View Full Version : Temperature?
J Link NJ
12-20-2006, 20:30
Does anyone know what the temperature usually is around march/april in georgia/north carolina? I know there is chance of show, but whats a good temperature sleeping bag to start off with?
All over the map. Suggest a bag rated no higher than 32. You'll get some sub-freezing nights, almost for sure.
Brushy Sage
12-20-2006, 21:05
My first night after Springer Mtn, March 4, 2002, was seventeen degrees and windy!
Kerosene
12-20-2006, 21:11
I'd seriously go with a 20- or even a 15-degree bag. Cold sleepers will even go out with a 0-degree! You can always add your fleece to increase the effective range. Make sure you have a cap for your head also.
Average high/low temperatures and records, by day, can be found at weather.com. Here is the April info for Fontana Dam (http://www.weather.com/weather/wxclimatology/daily/USNC0240?climoMonth=4). Just remember that most reporting weather stations are in towns off the ridgeline, so it could easily be 5-15+ degrees cooler up where you're camping. Weather.com also has sunrise/sunset and average precipitation, which can be useful for section hikers.
SalParadise
12-20-2006, 23:15
can get quite cold in the Smokies, especially. Half the nights for me were zero degrees and I didn't even start early.
Like Kerosene, I advise no less than a 20 degree F bag for hikers starting at Springer Mountain in April. A 0 degree F bag wouldn't be overkill for someone starting mid-March or earlier.
April temperatures fluctuate wildly. It can be over 80 degrees F before the trees have leafed out and you will be sunburned if you're not careful to cover up and apply sunscreen. When the sun goes down, the temperature may dip into the 20s F before it begins to rise again.
I remember one cold, rainy day in North Carolina that really sapped my energy. I hiked in my rainsuit to stay warm and was cold and wet by the time I arrived at my destination. I remember downing hot drinks, putting on everything I owned that was dry and shivering myself to sleep.
When passing through GSMNP in late April, I walked though 6-8 inches of fresh snow. Be prepared for snow, unless you start in May. It can and does sometimes happen.
http://www.thru-hiker.com/temporal.asp
Jack Tarlin
12-22-2006, 18:34
Good comments above.
If you start out with less than a thirty degree sleeping bag, I suggest one or both of the following:
*Consider bringing along some kind of liner; liner/upgrade; or even second bag
like the Marmot Trails which would add 10-20 degrees of warmth. You can
always dispense with the liner/second bag a few weeks down the Trail.
*Make sure you have DRY long underwear; a hat; and gloves at the end of
the day, because you will almost certainly be sleeping in them.
Every year is different, but there is an excellent chance, in fact, almost a certainly, that it will get well under thirty degrees at some point in March,
and perhaps April as well.
Fannypack
12-22-2006, 19:09
In the 1st week of march in 1996, the temps were below 10 F allot... not much snow during that week but we, my father, Tex & I, started on March 12th and i believe it was March 19 we had a pretty good snow storm (htis is the storm that Bill Bryson writes about, where him & Katz stayed with Buddy & Jesinine (sp?) at Rainbow Springs Campground, one nite, & then in Franklin the next day; we did the same. Boy, was Rainbow Springs Campground bunkhouse COLD) .... (NOTE: it has been rumored that Jesinine & Buddy were Pirate's mom & dad, at least Pirate seemed to treat them that way)
It snowed on us the day before we crossed Albert mtn and it was about 18 inches just north of Winding Stair Gap (i.e., Franklin, NC) and i understand that there was 2 ft and more in the Smokies during this same storm. The funny thing is those persons who started in late Feb or early March and had the really cold temps in GA also were in the Smokies to get hit by the 2ft of snow. NOTE: some hikers were snowed in, Rt441 closed to Newfound Gap, Gatlinburg and we heard (never talked to any these hikers) that some of them walked the 15 miles back to Newfound Gap...
Moral of the story is:
the earlier u start the more chances u have of snow, freezing rain & cold temps... and i don't just mean in GA.
Enjoy your hike but I know that I would not begin at Springer before April 15th if i ever try to do the AT again (JMO)....
On March 27, 2006, Upload and Stitches reported it was 10 degrees when they got up. They were at Clingman's Dome in the Smokies and stated it was the coldest night they'd been through yet. I don't think it ever got colder for them.
Chaco Taco
12-27-2006, 01:25
Average high temp from Fontana to Clingmans varies from 38- 60 as elevation changes. Night time lows vary between 8-33 as elevation changes as well. I am going March9- 18 07 Fontana- Davenport Gap. Sleeping bag wise, go low. I am taking a bag with a special super cold insert I am rigging up. Going to be toasty!!
Johnny Swank
12-27-2006, 10:14
I'm as much of a weight weener as the next person, but that time of year isn't when you want to skimp on your sleeping gear. I froze my butt off for the last few weeks of my SOBO due to a pancake-thin Z-rest that I should have replaced earlier.
Take 20 degree bag at a minimum, plenty of insulation underneigh, and make sure you keep one set of thermals for sleeping squirreled away. I'd even consider a light bivy if you're a shelter rat. Getting quality rest every night is essential, IMO, to completing a thru-hike.
Appalachian Tater
12-27-2006, 22:02
When I was trying to decide between a 30 degree and 15 degree bag, a friend who had done some hiking in the 1970s said, "Get the 15 degree bag. If you're cold, you can't sleep and if you can't sleep, you can't hike." Turned out to be very good advice. If you start in March, I doubt you'll find your bag is too warm until somewhere in the northern part of Virginia. Consider getting a bag with a full-length zipper so you can use it as a comforter if you do get warm.