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View Full Version : How Cold Is Vermont At Night in July/August?



Phoenix7
05-09-2008, 16:27
I did about 1/4 of AT in '89-'90 and hoping to do some northern sections this Summer.
Can anyone tell me how cold Vermont can get at night in July and August?

TY,

P7

sofaking
05-09-2008, 16:32
colder than a well diggers ass, but not quite as cold as a witch's tit...and nowhere near as cold as a penguins balls.

Cookerhiker
05-09-2008, 16:45
I hiked (http://www.trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?trailname=6248) the northern half of the Long Trail in the second half of August last year and never felt cold at night in my 45 degree bag. You certainly don't need a winter bag. And most nights, I slept in shelters rather than in an enclosed tent.

Philippe
05-09-2008, 17:31
Annie Oaklie and I hiked Vermont in mid-August. The weather was great. We actually had a swim in the pond at Peru Peak. While it was cool in the evening, we slept fine in our light bags. I hope you have a great hike.

Quoddy
05-09-2008, 17:55
I hiked (http://www.trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?trailname=6248) the northern half of the Long Trail in the second half of August last year and never felt cold at night in my 45 degree bag. You certainly don't need a winter bag. And most nights, I slept in shelters rather than in an enclosed tent.
Ditto for me except I was using a 50F bag. The lowest temperature I saw was 40F at 4:30 AM at Puffer (elevation 3200') while staying in the open shelter. This photo was taken at that moment. I sat up in my bag, snapped the photo and went back to sleep for a half hour.

http://whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/files/1/1/6/6/8/Sunrisefrommysleepingbag.jpg

Phoenix7
05-09-2008, 18:01
Thanks all.
The impression I get is that you might get the occasional dip into the 40s.
I think a Fanatic Fringe quilt should do just fine.

TY,

P7

Philippe
05-09-2008, 18:08
Ditto for me except I was using a 50F bag. The lowest temperature I saw was 40F at 4:30 AM at Puffer (elevation 3200') while staying in the open shelter. This photo was taken at that moment. I sat up in my bag, snapped the photo and went back to sleep for a half hour.

http://whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/files/1/1/6/6/8/Sunrisefrommysleepingbag.jpg
That's one georgeous sunset. 5 stars!

take-a-knee
05-09-2008, 18:12
colder than a well diggers ass, but not quite as cold as a witch's tit...and nowhere near as cold as a penguins balls.

What if the witch is wearing a brass bra? Maybe sitting on an iceberg...and sipping iced tea?

Phoenix7
05-09-2008, 18:14
Phillipe, thanks for the well wishes. I never seem to have time or money for a thru hike, so I'm setting a goal to see a region this Summer.

Philippe
05-09-2008, 18:14
Oops! Sorry about that. Gorgeous Sunrise. .

mudhead
05-09-2008, 18:16
Oops! Sorry about that. Gorgeous Sunrise. .

Glad you caught that. Had me worried.

rafe
05-09-2008, 18:43
Not cold at all, in fact it can be damned hot. A summerweight (45-50 degree) bag will do fine.

sofaking
05-09-2008, 19:31
What if the witch is wearing a brass bra? Maybe sitting on an iceberg...and sipping iced tea?
hmmm...that'd be pretty darned cold. might need the entire snugpak sleep system for something like that.

burger
05-09-2008, 20:49
We hit the low 40's in Vermont in early August of '06. I felt really bad for one guy who came into Vermont with only a sleeping bag liner, no bag! He'd started June 1st in Springer and had probably been having warm nights for his entire hike until he got to Vermont. He said that he didn't sleep a wink at Spruce Peak shelter and considered hiking into Manchester Center at 3am just to stay warm. Suffice to say, he bought a bag in town...

sasquatch2014
05-09-2008, 21:43
Did a chunk of VT last Sept almost Oct and had a warm spell had to sleep on top of my bag in my hammock. It was hitting 80 during the day figure maybe 50 at night possibly hotter. You never know what you are going to get. You can check avg and record temps on the Weather Channel site among others

Toolshed
05-09-2008, 21:49
Besdies about half dozen trips in VT, after many years a couple of miles W in the ADKS, I would say that you probably have an 85% chance of nights not colder than 50 degrees. There are some off chances that during periods of cloudy rainy weather more than a day or two, that you might have a cold night, as well as a perfectly cloudless night at elevation. I have a 20 year old down 45 degree bag that has worked like a charm. I also consider the extra 10 degrees my tent gives me, has helped me to never be cold.

oruoja
05-09-2008, 21:58
It's Vermont, so you may have warm, muggy nights or windy, wet, and 40 degree nights.

emerald
05-09-2008, 22:10
Can anyone tell me how cold Vermont can get at night in July and August?

I spent an August night at Goddard Shelter when the temperatures went below 40°F but didn't reach the freezing point. That would be improbable, but not impossible.

I'd rather risk being overprepared than uncomfortable and would carry a 20°F down bag.

Blissful
05-09-2008, 23:04
In VT I used my Marmot pounder in early August rated at 40 degree, no problem. But I also carried a silk liner for assurance. When I got to NH, I swtiched to a 25 degree pounder plus.

Tinker
05-09-2008, 23:14
I hammocked the July 4th weekend in '05 on the section between the Long Trail and the NH border in a Hennessy hammock. I wore only long johns, nylon long pants, long john tops and a down vest and a watch cap, no sleeping bag. I had a 1/2 length ccf pad of 3/8" blue foam to put under my torso and was never cold, but I am a warm sleeper. Even in unusual cold, you'll probably never see the nighttime temps. go below 40 in August.

Marta
05-10-2008, 04:39
August of '06 was effing cold and wet. It rained every day I was in Vermont, except one, and all that day it looked as if it were about to start raining. There was at least one day when it felt like it never got out of the 40's and was chucking down rain.

If you're doing sections, look at the long-term weather forecast before you head out. Maybe it'll be hot; maybe it won't. Just because the calendar says it's summer, it doesn't have to be warm in Vermont.

Kerosene
05-10-2008, 12:40
The first week of August 1979 saw highs in the 90's, followed by a cold snap with nighttime lows down to the mid-30s to mid-40s for the rest of the month. Plus, it rained on 22 of the 26 days we were out there. I clearly remember how glad I was to find an old grey cotton sweatshirt that someone had left at the Camels Hump cabin, because I wore that sweatshirt most nights until we reached Massachusetts.

rafe
05-10-2008, 12:50
Check out Jan Liteshoe's Long Trail hike journal, The Ordinary Adventurer (http://funfreedom.com/). She describes the start of the hike (she hiked nobo from MA, starting early August, 2002) as being very hot. And it was --this I know firsthand, since I was there as well. (Jan and I probably crossed paths somewhere near Little Rock Pond.)

Phoenix7
05-10-2008, 14:07
Thanks all for the replies. I guess I'll prepare for summer conditions, but keep a little safety margin with my bag.

Thanks again for the help!

P7

emerald
05-10-2008, 14:35
I guess I'll prepare for summer conditions, but keep a little safety margin with my bag.

I don't know what your post means, but, remember, we told you it could approach freezing. That's what you must be prepared to deal with if you will be out for more than just a weekend or a few days. It could happen.

sofaking
05-10-2008, 14:43
make sure to pack your turtle neck thong, if it gets too cold the turtle neck helps keep you warm, but you can roll it down and get better tan lines in warmer weather...

DavidNH
05-10-2008, 17:53
Most likely, on the Vermont portion of the AT in July-late August it will be hot as hell. It can bet chilly on the mountain peaks (ie Stratton, Killington) and can get nippy anywhere at night. But more than likely it will be toasty. a 40 degree bag should do ya.

Twice I have done the VT AT (once for the Long trail and once to do the AT) and each time I walked a half mile down rt 103 to an ince cream and burger place. 100 degrees both times! But even so..one just doesn't pass up on ice cream and shakes no matter how hot!

DavidNH

sofaking
05-10-2008, 18:02
jelly donut pajamas come in handy...

rafe
05-10-2008, 18:09
I don't know what your post means, but, remember, we told you it could approach freezing.

It could, I suppose, but IMO it's improbable, particularly in early August or late July. This isn't the Whites. The peaks are lower, none are above timberline, and you don't have the extreme crazy weather patterns of the Whites.

sofaking
05-10-2008, 18:12
luchedor masks come in handy to keep the black flies off your head and face

Phoenix7
05-10-2008, 19:57
What I'd like to do is start at Bear Mtn. Bridge and go to Katahdin. I live in central NH, so I'd probably go lighter for the first half of the trip, but have a decent bag just in case, and then get off the trail, head home, and repack with some warmer gear. Then I'd do the Whites and Maine.
Have bug net, will travel.

P7

vonfrick
05-11-2008, 17:39
hiked LT summer 07. 1st week july-1st week august. quite fine and snuggy in a 35 bag with all my layers on and i'm a cold sleeper. count on rain tho, and count on nothing ever drying out once it gets wet.

LIhikers
05-15-2008, 07:32
August of '07 my wife and I had a couple of nights we were chilly in southern VT. Instead of sleeping bags we were using light fleece blankets and there were 2 nights they were not warm enough in the middle of the night. On each of those nights we woke up and then put on our rainjackets to get warm for the remaining few hours of darkness. As soon as the sun came up things warmed up and were fine.

4eyedbuzzard
05-15-2008, 09:59
Most of the time you'll have day temps in the 70's and 80's and nights in the 50's - but it can get real hot(100) during the day and real cold with radiational cooling on a clear night(teens and 20's). It's pretty rare and I wouldn't plan on it. More likely you'll see some 90's during the day and 40's on a few nights. The records are kind of scary in fact: July low 19F at West Burke(1961), August low 24F at Mt Mansfield(1986)

http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0930262.html