[pct-l] sleeping bags & liners

[Edward Anderson]

Good morning to you Chuck,
 
You wrote:  "I don't wash a sleeping bag during a long trip - - - )  Since you have finished the PCT in Sections, exactly how many days on one trip did you actually sleep in your bag on the trail? A thru-hiker, in one year, would be sleeping in the bag many more times than you did. It took me four seasons and I can add up about six months sleeping in my bag - and I didn't go into towns, mostly lived on the trail. I considered my silk liner to be well worth bringing as it added warmth and effectively kept the inside of my bag clean. It was very easy to rinse while on the trail - also quick to dry. I never had to wash my bag during those four seasons - just sometimes turned it inside out to air.
 
You discuss staying warm by adding layers. I agree with that. But, there were also warm nights when all I needed or wanted was the liner on top of the bag - then, during the night, when it cooled off, I could easily slip into my 30 degree bag. The colder it was the more additional layers I would add, as you describe. This system enabled me to be comfortable in the wide range of night time temperatures that anyone will experience on the PCT.
 
MendoRider- Hiker 
 

________________________________
 From: CHUCK CHELIN <steeleye at wildblue.net>
To: PCT listserve <pct-l at backcountry.net> 
Sent: Tuesday, January 15, 2013 8:38 AM
Subject: Re: [pct-l] sleeping bags & liners
  
Good morning,

I don’t wash a sleeping bag during a long trip; and I don’t use a bag liner
or any sort of sleeping clothes.  I sleep in my hiking shorts and tee-shirt.
In terms of efficiency, any weight of liners or specialized clothing would
be better devoted to a few extra ounces of down in the bag.  It is true
that a “sleeping system” should include any other clothing that are
separately necessary, but, as the saying goes, “On a cold night if I don’t
sleep wearing everything I brought, then I brought too much.”

Beyond my hiking shirt I usually carry a fleece jacket and a windshirt.  I
sometimes sleep wearing them, but they are not redundant like sleeping
clothes.

One great help in keeping my sleeping bag fresh is the way I open it in the
sun almost every day.  I don’t carry the bag in a stuff-sack; I just poke
the pack as loosely as possible near the top.  Then when I take a break in
a patch of sunshine it’s easy to yank it out for a good airing.  If the bag
were in the bottom of the pack -- or very much worse, compressed in one of
those torture devices – I may not bother to take it out and subsequently go
to the trouble of repacking it.

Mid-morning, in the sun and breeze, I drape it over bushes or limbs for a
while; turn it bottom-side-up for a while; and then turn it inside-out for
more time.  Also I think it’s also important to loosely roll, then unroll,
the thing between each turning.  By doing so the presumably moist and funky
air inside with the down is forced out to be exchanged with fresh mountain
air when the bag is again fluffed and placed in the sunshine.

Steel-Eye

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

http://www.trailjournals.com/steel-eye
http://www.trailjournals.com/SteelEye09/

On Sat, Jan 12, 2013 at 4:08 PM, Bill Potter <billpotter at yahoo.com> wrote:

> Hi All,
>
> I've been lurking for a couple of weeks and wanted to thank everyone for
> the incredible amount of information shared via this list.  It's been
> invaluable for planning my thru hike.
>
> I've a question regarding sleeping bags.  I've read that most thru hikers
> use a 20 bag but I've also read that keeping them clean is a problem and if
> you don't then they lose their effectiveness.  What is the thinking on
> using a 30 bag with a liner.  That should bring the cold rating to 20-25
> AND protect the bag from body oils.
>
> What do you think?
>
> Thanks and I'm looking forward to meeting the class of 2013 on the trail,
>
> Bill Potter
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