Pct hammock setup

[LegoFox]

Eventually planning to do the PCT with my hammock setup...
Nano 7 hammock w/ dynaglide woopies
HG 40 Phoenix and burrow
Winter palace
My question is do I need a 20 degree UQ or can I get by with using a walmart blue foam in my hammock AND my 40 degree UQ when it is cold and just use it on my feet when it's warmer. It will be torso length and it would also give me the option of ground if need be. I would think that getting 20 degree top and under quilts would be more practical and safe but just wanted a second opinion from someone who knows how cold it gets. Thanks

[renegadepilgrim]

I'd go with a 20 degree setup...especially in OR and WA.

[LegoFox]

Thanks I was thinking that too since it got chilly last night and im a cold sleeper.
I may even go for a 10 or 0 degree

[enyapjr]

My question is do I need a 20 degree UQ or can I get by with using a walmart blue foam in my hammock AND my 40 degree UQ when it is cold and just use it on my feet when it's warmer. It will be torso length and it would also give me the option of ground if need be. I would think that getting 20 degree top and under quilts would be more practical and safe but just wanted a second opinion from someone who knows how cold it gets. Thanks

You will want the 20* Burrow & Phoenix quilts AND the pad - it will get down into the low 30s quite often, and you WILL get down into the 20s at times, & down into the teens early in the season and at elevation, also... For an example of mid-summer temps, on my 2nd PCT work project this summer, on the nights of August 7th through 13th, at Scott Mtn. (Hwy. 3), elevation ~5380', maximum low temp was 41* & minimum low was 34* - most lows were mid-30s, 35-37* (to emphasize, that was in August and only at 5380' elevation!)... With a Phoenix you'll definitely want the pad for lower leg & feet insulation on the colder nights!

Since you also say that you're a 'cold sleeper' you might even consider the extra ounces in a full-length Incubator instead of a Phoenix (?) - just a 'thought'.
My 20* HG 3/4 UQ ("CrowsNest" when I bought it, now called the "Phoenix") gets me 'comfortably' down into the low 2-digit temps without my waking up due to cold spots, but I'm a 'warm sleeper'!! I will also be using a torso length pad on the PCT for lower legs insulation & back-up for go to ground - whereas if I definitely know I can always hang, I only take a TaR sit pad for lower leg insulation, and then only if temps are expected to frequently drop into the 30s or lower at night. I'm also going to use my 20* quilts the entire length of the PCT - I'll 'vent' the UQ on warmer nights (or even take it off entirely if there are some 'hot' nights)...

Since your PCT trek is somewhere in the future, you have plenty of time to figure it all out... Keep following the "Pct?" thread and some of us that will be hiking the PCT next year - I will have a journal (I'll post link on HF before my trek) and plan to make 'comments' directly related to hanging on the PCT...
I do think that 20* quilts will be sufficient - just wear longs & possibly other clothing as supplement on the colder nights... At least in CA & southern OR, it's a relatively 'dry' (low humidity) cold - the cold does not 'go through' you compared to a more humid locale (such as here in PA, or there in HI) - I 'feel' much colder here in PA at 40* than in CA or the Rockies at 20*!!

Hope that helps in your figuring it all out... Take care. HYOH!

[Law Dawg (ret)]

While I am no longer a walker (moto camper now) I do spend as much time as I can in the high country locally...Kern Plateau (think Kennedy Meadows and area). Walker Pass is maybe an hour and fifteen from my front door. One of my favorite spots has hit 28 degrees in August, Spring and Fall can hit the teens. If you tend toward cold I would recommend a 20 degree Incubator with a backup ground pad just in case. The extra weight of the ground pad will allow a seat, extra insulation, or actually be able to ground set up. Just me but if the decision to cut weight means sleeping comfort loss, well that's simply not an option and I will drop somewhere else.

Scanning PCT journals show that many will mail ahead supply drops to places like the Kennedy Meadows store. A bit of logistics would allow you to modify your kit, based on conditions, too.

[LegoFox]

Thanks for the input guys...I have always wondered why the listed low temps here in Hawaii are 60 ish yet I feel just as cold as 40 degrees in the Montana mountains. On most hot nights my 40 burrow is too hot but on cold nights it is just right. Still I want to get a 50 degree burrow for home use to save some weight. As for the PCT...I feel a full length UQ unnessisary in my case since i side sleep in fetal position 80% of the time. I'm thinking 20 degree partial would be fine with a torso length pad just in case. I like the blue walmart ones