View Full Version : Yosemite in August-Which bag should I take?
I'm going to Yosemite, specifically tuolumne meadows in the beginnning of august.
Would I be fine with a 40 degree bag or should I take my 15 degree bag?
I don't want to take a 15 if it's going to be way over kill, but tuolumne meadows is around 8,500ft so i don't know?:-? I've never been out west.
modiyooch
06-21-2008, 22:52
I just spoke with my friends in Yosemite today. Currently the low is 30 degrees and there is still snow. Personally, I would take the warmer bag.
Did you get your travel planes worked out?
I just spoke with my friends in Yosemite today. Currently the low is 30 degrees and there is still snow. Personally, I would take the warmer bag.
Did you get your travel planes worked out?
We are definitly going to tuolumne meadows, but I'm still not sure what we're going to do about permits for the campground there. I guess your friends didn't have any luck getting them?
If we can't get a walk up permit then we will camp somewhere outside yosemite.
Kerosene
06-21-2008, 23:57
According to Weather.com (http://www.weather.com/weather/wxclimatology/monthly/USCA0340), the record low in August at El Portal, just west of Yosemite at about 2,000 feet, is 41F (record high of 109F!, average high of 93F, average low of 57F, and mean of 75F). Temperature drops about 3-4 degrees per thousand feet of elevation (on average but with wide variation by location and day), so the calculated temperature at 8,500 feet would be about 20 degrees lower, giving a record low of 21F and an average low of 37F.
If I were you I'd bring my 30F bag, but if you have to choose between a 15 and 40 degree bag, I'd probably check the weather forecast and lean toward the 40-degree bag supplemented with warm clothing if needed.
fiddlehead
06-22-2008, 05:25
I'd either take the bigger bag or at least a micro-fleece liner for the small one.
Of course you are only 21 years old and can probably take a few cold nights.
Learn the hot water bottle trick to keep warm at night if you opt for the 40 deg. bag.
Do you really want to gamble and perhaps suffer, over a few ounces? Take the warmer bag. I had standing water in my pot freeze overnight a few times on my JMT hike.
Cookerhiker
06-22-2008, 09:14
I would take the warmer bag. As you can see from this entry (http://www.trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?id=157094) on my JMT hike, I had August frost near Tuolumne Meadows albeit 1,000' higher. Keep in mind that even with warm days, the nights in the dry west are always noticably cooler and dryness ensures you won't sleep with a sweaty face.
Storyteller56
06-22-2008, 10:18
Having lived & worked in Yosemite for a yr & 1/2 in mid 70's I can tell you at any time you can get snow up there so take the 15. b Be prepared for the worst at all times.
The Old Fhart
06-22-2008, 12:52
I did the JMT the last week in July-first 2 weeks in August a few years ago. The lowest temp I saw was just below freezing and that was just one night. I had a 35°F down bag and my tent gave me about another 5°F plus I had extra clothing if I had needed it. I could have been comfortable down to 20°F and that is the record low that time of year.
In your case, given the choice between the 40°F bag and the 15°F bag, you could go either way depending on how much extra clothing you'll be carrying.
sounds like I'll take the 15.
thanks everybody,