Trail towels
There are lots of reasons to carry a trail towel. But also lots of reasons it should be small and made of microfiber.
Microfiber absorbs a lot of water, wrings out almost dry and is light. While towels made of it can cost over $40 you can also buy them at a dollar store, Walmart or Home Depot.
Smaller means cheaper and lighter.
As for reason to carry, many times on trail you will find a shower without a towel or the inside of a tent that you need to remove the condensation from.
I’ve been using microfiber washcloths as towels for 6-7 years now.
Alternative
You can use your buff. In my experience it doesn’t work as well. Same for using your shirt or a sock.
You can use a shammy or a quasi shammy (like Shamwow). They weigh more and need a little more care. I tried that but found I preferred the microfiber.
You can use a cotton washcloth. It dries much slower. Better at home but not as good on trail.
Hats
So, I ended up using my built cool hat the last trail.
And, the hat I was looking at as a possible replacement my wife just bought for me.
It is waterproof (just tested it under a faucet in the sink), has a polyester mesh liner and vents.
Very sweet of my wife to buy this for me.
It fits my head and it provides full protection and better breathable conditions and better visibility than ball cap + sun hoodie.
Sun hoodies pulled forward enough to protect my face fully have cut off some vision. They also don’t breathe as well.
Foxelli poles
My wife also bought me a new set of poles.
They are in blue to compare with hers in green.
With the price increase on Cascade Mountain Tech and the issues with the tips, I’m looking forward to them.
Saves a gram in weight per pole. As I’ve changed how I hold my poles the contoured grips have become a plus and not a minus.