Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Mummy bag for August

Hopefully, I'll be successful in the lottery for an overnight in late august. I don't have any equipment yet so I need some advice. Wanting as light a sleeping bag as possible, I'm looking at some that are rated to +30F. Will this be sufficient for Trail Camp in August?

Also has anyone tried using those air activated warmers; the kind you expose to air and put them either on your socks (toes) or the larger ones called body warmers? I'm thinking of putting a couple of them in the sleeping bag for additional warmth. Good idea or hair-brained?

Bill

You will get a lot of response; take your pick.

For years I didn't use a sleeping bag up there. Just put on all my clothes and crawled into my bivy sack. But now that the one pound 40° Marmot Atom is out, I take it. Weighs less than my bivy, and plenty warm even without the clothing.

Oh, by the way, I only take a tent in winter.

The sleeping bag, around 30 degrees, works fine as long as you stay dry and have a pad with you.

I have tried those hand warmers inside a sleeping bag, while camping on snow. They do not turn your bag into a personal heat device...but they do help and are easy to use. They help the bag warm up when you first get inside.

<a href="http://www.rei.com/online/store/ProductDisplay?storeId=8000&catalogId=40000008000&productId=7949391&parent_category_rn=4500521&vcat=REI_SEARCH">body warmers<a/>

At 2 ounces each 4 of them would add up to 1/2 pound

Thanks guys. I do intend to use a tent and a pad also, so maybe I should have mentioned that.

Check out the Mountain Hardware website.

http://www.mountainhardwear.com/Product.aspx?top=4&prod=88&cat=57&viewAll=False

This URL is for their Phantom 32, I have used it it August in the Sierras and found it to be very adequate.....and very light.

In late August, a 30 degree bag will do just fine, especialy if you use a Ridge Rest sleeping pad and/or a Therm-a-Rest pad. If you sleep cold, as some do, a light pair of long underwear will help.

If I am successful in the lottery, I will be doing a three-day hike of Whitney in early August, spending the first night at Trail Camp and the second night on the summit. My Marmot bag is rated to well below 0, overkill for Whitney in August. I will also be using the two pads I mentioned above. Weather permitting, I will sleep outdoors on the summit (not in the cabin), as to prove out some high-altitude gear for a planned Aconcagua expedition in 2008.

Hope this helps, and good luck in the lottery.

Michael T.

I've got the Phantom 32 from Mountain Hardwear and used it in early June on the MR and throughout the Sierras all summer. It is really compact and weighs just over a pound. It compresses down to about the size of 1/2 a loaf of bread (Wonder bread, not the Country Wheat which is a lot smaller).

put a Nalgene bottle with a liter of very hot water off your stove in whatever wimpy bag or bivy that you use and it will roast you out.

Hi The Where is a greater factor than the gear. Pick a sandy protected spot before trailcamp and leave the tent home, 3/4 length pad from a dense insulation material , Focus on clothing Silk, Wool, and Down, and by your state posted you know about cold. Pack weight also??? So like Bob R . posted sleeping in your clothes is fairly common you just don't tell many people, another old trick is use a haul bag for a bivy and a pack, stick your legs in and nest for the night.
Late August we can drop into the low 20's at the higher elevations at night but WIND is the main problem and trailcamp is very prone to high wind. Good Luck Doug

Thanks everybody. Great advice. Now I just have to keep my fingers crossed for the lottery. I listed nine different dates (all weekdays) so I think I should be good.

Not quite a 30F bag but like Bob R I have one of the Marmot Atom 40F bags. Love it. My favorite bag. I've used both the toe warmers and hand warmers. The toe warmers seem pretty worthless but the hand warmers work much better.

-Rick

As Bob R says everyone one is different. I don't like to jack on the clothes to supplement my bag, therefore, I take a 15F bag and sleep in my skivies.

There is no right answer. The temperatures at night will between 10F and 50F at Trail Camp.