Sleeping warm

[squeezebox]

I have a 30* quilt and a 0* . I'l be part of the Harpers Ferry flippers. I sleep cold. It was 35* in St. Louis last night. I'm concerned if I'll be warm enough. I will have heavy fleece top & bottom for dry evening wear, that I should be able to wear to bed. I could bring my 1 lb down jacket with hood, but it feels more like packing fears than reality. Packing fears is okay the 1st week or two, but drop it ASAP.
Your opinions please.

[Patrickjd9]

Starting northbound from Harpers Ferry, you won't have much elevation before New England.

Staying warm is staying dry, especially as the weather is running wet in the mid-Atlantic right now. It was in the upper 30s in Frederick, MD (about 25 miles from Harpers Ferry) Saturday morning. Not that unusual in late April.

The down jacket would be a lot to carry, something lighter and warm when wet would make a better thermal layer for camp and wake-up. Quilt weights seem so light to me that there's not much penalty in deciding to carry the heavier one.

I'm also one for pre-trip nerves and cold sleeping, but the nerves have gotten better as I've returned to backpacking more often.

Good luck and stay healthy!

[illabelle]

I have a 15* bag, which I use year round, supplementing as necessary with fleece/down jacket/vest when I'm cold or unzipping to ventilate if too warm. To sleep warmer, think dry: make sure you're in dry clothes, and your sleeping gear is dry. Also consider doing some light exercise just before bed to generate some body heat.

Personally, I like chilly temps at night (so long as I am cozy). I sleep better with cool air to breathe, and those cool nights make for pleasant temps while climbing hills midday.

[Walkintom]

Pack yourself a couple of emergency blankets and be willing to break open that big $1.99 investment the moment you feel like you need it.

Use that as your metric for determining if you need some more permanent gear to keep you warm.

[Drybones]

Everyone has their own approach but I'd rather carry any "extra" weight in my sleeping bag or quilt than in extra cloths, I take light weight base layers and a light weight down jacket for sitting around, if I get cold and wet I want a bag I know will warm me up, the weather will dictate what you need, you can always send stuff home if you do not need it.

[Slo-go'en]

Looking at the extended weather forecasts for the area it looks like it will finally be warming up next week. It will remain on the cool side, which is good for hiking, but not real cold. The rain threat will become more thunderstorms rather then long periods of light rain. Enjoy the cool days and chilly nights while they last, it won't take too long before it get unbearably hot.

[BirdBrain]

The following key strokes make this symbol °. Hold down the Alt key while typing 0176. When you let go of the Alt key after typing 0176 the degree symbol appears. Just FYI for those with OCD like me. Then you can type 30°F and the intent is more clear. Please be gentle with me. I am not criticizing. I am only trying to help.

[illabelle]

You, BB, are a genius.
0176 = °
Now I just have to figure out how to remember it!

[peakbagger]

A fairly important tip is if you sleep cold go to bed warm. A lot of folks drop their activity level before bed and go to bed cold. The trick is to do something that warms you up before going to bed on a cold night. Even if you need to do pushups or jumping jacks warming up your body core prior to getting in the bag will make all the difference. The other trick is to warm up a water bottle. You are carrying fuel anyhow and just a bit of fuel puts out a lot of heat.

[BirdBrain]

You, BB, are a genius.
0176 = °
Now I just have to figure out how to remember it!

Think January 1976. Pretty cold in month 01. One could say the degree of patriotism was very high in 1976. I know this is alternate universe type thinking for some. However, is it that much of a stretch to say one has low to high degrees all in ALT 0176?

[SipseyFreak]

The following key strokes make this symbol °. Hold down the Alt key while typing 0176. When you let go of the Alt key after typing 0176 the degree symbol appears. Just FYI for those with OCD like me. Then you can type 30°F and the intent is more clear. Please be gentle with me. I am not criticizing. I am only trying to help.

On a Mac, the option key and the zero make the º symbol ...

[SipseyFreak]

Generally, if my feet are warm and my head is warm, I'm pretty much warm ... I usually put on a 2nd pair of socks and wear a capilene with a hoody and I'm good ... at least until I remember to put my fuel canister under my quilt with me ...

[Just Bill]

I have a 30* quilt and a 0* . I'l be part of the Harpers Ferry flippers. I sleep cold. It was 35* in St. Louis last night. I'm concerned if I'll be warm enough. I will have heavy fleece top & bottom for dry evening wear, that I should be able to wear to bed. I could bring my 1 lb down jacket with hood, but it feels more like packing fears than reality. Packing fears is okay the 1st week or two, but drop it ASAP.
Your opinions please.

If it was 35* last night, then you should have been outside checking out your 30* quilt
When you're on the line of a rating anybody will tell you you're the onlybody who can tell you about your body.

[FlyFishNut]

what 30 ≥º¡¶§ quilt do you have? I get so claustrophobic in bags...

(Part of this post is wanting to use the degree symbol :-)

[FlyFishNut]

Oh, missed the Mac directions.....º

[Bronk]

This is one of those things that you can only learn by experience. Why don't you camp out in the back yard when its getting down to 35 degrees?

[BirdBrain]

what 30 ≥º¡¶§ quilt do you have? I get so claustrophobic in bags...

(Part of this post is wanting to use the degree symbol :-)

Very good. However, your emoticon needs work.