Should I leave the sleeping bag behind?

[Indiana Gus]

I'm section hiking in the Southern Appalachians in a week and the weather is going to be very warm, and of course maybe some rain. I usually swelter in my 30* bag and am considering just carrying my bivy and sleeping bag liner. Any reason to not go forward? Thoughts please! I do carry a rain shell and tarp so I think I will be fine.

[leaftye]

Dude, don't be ridiculously underprepared. Guaranteed it'll be cold if you leave your bag at home.

[Tinker]

I pretty much swelter in my bivy without a sleeping bag at all when the temperatures are above 60 degrees. Just bring some fleece tops and bottoms and your bag liner. You'll probably be fine. If not, you can get up in the middle of the night and do a few laps around camp to warm up .

[Tinker]

I should add that I bet it will get down near 40, even if it's a warm week this time of year. You need to take elevation into account.

[attroll]

Moved to the General forum.

[bwburgin1015]

Just a thought...it's mid 30's in the smokies this morning and the record low for this date was in the 20s. You NEVER know. Being prepared may mean another 2 or 3 lbs...but it may also mean not dying of hypothermia.

[daddytwosticks]

It's 39 degrees down here in the valley this AM in Western NC (Murphy, NC). Check the long range forecast one more time before you leave for your hike. Personnally, I would not leave the sleeping bag home. If you start bringing base layers and extra clothing to sleep in, you might as well as bring a light summer bag/quilt and skip the extra clothing.

[bigcranky]

We had frost on our hammocks in June in Georgia. Yeah, it's a warm year, but it ain't that warm.

I'd love to have a 40 of 50F down bag or quilt, for this time of year, but for now I'll just carry my 30F bag.

[Velvet Gooch]

"...he came around a turn in the trail and found himself lying in the snow. He did not belong with himself any more, for even then he was out of himself, standing with the boys and looking at himself in the snow. It certainly was cold, was his thought."

Take your bag.

[max patch]

I did something similar on my thru. When I got to Gettysburg it was HOT. At the Dollar Store I saw bed sheets on sale so I bought one and used it instead of my bag until I reached the next town. Worked great, so when I reached town I mailed my bag ahead a week. You can probably guess what happened...during that a week an unseasonable cold spell came thru and I just about FROZE under my bed sheet. I had a couple of truly miserable nights until I caught up to my bag. Never again. Either keep your bag and use it as a blanket or purchase a lighter summer weight bag.

[Hooch]

Moved to the General forum.

Humor would be a good place for it as well.

[Cadenza]

I learned my lesson the hard way.
About 10 years ago my buddy talked me into going sans bag to save weight and pack space. "It's summertime!"
We nearly froze to death. Cold and wet!
I vowed that I would never make that mistake again. And,....I've never been cold again.

[[email protected]]

People said it got down below freezing two nights ago at the Overmountain shelter. Summer has not fully arrived in the Southern Appalachians.

[Tinker]

It's 39 degrees down here in the valley this AM in Western NC (Murphy, NC). Check the long range forecast one more time before you leave for your hike. Personnally, I would not leave the sleeping bag home. If you start bringing base layers and extra clothing to sleep in, you might as well as bring a light summer bag/quilt and skip the extra clothing.

Carrying more bag than you need and less clothing than you need ties you in to the routine of changing into dry undies immediately upon reaching camp on a cold afternoon, jumping into your sleeping bag to warm up, jumping out and running around trying to stay warm while you cook dinner or try to get a fire going, sprinting to and from the privy trying to stay warm, shivering while you filter water, etc, etc.
PLUS: Extra clothes are extra security, should you get one set wet and the weather isn't conducive to drying them out.
More bag is ok, but in my book
More clothing offers a degree of flexibility and security that can't be matched by a warmer than necessary bag which is only of use when used in/under shelter during foul weather.

[singing wind]

Safety first. As previous posters have highlighted, you just never know about the weather. A few years ago I ended up with pretty bad hypothermia in the Shenandoahs during a warm summer - rain + wind took me out. Having a sleeping bag probably saved my life. HYOH.

[Indiana Gus]

Thanks for the advice. The village has spoken and I will listen. Ill bag up on this particular section just to be safe. Thanks all.

[Sarcasm the elf]

If your bag has a full length zipper then just unzip it and use it like a blanket when it's too hot. I bring my 20* bag year round and this makes things tolerable.

Even in the middle of summer it's common to encounter weather where it's 50 degrees and wet, without a way to get warm this is enough to get you in trouble.

[coach lou]

I learned my lesson the hard way.
About 10 years ago my buddy talked me into going sans bag to save weight and pack space. "It's summertime!"
We nearly froze to death. Cold and wet!
I vowed that I would never make that mistake again. And,....I've never been cold again.

I had a similar experience on the Long Trail long ago, on July 4th week. I only brought the wool blanket, and a tarp. It rained for 3 days, I've never been so cold. We went to shelters so I could wrap myself in the blanket and tarp. I carry my bag.....all the time.

[Ender]

Should I leave the sleeping bag behind?

No.