how do you sleep well when..

[DavidNH]

Hi,

I am wondering..when you get one of those days and nights where temp is 90+ during day and 70+ at night and the humidity is wicked high and their is no wind..in otherwords.. one's skin breathes poorly if at all and sweat justs sits there..how do you get to sleep or even stay semi comfortable? there is no airconditioning on the trail to find and a pond or stream may not be close at hand.

so 1) are there in fact days/nights like this on the trail? (This describes southern New England lowlands in late july early august and the deep south probably earlier than)

and 2) how do hikers cope? or do you just give into being miserable with the knowledge that "this too shall pass?"


nhhiker

[orangebug]

It happens. You left out the fun and games of dealing with mosquitos, gnats and other critters while you are hot and sweaty, not feeling much like roasting under a bug cover, even.

[Lone Wolf]

Just suck it up and deal with it. Like the men and women do over in the desert serving their country. Simple.

[peter_pan]

Sleep in a hammock for cool comfort on hot nights...preferrably a Hennessy if it is buggy...Put your head to the west and let prevailing breezes cool your shoulders and back...select a site on the westward up slope and rig your tarp to catch the rising breezes and direct them over you....If you pick the site on the actual ridge youget max breezes and you get to watch the sunrise as a bonus... :)

In fact, sleep in hammock for comfort year round...there are many ways to keep the bottom warm when needed... ;)

Pan

[SGT Rock]

Yep, I was thinking a hammock would be perfect for that weather.

[justusryans]

I carry a Coglin Sportsman hammock with me, even when I carry a tent. It weighs 8oz. It's not a enclosed system, but it is great for humid nights.

[kyhipo]

dont move much:dance ky,:-? you got to be kidding right :datz its summer :bse

[gsingjane]

If I know it's going to be that miserable out (e.g., as it was here over the last weekend, high 90's for both heat and humidity)... I don't go. Life is just too short. Also, my hiking partners are my children, and there is no quicker way to teach them to hate hiking than to drag them out under horrible conditions and tell them to suck it up. Kids are smarter than that, they will just dig in their heels the next time and refuse to get out there at all.

Jane in CT

[Frolicking Dinosaurs]

I usually stop at a water source toward the end of the hiking day to cook dinner and engage in a bit of personal hygiene and laundry. (put down the tar and feathers - I get at least 200 yards from the water source to do this stuff). I move at least half a mile away from the water source to make camp as both the bugs and bears tend to be more prevalent near water.

When conditions are hot and humid, I carry a bit of extra untreated water to my sleep site in my bathtub / washing machine (a gallon size ziplock baggie) and have a sponge bath before retiring. It helps cool me off and removes the day's accumulated sweat and the top layer of dura-dirt - both seem to help me to sleep better when overnight temps and humidity are in the 70's.

[Jaybird]

I am wondering..when you get one of those days and nights where temp is 90+ during day and 70+ at night and the humidity is wicked high and their is no wind..in otherwords............ETC,ETC,ETC,.......nhhiker




its SUMMER! its supposed to be 90 degrees in the shade! :D


So, either SWEAT, SWEAT, SWEAT & DEAL with it....OR....

go home & sit in the A.C. hehehehehehe

[Spirit Walker]

One of the good things about the Appalachians is that the weather is very changeable. Usually after a few days of miserably hot weather, a cool front would pass by and it would feel much more comfortable for a week or so. Usually you are hiking in the shade, and because you are on ridge tops there is usually a breeze, which helps a lot. At night, you wash up as best you can and live with the heat. On both my hikes I started around April 1. It didn't get really hot until around July 1 - when I was in PA or NJ. By August I was in New England and it had started to cool off again. I found that avoiding the shelters was good, because I could sleep on top of my sleeping bag instead of in it (between bugs and mice, I didn't do that much in shelters). There were only a few nights where I was so hot I couldn't sleep. Usually I was so tired from the 20 miles or so I'd hiked, I fell asleep pretty quickly. I did find that when it was hot, I usually hiked farther because it just wasn't much fun to hang around the shelter area for a few hours in the afternoon/evening and I wouldn't be much in the mood to cook or eat. Hiking was better.

My biggest problem with heat was chaffing around my hips. I ended up taking 3 days of in Del. Water Gap to heal the sores. Bugs were actually only a problem on a few nights on each hike (up in NJ, CT and Mass.) mostly in July - but we slept in the tent a lot. They were much worse on the CDT. A few days on the AT and often on the PCT we would hike early, take long long lunch breaks and then hike until almost dark. That helps you deal with the heat better too. And of course, any decent sized water hole becomes a place to play and cool off.

But as others have said, the bottom line is, when you are out there to thruhike, you have to accept whatever comes - heat, cold, rain, sleet, etc. It is all part of the package. And it's still better than sitting in front of a computer for 8 hours a day.

[Footslogger]

Can't remember the number of times I said ...."this wasn't in the brochure". But yeah, you're out there and you've got to take whatever nature throws at you. Weather and bugs are all part of the program.

'Slogger

[hambone]

As I get old and cranky I find that I have almost no tolerance for heat. This past weekend I did some business-related (wife's) car camping in the Catskill Mountains in New York. I tried in vain to get one of those small battery-powered fans that you can hang in a tent. No one had one in stock. My wife would not contemplate stopping at Campmor (Ahh, Campmore), and thinks 70 degrees is cold. As it turned out the nights got real comfortable (60's) and I slept as well as the nearby roosters would allow.

Has anyone used a fan? Is it worth the weight and battery consumption?

[Blue Jay]

Hi,

I am wondering..when you get one of those days and nights where temp is 90+ during day and 70+ at night and the humidity is wicked high and their is no wind..in otherwords.. one's skin breathes poorly if at all and sweat justs sits there..how do you get to sleep or even stay semi comfortable? there is no airconditioning on the trail to find and a pond or stream may not be close at hand.

so 1) are there in fact days/nights like this on the trail? (This describes southern New England lowlands in late july early august and the deep south probably earlier than)

and 2) how do hikers cope? or do you just give into being miserable with the knowledge that "this too shall pass?"


nhhiker

I'm very surprised no one else has mentioned this. You just hiked a full day in those same conditions. After that I could sleep in a mud puddle, with a chain saw snorer in the next puddle, no problem at all. In fact, I often start to fall asleep while eating under those conditions. Hike more miles, you'll sleep.

[Tha Wookie]

First of all, 70 degrees and humid at night down here is reason for another blanket.

But when it is unbearable, I would take my free-standing bug net to a place where there might be some wind, katabatic airflow, ar at least out of humidity-trapping v-shaped hollows. Get high, away from the dead air, take off all my clothes, and enjoy the night.

Oh, and have Island Mama blow on my neck a little.

[fiddlehead]

Here in thailand it is usually between 90 and 105 F. At night it may dip down in the 80's but often it stays warm all night. I am getting used to it now but still go take a shower in the middle of the night to control my body temp. so, if you are camped near water, just pour some over your head. It'll cool you down enough to go back to sleep. (especially if you hiked 20 miles the day before)

[neo]

Sleep in a hammock for cool comfort on hot nights...preferrably a Hennessy if it is buggy...Put your head to the west and let prevailing breezes cool your shoulders and back...select a site on the westward up slope and rig your tarp to catch the rising breezes and direct them over you....If you pick the site on the actual ridge youget max breezes and you get to watch the sunrise as a bonus... :)

In fact, sleep in hammock for comfort year round...there are many ways to keep the bottom warm when needed... ;)

Pan

i do what i always do,hang in my hammock:cool: neo


http://www.whiteblaze.net/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/7889/sort/1/cat/500/page/3

[Youngblood]

Like others have said, you do the best you can with what you have. If you can, camp up high where you might catch a breeze. If you can camp away from troublesome bugs, open doors to tents, take bugnet off of hammocks, take off as much clothes as prudent... get as much ventilation as possible.

[Topcat]

Fiddlehead,
When i was in the Peace Corps i used to do the same thing and it has become a habit when i know it is going to be a hot night. I can usually fall asleep while the water evaporates, keeping me cool, and sleep through the night. Fact is, though, I sleep better in the woods than in my bed anyway, so it isnt that big of deal.

[scothiker]

If I know it's going to be that miserable out (e.g., as it was here over the last weekend, high 90's for both heat and humidity)... I don't go. Life is just too short. Also, my hiking partners are my children, and there is no quicker way to teach them to hate hiking than to drag them out under horrible conditions and tell them to suck it up. Kids are smarter than that, they will just dig in their heels the next time and refuse to get out there at all.

Jane in CT
Good call, Jane. How old are your children and how does hiking with them work out for you? I'm a newbie, gearing up to hike, and eventually section-hike, starting with Georgia, with my 11 year old son. My husband and 17-year old son having no interest at all in hiking with us. Important to keep kids interested and not burn them out, I think. It's miserable in Georgia right now, hot and humid doesn't even describe it, so we're waiting for cooler weather.

[gsingjane]

Dear Scot, nice to hear that not everyone else is a Marine! Nothing wrong with the Marines, of course, but not all of us in this world can aspire to that lofty status.

My children that I hike with are 10 and 13 (girl and boy, respectively). I also have a 15 year old who stays home (negative interest in hiking) with my 7 year old. I LOVE hiking with my kids. It is amazing to me how much kids can do, as long as you try to make things a little fun for them and take their views into account at least some of the time. And, they have a ball on the trail. No matter how tiring or draining the day was, they still have time to play and run around. My kids have loved meeting and talking to thru-hikers and they are already planning a thru for when they are in high school (it helps that we are homeschoolers and a little bit more flexible than some other folks).

We started our hiking "career" some time ago by going on many day hikes and the 13 year old also has been backpacking since age 11 with BSA. I started by car camping with the Girl Scouts and have gradually worked my way up to full-on backpacking, although it has taken me years to even start to feel confident in the backcountry. Every time I go out, I make many mistakes and fortunately my kids are learning right along with me...

I think the biggest things I have learned about hiking with kids are to respect their limits but gently urge them forward, make sure they are in at least somewhat decent shape before you go out so they're not dying out there, bring LOTS of chocolate and other treats they don't get at home, and plan a special meal out for when you get done so they have something to look forward to. It also doesn't hurt to bring a Nerf football or frisbee or other toy so there is something to play with when you are in camp.

Take care! You'll have a ball!

Jane in CT