I was fortunate enough to spend this past weekend at a cabin in the Alleghenies. I got in a decent amount of hiking without turning the vacation into a cardiovascular ordeal, and the weather gods were definitely smiling. Temps ranged from about 30F to 50F, with just a touch of snow flurries, and winds ranged from nearly still to pretty gusty.

I have a decent amount of outdoor togs, with modern fabrics and whatnot. Since I've been living along the eastern seaboard, sorta by default my layers tend to be thin base layer, medium middle layer, medium outer layer (or just a goretex shell). But this weekend that never seemed to work out right. I never got hot enough to strip down to my undershirt, but there were times when having my fleece jacket on but unzipped was too warm.

So it occurs to me that it could work better to flip things around; heavy base layer, medium middle layer and light outer layer. Do any of you hikers and/or still hunters do something like this?

Also, what did work for me pretty well was the bottom half of things. I wore medium weight power stretch tights and Marmot goretex rain pants, and my legs never got too sweaty nor too cold, and that combo worked regardless of the wind level. The only real downside was the noisiness of the rain pants. Since goretex type fabrics seem to do better if they are closer to the skin and have warmer air driving the sweat thru, I am thinking it might make sense for a middle layer to have the breathable membrane and use a coated or PVC outer shell to handle rain storms. Anyone doing this?

Sounds like you have the bottom figured out. Up top I usually wear a light wicking baselayer(t-shirt or long sleeve) and a Patagonia Nano Puff if I am active. It is reasonably wind-proof and plenty warm while being light and not the least bit bulky. If I need more I throw on a MountainHardware windproof fleece and open up the pit zips. The only time I put on my hardshell is if it gets nasty. My hardshell is a light Cloudveil Zorro, which is a little noisy but if it is nasty I don't worry about it to much. I find this combo to have minimal bulk and max ventilation for adequate warmth and weather proofing until it gets stupid cold out.