Sleeping Bag?

[moparinoia]

Hi, im new here and Im planning my first AT hike this year in Sept/Oct from MD to MA. My experience is limited to one night stays in the park no more than a mile from my house. And my question is:

Is a sleeping bag necessary?

I was reading Basic Advice For Newbies Published by The Solemates (http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/member.php?u=1625). He says, “After hiking for fifteen miles and working to prepare dinner, crawling into a warm, cozy sleeping bag brings great elation. As always, weight should be a major consideration, but the bag’s temperature rating is perhaps the most important.”

Since im going to be bringing clothes for the weather in Oct why should I be lugging a big redundant set of insulation? So I wonder what your opinion is. Can one get by sleeping in clothes? Does this bring up any other considerations? Thank you for your reply! Also I was wondering if ill see many other hikers in the fall?

[Ender]

In September and October, it's most deffinetly necessary. Night time temps, especially in October, could easily drop to around freezing, depending on where you're going hiking.

There are reasonably priced and reasonably light bags out there though... the Campmor down bags pop to mind.

[oldbear]

You most definetly need a sleeping bag and appropriate sleeping pad. Basically you are looking at a 500 mile hike w/ 40 DOT. Since you will be NB ,you will be heading into increasingly colder weather and increasinly shorter days that will cut down your average mpd significantly . Since you haven't yet established a personal baseline for what sleeping bag temp ratings mean to you , you should carry a 30 degree down bag. That suggestion assumes that you will be starting in early September and ending in mid october. If you start NB in mid september get a 15 degree bag.
Good luck

[superman]

Yes, you don't want to carry any weight that you don't have to. There is a line of thinking these days that carrying a cell phone will compensate for not carrying the gear you need to provide for your own needs. You can have some real nice hiking in October and/or it can get real cold. Be prepared.

[Frosty]

Hi, im new here and Im planning my first AT hike this year in Sept/Oct from MD to MA. My experience is limited to one night stays in the park no more than a mile from my house. And my question is:

Is a sleeping bag necessary? I'm curious to know what you used to sleep in at night on those overnighters, and what the overnight temps were. Did you use a quilt? Or just lay on the ground with nothing over you? Were you comfortable? I'm not being a wise guy, just genuinely curious. I've seen several people ask if a tent were necessary, or a cook stove, but never if a sleeping bag were necessary.

Be aware that everyone I know carries one, but if you think you can do without, there is not reason why you can't. You won't freeze to death in September in MD or MA. The worst that will happen is after one or two nights you'll hitchhike to an outfitter and buy a sleeping bag.

[sixhusbands]

The one thing that will pick up your spirits after a long , cold , rainy hike is knowing that you have a warm, dry bag to get into. If ( when) you get wet, there is no easier way to warm yourself than stripping the wet clothes off and crawling in the warm,dry bag for a few moments. The key is keeping the bag dry. many nights I have spent snuggling deep in my warm, dry bag when the storms were raging just outside the nylon tent.

You can get a good bag that ways less than 3 pounds to do the job at Campmor.

[Rainman]

Yes, carry a sleeping bag.

It is conceivable that you could carry enough clothing to sleep warmly. However, all of those extra clothes will almost certainly weigh more than a well made down bag from any of the major outdoor manufacturers.

The clothing you would need to stay warm sleeping in potentially subfreezing weather is much more clothing than you would ever need hiking during the day in average temperatures between 35 and 50 degrees. The exercise of walking will create heat and reduce your need for clothing. Sleeping does not generate heat. Even if you had a full down suit it would never retain as much heat as a down mummy bag cinched down tight around your nose and mouth.

If your goal is to reduce weight, study the gear lists of guys like Andy Skurka. He hikes in only running shorts in 30 degrees and uses a tarp instead of a tent, but he always carries a sleeping bag.

[moparinoia]

Thank all of yall for the replys!
Rainman thanks for that name, Skurka, and the good advice.
Frosty, you know, im a wise ass my self. I sleep out in the park sometimes in a tent with a sponge pad and bag. But twice ive slept on log structures lashed to tress, it wasnt great but it wanst terrible. I enjoyed being a few feet of the ground. Im going to try to go with out a bag more times in the park.
Superman, elaborate on this cell phone thing, does the trail get reception?

[Ender]

Cell reception is spotty on the trail, but getting better. A lot of it also depends on your cell provider. Verizon is probably the most reliable, with maybe Sprint coming in second. T-Mobile is the worst.

You'll be surprised how often you do get cell signal though. Way down south it's not as good, gets better during the mid-atlantic states up through New England, and then drops a bit once up in Maine. And of course the higher in elevation you are, you'll avoid a lot of the geographic barriers that would block your signal.. ridgelines and mountain tops are good places to call from. That said, general trail etiquite is that you don't do so while others are around so as to not disturb their woodsy experience.

[smokymtnsteve]

maybe just take a fleece blanket to throw over yourself.

[fiddlehead]

Once, in NM while slackpacking, i got caught out without any gear except what was on my back, a water bottle and a lighter. (thanks for that) The thing i missed the most was my sleeping bag. If there was a list called "3 essentials, the sleeping bag would be no. 2. (a lighter would be no. 1)
We built a huge fire, ate snow (had no cooking pot to melt it with) and got very little sleep. I would never try hiking without a sleeping bag. no matter how warm you think it's going to be. (unless you are hiking in the tropics, and even then, i would carry a blanket)