquisition of "ultimate retro" versions of backpacking foods.
Dale B. Dalrymple
I define my "retro" as what I used to do when I first went out into the mountains, and in my case, wool actually happens to be in my modern gear closet (merino, that is), while back in the 80s I wore cotton T-shirts, jeans, running shorts, and cotton socks as liners inside of wool socks. Why? guess that's what I had and the budget allowed no fancy clothing, but it worked. Perhaps not as good as the gear I have today, but that's the point - it doesn't really matter as the endless online gear discussions tend to make it appear. Yes, cotton doesn't dry fast, is heavy, but that's what we had.
