[pct-l] Sleeping bag help, please

[CHUCK CHELIN]

Good morning, Kit,

Welcome to PCT-L.

Overnight temperatures along the PCT can vary greatly from place to place
and season to season.  Once, south of Mt. Jefferson in C. Oregon, I hiked
in a near-zero visibility snowstorm over deep residual snowpack -- on 31
August, 1999 -- but during other years that date would be balmy and warm.

I use a 15-deg. bag for most of the PCT.
http://www.trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?id=264203  It’s a bit too warm for
some of the late summer nights, but conversely my lighter summer bag is a
can be chilly on some occasions.  Everything is a compromise.

If it’s likely you’ll be hiking/camping over the next dozen years a quality
down bag is a good investment.  It will allow you to be comfortable on the
trail during a greater part of the year, and it will encourage you to get
out of the house when you otherwise might not.

Hint:  By the time thru-hikers reach N. Cal. they are typically lean, hard,
fast, and booking big miles.  For most people joining at that point, trying
to keep up can be damaging and discouraging.  Encourage your friend to
throttle-back a little bit until you get your legs.

Enjoy your trip,

Steel-Eye

-Hiking the Pct since before it was the PCT – 1965

http://www.trailjournals.com/steel-eye

http://www.trailjournals.com/SteelEye09/


<http://www.trailjournals.com/SteelEye09/>


On Sun, May 27, 2012 at 5:37 PM, Kit Hepburn <nottheactress at gmail.com>wrote:

> Hello,
>
> I am planning to join my thru-hiking boyfriend for a couple of weeks in
> Northern California, hopefully the section that passes through Mount Lassen
> National Park.
>
> I'm totally undecided as to what I will need for a sleeping bag.  I tend to
> sleep cold, and last weekend when camping in Keno, Yukon, I was miserable
> in my current synthetic bag that is rated to 32F.  I think the temperature
> was close to freezing that night (I was close to freezing, at any rate).  I
> am contemplating investing in a good down bag that would be more suitable
> to average Yukon conditions but also useful for my PCT section hike--maybe
> a 15 F (-10 C) bag.  Would something like this be total overkill for
> Northern California in July, or just right for a cold sleeper?
>
> Please weigh in!  I really enjoy reading all the pctl emails, and am very
> excited to get to experience a section of the trail.  Any advice will be
> greatly appreciated.
>
> Cheers,
>
> K.
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