Hey Team,

I am currently sitting in a hotel room in South Lake Tahoe while thruhiking the PCT. Two brothers from Washington let me know that in their experience (which I do trust) the gear I was hoping would work for the rain of Washington might not work.
What I currently have is a Patagucci Houdini Jacket (I've loved it so far), a pair of Montbell Dynamo wins pants (these things surprise everyone they are so light and compact) and in order to help those out I have my Chrome Dome umbrella.
I've done most of my hiking in SoCal so I can't say I have much experience hiking in the rain.

What would be a good system for Oregon and Washington with an emphasis on lightness? I am a thruhiker so money is also pretty tight but I'm sure I can make most things work (Joe's wp/b cuben might be out though).

-Minor

Not so much rain the next couple months.

If you wanted something better that's cheap, Dri-Ducks are supposed to be good.

You can get Dri Ducks rain suits and ponchos at Walmart now.

Just depends on how the Jet Stream shifts, but it is entering the dry season-- "dry" being a relative term in the Cascades :D

You umbrella will work for drizzle/no wind. DriDucks sound like a decent combo with the umbrella and certainly hit the budget gong. A poncho would be light and a good combo with the windshirt, and is my recommendation. If you need to spend all day in a conventional rain shell, look for pit zips and other ventilation features.

I live in Oregon and hike those sections of the PCT especially in summer. The rainy season in OR is generally from Sept to May with off/on rain showers in the summer months. I would say you might see a 90-95% chance of good weather (SUNNY and HOT)during the summer on the PCT but it does rain about 1/10-15days.

That being said, I carry a disposable translucent plastic rain poncho. $2-5 at Walmart or BiMart. They almost never come out in the summer. It's superlight like 3oz and works great.

http://i00.i.aliimg.com/photo/v0/315297426/Disposable_Rain_Poncho.jpg

I just want to say that usually this is the dry season in Washington. However, right now its cloudy and there are thunderstorms in the mountain areas. Also, cool misty conditions can be deceptive--it feels like you are not getting wet, but if hiking hard you can still get hypothermia, even though it's not that cold.

You definitely want some sort of raingear that at least is going to last you through Washington. There are limited shopping opportunities on the trail, so if going with something relatively cheap maybe buy two and put one in a mail drop. I haven't tried the umbrella routine yet, but I'm thinking seriously about it.

Bi-Mart.

Truly sir, you are an Oregonian. I haven't been to a Bi-Mart since my days in Eugene. :)

These are both great for the lighter rains, and the poncho does double duty as ground sheet, dining/shade tarp, etc. GoLite has both of these on sale for 50%+ off right now. If it's hot and sunny, the chrome dome umbrella will provide a little shade to boot.

DriDucks makes a poncho too. I picked one up for $4 at Sports Authority, just to throw in a daypack. I haven't actually opened it yet, so I'm not sure how good the coverage is.