Patagonia R1 Air Fleece

“I haven’t hiked the Catskills, but just finished the NY section of the AT a couple days ago. I’ll do my best: 1. Heat and humidity - yes, it’s hot and humid. Last several weeks have been sunny and dry, which is both a blessing and curse. On the positive side, you’ll be able to dry out gear pretty quickly in the afternoon sun. On the negative side, you’ll sweat a lot. I hike in running shorts and a light weight moisture wicking t shirt. I bring 1 spare pair of each to sleep in. I was fortunate that the heat and sun enabled my hiking gear to get completely dried out every evening. However, as temperatures decrease, it may get harder to dry out everything quickly. 2. No special clothing required. I brought along a Patagonia R1 fleece but never wore it. Bring layers as always, but it’s not likely to get that cold in the next couple weeks. I’d expect daytime highs in 80s with lows in 60s or maybe 50s - comfortable sleeping weather, unlike further south where the nighttime lows stay in mid 70s and miserably humid. - Puffy? Probably not. My R1 fleece was overkill and never used last week on the AT (elevation near sea level to up to maybe 1500 feet or so). - Hiking pants? I’m a shorts guy and hate pants unless it’s colder. But I saw plenty of people hiking in pants, so I’d say wear whatever you’re comfortable wearing. - Long underwear? Doubtful that you’ll need extra thermals in Aug or early Sep. - Extra socks? I wear 1 pair and pack 1 pair. Underwear? I hike in shorts with liners, so no underwear for me. You’ll get sweaty and the humidity means that you tend to stay sweaty. I’ve found that underwear + pants takes a whole lot longer than running shorts to dry out. So if you go the pants route, might want an extra pair of dry underwear. - Rain jacket? Yes. Rain pants? Maybe. Generally speaking, I don’t like rain pants when temps get above the mid 50s. East coast summer thunderstorms can be surprisingly hot and sweaty even after the rain ends, and rain paints just sweat out from the inside. For summers, I prefer an umbrella and possibly rain skirt if it’s a huge downpour. 3. No sleeping bag? Maybe. I had a 40 degree quilt which was a bit excessive for some nights but good enough for others. 50 degree bag or quilt seems like it would be perfect for my hike. Just check your forecasted temps for your elevation. 4. Waterproof boots? Again that’s a personal preference. NY AT is notoriously dry with limited water sources. Definitely didn’t need waterproof boots down there. Not sure how different Catskills are. I hike in trail runners and accept getting wet feet on occasion during summer rain storms. Goretex shoes are great for day hikes or even overnight hikes in lower temps (below 50 or so for me). But eventually they’ll wet out from the insides, and once they’re wet they stay wet forever. Trail runners dry out pretty quickly. Don’t forget bug spray - lots of mosquitos and ticks out here. From what I hear, the Catskills are more rugged tha”