Looking for opinions please

[Awesome]

Ok folks, I've been away for a while. It's been a rough year, lost a wife after 25 years and two jobs but I'm back on my feet again ( I'm to hard headed to stay down) I need some feedback from the fine folks at hf.
I'm planning a thru hike attempt this spring starting the last week of march or the first couple weeks of April.
So here is what I'm thinking, I want to use a jarbidge uq with a 20* down bag I also want to take some kind of pad for extra insulation and for sleeping in shelters once in awhile. The question is will this be enough to be comfortable this time of year. I understand we can't predict the temps, just looking for sound advice. Thanks in advance.

[Bannerstone]

Welcome back Walkinslow, my condolences on your loss and joy that you are continuing your walk both figuratively and literally. If I could recommend a fine book "Walking Through" by Paul Stutzman who used a thru-hike of the AT and later in another book "Biking Through" a cross country bike ride to work out the grief of loosing his wife.

A lot would depend on your start date, though it sounds like your insulation would be adequate other factors like wind protection will play heavily. Nothing like field testing to give you peace of mind. I would try to have at least a 10* comfort margin. I'm sure there will be days when you will need it, being wet, sick, possibly dealing with a injury, etc. I see most folks aim at a 20* comfort rating as a minimum when starting around mid to late March.

I wish you a really great experience on your hike as a thru-hike has been my dream for some years and having lost my own wife coming onto a year ago as well. I hope you will keep an online journal where I can keep track of your journey and pray for you.

David

[RichardD]

I started my hike on March 23 2011, I used a Mt Washington 4 underquilt and a 20 degree Western Mountaineering bag. I was comfortably warm every night. I don't know what the temperature dropped to at night but it was frequently below freezing. Unlikely as it seems the coldest I got was a couple of days after traildays just North of Damascus. Temp probably 30's but thick fog and windy. I could not warm up in camp until I made a hot water bottle, after that I was fine.
I am not familiar with your underquilt but it sounds as though your gear should work fine if the year is comparable to 2011.
I too carried a pad (from Fontana North) and had to use shelters twice in GSMNP (complying with rules).
I switched to Summer weight gear at Pearisburg and back to Winter weight at Hanover.
have a great hike.

[Awesome]

Thanks for the advice folks. Bannerstone, I should clarify, my wife did not pass just decided to move on without me. Poor choice of words on my part I apologize. I am sorry for your loss tho. My uq is rated to 30* and I've used it into the 20s without supplementing but I did get cold. I was thinking that with a pad might allow me to be comfortable into the low 20s.

[Rockdawg69]

You might want to invest in a double layer hammock if possible. Would be much easier to use a ccf pad between layers rather than inside. That should give you the extra insulation you are looking for. Not much comfort for going to ground/shelter with a thin ccf but better than nothing.
The coldest I experienced in 2007 in early April was about 11 degrees just south of the Nantahala, but I was in a shelter with air pad and all my stuff on top. Got down to 25 in the Smokies in mid-April with 8-inch snow the next day. After that, things got better. But mountain weather can change in a heart beat. Had an experienced with 32 degrees in late June on the balds north of Roan Mtn. once.

[Awesome]

I've got the wbbb 1.7 double. My son and I went from Indian grave gap to 19 e last summer in June and it got into the 30s with a good bit of wind it was a tad chilli then too. I'm thinking a good inflatable pad and 20* bag and my 30* jarbidge uq with a good mid weight base layer and puffy should do the trick. Any and all advice is much appreciated. Oh last June I didn't have the uq just a pl and a Ccf

[Rockdawg69]

I've got the wbbb 1.7 double. My son and I went from Indian grave gap to 19 e last summer in June and it got into the 30s with a good bit of wind it was a tad chilli then too. I'm thinking a good inflatable pad and 20* bag and my 30* jarbidge uq with a good mid weight base layer and puffy should do the trick. Any and all advice is much appreciated. Oh last June I didn't have the uq just a pl and a Ccf

You should be good to go. If you have the ccf, you can cut it into some smaller sections for a sit pad and can be inserted in the toe box to add extra shielding under your feet. I cut mine on with two corners on a slight taper to fit the toe box a little better.

[LegoFox]

Women are gifts to our lives that come and go. Loved ones don't belong to us but are there to serve and teach us something until it is there time to go and our time to move on. Ever since I realized that I see the true beauty in my partner instead of seeing her as a mental concept of "mine, to make me whole and complete". Anyway one thing I know about hiking long and far....it will bring up old emotions that have been buried. Sometimes it's things you thought you had already let go of. I had emotions and insecurities coming from years ago...even from toddler days involving my mother. It is all part of the journey and everyone hikes there own hike. All this talk is making me want to hike right now!!! Too bad I stepped on a rusty spike yesterday! What an adventure life is. May you have a wonderful peace filled journey.