How hot?

[geek]

:confused: I've never seen a desert but I really don't like real hot temps. We are planning to start our thru on April 15. Have Yogi's book but don't know much else. What should we expect for the temps, both day and night south of the Sierra.
thanks,
geek

[girlscout]

hi geek

starting as early as april 15th will give you a bit of a jump on the hot weather, but you'll still have temps from 80f to 100f in places south of kennedy meadows. it's just par for the course. it won't be nearly as humid as what you get in the southeast usa, though.

i live in socal, and i hike in the desert alot, though i rarely choose to hike in the desert from about mid may thru about mid sept, as i have a low tolerance for hiking in the heat. my solution on the pct was to siesta in the middle of the day. until km, i typically would get in 10-12 miles from about 5am to 10am, then i'd find some shade (hopefully at a water source), eat, nap, relax, and then get moving again usually around 4pm. then i'd hike into the night if necessary to get in another 10-12 miles.

actually, in the desert, night hiking is one of the joys of a pct thru-hike. even if there's only a quarter moon, you can usually see fine without a headlamp (after your eyes adjust) and the temps are usually very comfortable after sundown. there were times when i wanted to hike all night, until sunrise, but i always got too sleepy by 10pm-11pm. :)

anyway, the san felipe hills is great for night-hiking. unfortunately it looks like you won't have too much moonlight there if you're starting on april 15th...

one other note about the "desert." folks who come from outside socal that have never been to the "desert" before are often surprised to find that what's called "the desert" on the pct really isn't much like what they imagined a desert to be like. generally the pct tries to stay true to its concept- ie, it tries to stay on or close to the pacific CREST. but there are instances where it either has to dip down into the "real desert" either because of property boundaries (scissors crossing, antelope valley) or sheer geographic necessity (san gorgonio pass). but mostly what's meant by "the desert" on the pct is really lower elevation mountains/hills covered with chapparal (scrub brush). so if you're having visions of trudging across sand dunes, it's not really like that. :)

[chai guy]

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/68/167535188_63cc0b0aaf_m.jpg

For a simulation, simply turn up your heater as far as it will go, then put on several layers of clothing and position a hair dryer on full blast pointed directly to your face. Then imagine it being 20 degrees hotter than that.

Now you're almost there!

[geek]

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/68/167535188_63cc0b0aaf_m.jpg

For a simulation, simply turn up your heater as far as it will go, then put on several layers of clothing and position a hair dryer on full blast pointed directly to your face. Then imagine it being 20 degrees hotter than that.

Now you're almost there!

Nice Chai!

Girl,
No I didn't expect dunes, I knew that most of the southern trail is high desert. I just didn't know temps there. I was almost knocked off of the AT in 2002 during my thru because of the heat(96*--100*)but the humidity of it had more to do with the tolerance.
geek

[Ender]

Yeah, it's as hot or hotter than the AT for long long stretches, but the low humidity really makes it tolerable. And at night it almost always gets down to a very comfortable temp, so you'll sleep well at night.

It's hot, it's sucky, but it's not as bad as 90* on the AT.

[Dr Bob]

Last summer I hiked in 102 degree heat, while others had it much hotter, I know. But in 1985 it was 107 along the aqueduct and I managed. However, the hottest I have felt while hiking was in the east on the AT in NJ in just 100 degree heat. Hikers were fainting. The humidity at that temperature can get you. Girl Scout has good advice (above) for dealing with it on the PCT.

Dr Bob

[Magnet_]

What got to me the most was not the air temperature but how the surface temperature of anything in the sun skyrocketed. For example, I remember one specific day when in the shade my watch / thermometer thing read 95° while in the sun it would shoot up to 130°! On days like that I thought the worst was all the heat radiating up from the super hot ground. I likened the desert it to walking over black asphalt baking in the sun. :eek: That said, most of the time it wasn't horrible.

[Ender]

Yeah, like Magnet just said, another really nice thing about the very low humidity is that being in the shade really works, unlike on the east coast where it doesn't really make a difference. In the sun, broiling. In the shade, not too shabby. That's why some PCT hikers carry umbrellas.

[chai guy]

Don't be afraid to hike "siesta" style. Some hikers wanted to call me "Shade Scraper" because I'd always be under a rock or sage brush during the heat of the day (approx. noon to 4:00pm).

So there I would be under a rock enjoying the shade watching them hike by about to have a heat stroke, temps in the 90's.

Later that afternoon I'd pass by their tent at 5:00 or 6:00pm hiking in a nice cool breeze with temps in the 70's.

In the desert, Hike Early! and Hike Late!

A few times I just couldn't resist and had to ask the proverbial question as they walked by:

"Mad Dog? Or Englishman?"

[geek]

Thanks everyone! There were times on the AT that 90* and high humidity were barely tolerable for me but from what I see here, I think I'll be fine. What about the start date of 4/15? Should I start earlier?
geek

[girlscout]

how early you start depends on how early you want to get to kennedy meadows, and either wait for the snow to melt or just plow on thru, possibly with few footsteps to follow (the trail will be under snow for significant stretches).

MOST pct hikers start at the end of april or the beginning of may. some start earlier, but few start in early april. hyoh, ymmv! :)

[geek]

Girl Scout,
Thanks!
Two friends and I are attempting a thru this year. I've thru hiked the AT x2 and Boudan has thru hiked it once and Tarpinator has done Springer to Hot Springs in early March so we have alittle experience and I have extensive experience with winter camping / backpacking but we are totally lost as to desert, high peaks, etc. You guys are giving great advice...please keep it coming. We are absorbing it all!
geek

[girlscout]

well, as far as the sierra snow is concerned, in my opinion it's not so much the slogging thru the snow that may be the issue with early entry. sure, that's exhausting, etc, and potentially dangerous on the slopes, but you'll get thru it physically. the main thing is that if you've never been there, it's probably not the best idea to be the first one, or one of the earliest thru, because you'll have to do lots of route finding, map & compass work, etc. it's much easier to at least wait for a a few more knowledgeable folks to blaze a footpath thru the snow, and just follow their tracks.

[George]

April 15th should be fine - I started my through hike on the 20th, temps weren't too hot, though as Magnet commented, ground temps in the sun can get pretty high and they were off my thermometer scale in the San Felipe Valley when I was there. You don't want to start too early though, or there may still be excessive snow, tracked or untracked in the Sierra.
15th should give you plenty of time to get to the Canadian end before the snows start again. Though having said that, world weather patterns seem pretty screwed lately, so I suppose you need a bit of luck conditions-wise whatever time you start!
George :)

[geek]

Thanks to all---the advice is very welcomed!
geek