Hi, I am spending the whole month of July backpacking these three areas. I am considering the temperatures and what level of insulation to bring. Does anyone have summer experience backpacking in these areas. It looks like I will be between 5,000 and 10,000 feet the whole time. I am mostly only questioning my sleeping bag choices and jacket choices. I saw on weather underground the 2012 July averages for the town of Mammoth (elevation about 8,000) to be highs in the low 80's and lows in the low 40's with true low of 33 and true high of 91. I thought it might be good to get some personal feedback from someone with experience in this area in addition to the stats. I currently use a 30 degree quilt (Katabatic palisade) in a MLD superlight bivy with a Cricket tarp and a prolight pad. Using this setup I am comfortable down to 45 degrees at 3,000 – 4,000 feet in Big Sur (where I hike mostly) if I wear smartwool lightweight top and bottom with wind shirt and wind pants and Patagonia ulralight hoody. So you can see I am a cold sleeper. I am considering either:
1. just use this set up and who cares if I get cold
2. use this clothing selection and buy a katabatic 15 degree quilt (sawatch)
3. substitute my Montane Nitro jacket (much warmer) and add my montbell ultralight down pants but still use the palisade quilt
Any thought based on your experience in these areas? Thanks, Terry
