What to wear???what to wear???

[hikerjess]

My fiance and I are getting married in May and going on our honeymoon to Yosemite. We are spending 4 nights hiking in the backcountry in Hetch Hetchy and I have come across a major concern that I'd appreciate some help with. I am ALWAYS cold (especially at night!), and I typically wear every single piece of clothing to bed that I am carrying when I go to bed on the trail. However, I've been informed that when backpacking in Yosemite I must have a special set of clothes to sleep in so that bears do not smell food on my day clothes and approach the tent. My problem is that I do not know what kind of sleeping clothing will keep me warm at night.
I have a thermarest prolite and a kelty 20 degree down bag. I also have a flannel bag liner. I'm looking for tips on a base layer to sleep in that will keep me warm at 35-45 degrees.

Thanks in advance for anyone's help!

[Mrs Baggins]

My fiance and I are getting married in May and going on our honeymoon to Yosemite. We are spending 4 nights hiking in the backcountry in Hetch Hetchy and I have come across a major concern that I'd appreciate some help with. I am ALWAYS cold (especially at night!), and I typically wear every single piece of clothing to bed that I am carrying when I go to bed on the trail. However, I've been informed that when backpacking in Yosemite I must have a special set of clothes to sleep in so that bears do not smell food on my day clothes and approach the tent. My problem is that I do not know what kind of sleeping clothing will keep me warm at night.
I have a thermarest prolite and a kelty 20 degree down bag. I also have a flannel bag liner. I'm looking for tips on a base layer to sleep in that will keep me warm at 35-45 degrees.

Thanks in advance for anyone's help!

We've camped in Yosemite and that's the first I've heard of that rule! But maybe the bears are far more aggressive now than they were then. Anyway, I'm always cold as well. After spending huge bucks on capilene base layers I found I had been far warmer in my cheapo Target brand polypro long undies. I went to a zero degree bag (REI Sub Kilo) and I have a silk liner. Over the undies I wear a cheap (Wal Mart) poly long sleeved shirt and comfy loose nylon yoga pants.

[hikerjess]

I don't know that it is an actual rule...just a guideline for hiking in that area when the bears are most active in the spring and fall. In general, I am just paranoid and I know that I will sleep better if I feel I have taken every precaution.

[booney_1]

A fleece top with hood and fleece pants would do a lot towards keeping you warm.

You should not wear clothes you wore during the day, aside from food smells, they will contain more moisture than you think. This is probably what kept you cold before.

A cotton hoodie would be okay along with fleece pants or heavy cotton sweat pants. (and cheaper)

There is also quilted underwear available (tops and bottoms)

Don't forget to wear a wool cap.

Also...if it's real cold and you are car camping (weight no option).
Bring an extra sleeping bag, and use it as a ground pad to insulate you from the ground. Don't open it, just place it over your ground pad, and them place your main sleeping bag over it.( I assume you are using some type of foam or inflatable pad now).


have fun!

[ScottP]

"I've been informed that when backpacking in Yosemite I must have a special set of clothes to sleep in so that bears do not smell food on my day clothes and approach the tent."

That is a rule from NOLS (a very old-school, conservative adventure school) for areas where bears pose a threat to people (like above the arctic circle, or somewhere intense with grizzlies or polar bears). You really don't need to worry about that in Yosemite--you'll probably be staying at a campground with bear boxes, and won't have to worry at all. If you're just going out into the backcountry you'll probably want a bear canister. The bears already know where all the possible Yosemite campsites are, you aren't going to trick them by changing your clothing . I know that by the end of my PCT thru I could smell other hikers cooking from a pretty good distance, and I'm sure that a bear's sense of smell is far better--they'll know where you are.

If you have the money to spend, I'd get a nicer down bag, and a silk liner instead of a flannel one. As far as wearing your clothes to bed, not everything actually keeps you warmer.

If you really bundle up with clothing you might make yourself so big that your sleeping bag can't loft fully. It's better to just wear your base layer (look for an expedition weight shirt and pair of long johns, it's usually the thickest. REI brand is actually really good for base layers) and a down jacket if you have one. A raincoat will keep you warm at the beginning of the night, but the condensation will make the end of the night (the coldest part of it) even colder. you could try using your rainjacket as a vapor barrier and putting it directly against your skin, underneath your insulation, but that really shouldn't be necessary. Your best bet with anything other than a base layer/insulation is to use it to eliminate dead air space between you and your sleeping bag. For example, if you sleep in the fetal position tuck it up between your heels and your butt. In the same vein, make sure that your sleeping bag isn't too big for you--it will have too much dead air space and wont' insulate you well. (The above is why I prefer quilts--You can always wrap them up so that they fit you perfectly).

I've also found that sleeping on your side (or stomach, better yet), minimizes contact with the warmth-sapping ground.

Wearing a hat or balaclava while you sleep can also be a good thing.

Also, if you have a down bag make sure to hang it from a tree limb for 20 minutes so it can loft out, and then turn it so the top is towards the ground and shake it, so that the down gets to the top (where it insulates the best). If you have a synthetic bag that is older than 3 years, throw it away and buy a new one. Synthetic lofts are short lived. If you have a down bag, you might want to put it in a dryer (on low/no heat) and fluff it up. make sure to watch the dryer carefully and make sure that it doesn't wreck your bag.

Make sure that you go to bed fed and fully hydrated. Try not to camp on ground that is packed too hard--somewhere softer will provide better insulation. Eat meals that stick with you--fats help keep you warm. Add some olive oil to your dinner. If you're cold in the middle of the night, have a snack. You can also fill up a water bottle with hot water and put it in your sleeping bag with you at night.

Try to camp underneath trees (they'll retain some of the heat of the day and provide cover from the wind and condensation), and away from streams/lakes. Cold air sinks at night, and ravines/riversides/lakesides, etc. are often some of the coldest places to camp.

Try to camp somewhere sheltered from the wind. Sleeping in your shelter can add a few degrees, especially if you also have a warm husband in the shelter.

Don't count on anything cotton to provide significant insulation. Cotton breathes, and it's trapped+compartmentalized air that provides insulation.

Some people say that cleaning yourself before going to bed makes them sleep warmer.

Hope some of this helps

[Jim Adams]

smartwool

geek

[booney_1]

Temperature ratings on sleeping bags are very rough guide lines.
A 20 degree kelty down bag should be fine at 35.

IF IT IS STILL IN GOOD SHAPE. The warmth comes from the inches of loft that the goose down gives. To maintain it's loft it's important that all (down and synthetic) bags are stored uncompressed, out of their stuff bag. If a bag is stored compressed, it will lose a significant amount of loft. Many people store their bags in the stuff sack, greatly reducing the bags life.

I assume that this is a mummy bag...

Another thing I have done in the past is to wear a vest (fleece or down) inside the bag. It adds a lot of insulation to the trunk.

The key thing is to wear some dry clothes-like long underwear or sweats.

You can also be careful with campsite placement. I've never camped at Yosemite, but in the North Carolina and Virginia mountains it makes a big difference. Aside from avoiding open windy areas, low areas, especially near creeks are very cold. The cold air really settles near these spots.

Stay warm!:sun

[quasarr]

flannel bag liner

Flannel is made of cotton, which you want to stay away from! You can get a fleece liner for about $12 at Wal Mart, it is bulky and heavy but will be warmer than cotton.


Bring an extra sleeping bag, and use it as a ground pad to insulate you from the ground. Don't open it, just place it over your ground pad, and them place your main sleeping bag over it.( I assume you are using some type of foam or inflatable pad now).

I disagree with this, a sleeping bag provides warmth with its loft. Laying on a bag compresses the insulation and it won't help much to insulate you from the ground. Why not bring a second sleeping pad (like a 3/4 length closed cell foam) rather than another bag? It is lighter and will probably insulate better than a bag!

[booney_1]

I should have been clearer. When car camping in the winter I use either a "non-compressible" roll up type of sleeping bag as a pad. Or I use an old down bag that I have that is real thick as a sleeping pad. It is luxury that really works in the winter, as long as you don't have to carry it far.

If I did more backpacking in extreme cold, I'd take a good look at the big agnes down filled air pad.

[spirit4earth]

mrs. baggins, do you like the rei sub kilo? i stay cold at night, but i've resisted down. i'm now ready to get an affordable down bag, and i want one that really works!

[ZZXF]

My husband and I did a good chunk of the John Muir Trail this past August, starting in Yosemite. We began the hike super paranoid about bears -- never cooked where we slept, never wore clothes that we'd worn while cooking, always stashed our bear cannisters a good distance away. But no one else was being this paranoid, so we ultimately got sloppy on all the above. We saw some bear scat but no bears during the 14 days we were out. We heard some climbers had trouble in the climbers camp, but I also heard some of the climbers were feeding the bears. My guess is that you won't have a problem with bears if you're in the backcountry, and if you're in the front country, all the dumb campers before you already did more damage than you could possibly do by wearing certain clothes to bed. The good news is the bears in Yosemite aren't aggressive, just troublesome -- of course, I never wanted to experience that for myself!

That all aside, though, the earlier poster was right -- your day clothes aren't a good choice for nighttime because they do get damp. Even during August we experienced frost a few nights, so I'd imagine May could get downright cold! I'm a very cold sleeper and this is what I wore and was warm and happy the whole trip -- fleece socks, long underwear bottoms, rain pants on the really cold nights (I should have left these at home and just brought nylon pants -- it never rained), smartwool long underwear top, extra wicking t-shirt, Marmot driclime windshirt (I highly recommend!), down vest and fleece hat on the cold nights. I've never brought a down vest before because it always seemed so bulky, but it was fabulous to have when sitting outside the tent in camp at night and in the morning -- the temperature is cold out west when the sun isn't out! And I found that it was the extra bit of warmth I needed to not shiver on the really cold and windy nights.

My husband and I shared one sleeping bag between us, using it as a quilt, but that wouldn't work as well in May probably -- you'll have to gauge for yourself whether you're warmer snuggling or warmer each buried in individual sleeping bags. For reference, we also were using the Tarptent Rainshadow, so we didn't really get any extra warmth from our tent.

[River Runner]

If you want the absolutely warmest clothes, get a pair of insulated pants (either synthetic or down) and a light insulated jacket (such as the Montbell U.L. Down Inner Liner, or some kind of synthetic jacket).

I also like light wool base layers, and if it's really cold, a light fleece top. If you don't want to spend a lot, a heavier solution than the insulated pants & jacket that is still warm is a pair of fleece pants and a fleece top.

Warm clothes can provide more versatility than a sleeping bag liner (and also more warmth if properly chosen). They make it easier to get out of a warm bag on a chilly morning, since you are still wearing some of your warmth.

[take-a-knee]

A thyroid scan most likely, if you have to wear everything in your pack to stay warm in forty degree weather inside a twenty degree bag, you need medical attention, likely from an endocrinologist.

[Erin]

Take-a-Knee has a point. One of the signs of an underactive thyriod is always being cold. No scan needed, a blood test is a good idea for women anyway. This is a very common disorder. I have it.
As one of the posts above, I love smart wool. I wear a wicking long sleeve shirt, polyproleine long john pants and a wool cap in really cold weather. Cotton does not work if you prespire at all at night.

[desdemona]

Take-a-Knee has a point. One of the signs of an underactive thyriod is always being cold. No scan needed, a blood test is a good idea for women anyway. This is a very common disorder. I have it.
As one of the posts above, I love smart wool. I wear a wicking long sleeve shirt, polyproleine long john pants and a wool cap in really cold weather. Cotton does not work if you prespire at all at night.


Funny thing about that!! I have had about 20 thyroid scans (I'm a little older than most of you!!) Anyway all turned up negative, but some docs just couldn't believe I don't have low thyroid as I have a lot of trouble being cold. However, hiking I am not at all cold (OTOH would be cold sleeping I'm sure).

I also love Smart wool. And I have the polypropeleine (sp?) long johns (Duo fold on top). No cotton for hiking. Just makes you cold.

--des

[Blissful]

I have an underactive thryoid too. Have been on meds now for 15 years (thus the need as well for my mail drops)

[Erin]

Blissful, I have not done a thru but wondered what one did about the meds. I have always been able to fill them out of town at a chain, but that looks as if that may not be an option on a thru from towns I have seen on a section. Thanks for the tip.