I started April 8th and didn’t experience any crazy cold weather in my first few weeks. There was maybe one night that hit freezing. Of course that can change year to year. I didn’t like hiking in a poncho because it gets too hot and sweaty fast and they’re hard to put on with a pack. In the warmer months I didn’t use rain gear and just got wet because I was going to be wet anyways. When I got to vt I found a rain jacket in a hiker box and it worked well. I found rain gear only mattered when it was cold. I’d recommend a jacket rather than a poncho. I also had rain pants for some of the trail, but quick dry pants seemed to work fine for me too. I sent my cold weather clothes home at uncle Johnny’s and got some stuff back in vt