Rain protection for a pack

[Marta]

So I'm an east coast hiker trying to figure out what I should do differently...

For a JMT hike should I go with my normal pack protection system of a trash compactor bag liner inside the pack plus a silnylon pack cover to keep the pack itself slightly drier? Or is that ridiculous overkill on the JMT?

I've leaving a week from today.

Marta/Five-Leaf

[AlohaTink]

IMO why not bring it....better than...dang I wish I had my pack cover now.

You do get Thunderstorms, so the few ounces of a pack cover or even a large black plastic bag (which I am using) is worth it to me.

[George]

Never been a fan of pack covers and always just line my pack with a large plastic garbage bag - that keeps everything dry.
My experience of pack covers was that they were not very effective in heavy rain and not effective at all if your pack gets personally involved in a bit of river crossing!
Not really worth the extra weight. A well constructed pack that is lined seems to do the trick for me. ;)
George

[locorogue]

poncho. i use a military issue one. aside from rain protection for both my pack and me, its a great rain gatherer, shelter, sleeping bag shell, footprint, etc