[pct-l] sleeping bag

[gwtmp01 at mac.com]

On Jan 17, 2007, at 1:51 AM, kmurray at pol.net wrote:
> However, you will have a chance to hike Socal and check it out.  By  
> the
> time you get to Hiker Heaven, you will have a good idea of how it  
> is going
> to go. Make sure that you have a thermometer, so you can do  
> comparisons of
> comfort/temperature.   If you are not confident by that time, you  
> can run
> down into LA to Adventure16, a store who knows PCT'ers well, and  
> carries
> Western Mountaineering bags.

It can be below freezing in Southern CA during thru-hiker season.   
I'm not
sure I would wait until I was on the trail to figure out if I was  
going to
be warm enough.  How about sleeping out in your backyard on a cold  
night?
Either that or bring some extra layers and see if you need them on  
the cold
nights and then ditch them.

Because of the temperature variation on the PCT it can be hard to have a
single bag that works on the coldest and warmest nights.  So you need  
some
different strategies.  I found that on many nights I could just use my
sleeping bag (20 degree Western Mountaineering) as a blanket.  I'd unzip
it completely and lay it across me with my feet just tucked inside  
the end.
I would be quite comfortable with this arrangement whereas if I was  
inside
the bag, even if unzipped, I would overheat.

I always carry a bag liner to keep the bag in good condition and add  
some
extra warmth but on warm nights where even the bag as a blanket is  
too much
just sleeping in the liner worked.  There is something nice about  
having that
layer over you, rather than nothing at all, that provides comfort.

Gary Wright (Radar)