I'd like to say a word here about pants. Having just spent far too much time worrying about a particular pair of pants, I feel uniquely qualified to comment on the subject.

The particular garment in question is a pair of nylon convertible pants. These are the contraptions where the legs zip completely off just above the knee and look like perfectly proper shorts. Or at least that's the idea. Should be a great space saver for the trip. Carry a pair of pants, get a pair of shorts for no extra weight or space.

"Especially when your legs are as long as mine."
It would seem most manufacturers of said pants have yet to grasp the course men's shorts fashion took about halfway through the previous decade. As you may have noticed, it's preferable for men's shorts to fall just barely above the knee. Especially when your legs are as long as mine.

Most of the convertible pants I found online had like six inch inseams. Some of them less! I made the mistake of thinking six would be enough. When I tried them on I looked unmistakably like a member of the British foreign legion. You know... the all-khaki getup, the safari hat. You've seen the movies. I could just see myself doing duty in one of the colonies. And it was an internet order, so I had to ship the thing back.

"A middle aged westerner overdressed for a safari"
Today I finally got my replacement pair and they fit reasonably well. They're Ex-Officio. A brand I really don't care for because it also evokes a middle-age-westerner-overdressed-for-a-safari kind of feeling. But hey they fit and they were cheaper than the ones I returned.

By the way, this may be folly, but I'm returning to my Appalachian Trail wardrobe strategy: no cotton. Nylon and other synthetics are so light, wrinkle-proof, and quick-drying that it seems like a no-brainer. We'll see if I end up trashing all the synthetics and buying cotton at my first stop.|