PDA

View Full Version : Jacket for September hike in GSM?



BrianOH72
08-18-2015, 20:54
I'll be hiking thru the Great Smokey Mountains in September and was wondering if I'll need a fleece or maybe just a base layer for warmth at night? Any input would be greatly appreciated!

Emerson Bigills
08-18-2015, 21:44
Temps can be pretty variable in the Smokies. I hiked through there during the second week of Sept a couple years ago and a fleece was helpful at night. We had great temps and no rain, but it could just as easily be hot, cold or really wet. Hiked during the day in shorts and short sleeves, but it cooled off at night. Probably high to mid 40's. Lots of folks complain about the Smokies and some of the constraints, but I really enjoyed the trail and the folks we met. I would like to go back and do the northern half again.

Emerson Bigills
08-18-2015, 21:52
Here is a link to a website that gives daily conditions from Mt. Leconte in the park. Good look at the weather above 6000 ft.

http://www.highonleconte.com/daily-posts

MuddyWaters
08-18-2015, 21:54
I'll be hiking thru the Great Smokey Mountains in September and was wondering if I'll need a fleece or maybe just a base layer for warmth at night? Any input would be greatly appreciated!

You will be warm enough during day to be sweat soaked when you stop, and then it cools off when sun drops and you can get pretty chilled. Better to have too much than too little. Take the fleece for sure, and maybe a little more, although you can always wrap up in sleeping bag/quilt.Fleece is breatheable, you can dry up under it.

HooKooDooKu
08-19-2015, 01:55
We take a trip to LeConte Lodge mid-September every year.
The afternoons are usually sweaty at all elevations. But you will need at least a jacket if you ever stop for a while to eat lunch#/snack.
Nighttime lowes at the highest altitude can be anywhere between below freezing to the mid 50's. I've experienced both that time of year at LeConte.