View Full Version : Temperatures on the GA/TN/NC sections of the AT in June
mdbeckett
02-10-2018, 22:55
For you experienced AT hikers, can anyone tell me what typical temperatures (both highs during the day and lows at night) I could expect while hiking the GA/NC/TN sections of the AT during the month of June? Trying to determine what clothes and sleeping system to bring. Thanks in advance for any helpful insight.
Can be a big difference from early June to mid and later June. Plenty of hot days in June, its just that the nights aren't typically as sweltering earlier in the month, and in fact can turn cool for a night or two. That description gets pushed up to mid and later June as you move northward through the Smokies and into the Roan highlands. Even though most lows will be 60s, your bag needs to cover into the 40s and you probably want a fleece to put on in the evening and a.m. I don't take a rain jacket as its a blessing to me to get a rain bath. You'll already be wet from the forest sauna. Speaking of that, you'll want to take a dry set of clothes to put on at night and keep them dry. I light windbreaker can be nice to have, too.
Tipi Walter
02-11-2018, 00:16
Be sure to bring your bug headnet.
I'm trying to get up to do a section in GA around that same timeframe. I asked a similar question here, and someone pointed me to a link with historical weather data at points along the trail. Sadly I didn't save a link.
Otherwise,
One thing you can do though is search for historic weather data for towns near the trail. Look for the sites that show historic temperature as a line graph covering the month or several years. From that you can get a pretty good idea of what the town weather tends to be.
Then
you have to adjust for altitude. I remember form my days as a private pilot that the standard lapse rate is about 3-1/2 degrees F per 1,000 feet......meaning that on average a point on the trail 1,000 feet higher than town will be about 3.5 degrees colder.....
I did this exercise a while back looking at peaks...places like blood mountain. I don't remember the numbers, but I remembered thinking that my BA Kings canyon quilt should do me well enough for the lows. I've found it ok when wearing a base layer down to the low 50'sF....although I am getting more sensitive to cold lately...hmmm, I'd better look at this again......
https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/cdo-web/datatools/findstation
http://trailquest.net/weather.html
https://www.wunderground.com/history/
steady123
02-11-2018, 13:01
on Android download Appalachian Trail Weather from google play. Probably an iPhone version as well on Itunes.
MuddyWaters
02-11-2018, 17:39
85-95 in day
55-70 at night
Dont expect night to get cool enough to be comfortable until after midnight. Going to sleep is sweaty, humid, and itchy. If lucky, you can use a little covers in wee hrs of morning.
We section in July, best advice I can give you is camp as high as possible to take advantage of the lower temps. When we did Georgia, I think I might have slept in my 50* bag one night, the rest of the time it was either just my feet in the bag or fully outside of it.