Backpacking Weather SUCKS: How To Deal with the Elements on A Thru-Hike
Welcome back to my backpacking sucks series. If you haven’t read the first installment, be sure to check that out. Just as the title suggests, this is a series all about how much different aspects of backpacking suck, and ultimately, what we can do about it.
In part two of backpacking sucks, I want to talk about how much the weather can suck while backpacking. Even though the weather can really, really suck, with the right gear, mindset, and game plan, you can definitely make even the suckiest weather suck a little less.
A lot of this complaining was aided by friends on Instagram, so I’ll put usernames where I had extra input!
HEAT SUCKS
(complaint help from @snowboardin1)
Sauce with her sun umbrella in New Mexico on the CDT.
For people who willingly put ourselves out in the elements as much as we do, us backpackers sure do have a strong dislike for weather extremes. And I get it. Nothing has ever tested me more than walking through the New Mexico desert during a heat wave on a late April afternoon between the hours of 12 and 4 pm. I have never experienced something that sucks quite as much. When I find myself in these especially sucky situations I try to remind myself how much tougher I am getting. Like, if I just make it through this afternoon, I will be one scorching afternoon’s worth of suck tougher than I was this morning.
Again, mindset shift alone is not the thing that has gotten me through the suckiest, hottest days on trail, so here are some of the other things that helped:
A sun umbrella. Seriously, it makes it feel 10-15 degrees cooler and sometimes is the only shade you’ll get.
Soak your shirt/hat in whatever water sources there are. It will keep you much cooler at least for a little bit.
Don’t hike in the afternoon. Learn from my mistakes and take siestas. In some environments that means no hiking between 10am and 4pm. You might have to night hike, but it’s better than melting.
COLD SUCKS
Sauce bundled up for the cold in the San Juans on the CDT in Colorado.
Unfortunately, most backpacking is not like April 25th. It gets too hot and it gets too cold. And you’re definitely going to need more than a light sweater. If you’re anything like me, or from what I’ve heard women in general (we run a little colder), you might not deal so well with colder temps. But it’s not something some layering and the right gear can’t fix.
Over the years, I’ve dialed in what I need to keep me warm on three-season trips and, more recently, on winter uphilling excursions.
Things that have helped me deal with the soul-sucking cold include:
Getting a warmer sleeping bag and knowing the difference between comfort ratings and safety ratings. A sleeping bag may be rated to 15 degrees but if that is the safety rating, it simply means you won’t perish from the cold in 15 degree temps, it does not mean you’ll have a comfortable night of sleep. Personally, I carry a 15 degree sleeping bag, which is totally overkill to some, but helps me get a lovely nights sleep in the high alpine of Colorado from May-September.
Carrying a sleeping bag liner. If you don’t wanna drop the cash for a way warmer bag, a liner can be a great way to add a few degrees of warmth to your current sleep system.
Checking the r-value of your sleeping pad is also important to make sure your sleep setup is adequate. You can even add a thin foam pad under your blowup pad to add some warmth.
Smart camp site selection will also go a long way. Try to avoid water, and lower elevation will almost always be warmer than camping higher.
A midlayer fleece can go a long way for a lot of extra warmth without having to worry about hiking in your base layers and getting them wet with sweat. A midlayer + a rain jacket is an excellent insulation tool on frigid and windy mornings.
The nalgene trick! While I don’t normally carry a nalgene, filling one with hot water at the end of the day can be an excellent way to keep your toes nice and toasty on the far ends of shoulder season.
I could probably do a whole video on dealing with the cold, leave a comment if you think I should expand on this further!
HAIL / RAIN / LIGHTNING SUCKS
(complaint help from @kbow628)
A storm approaches while above tree line on the CDT in Colorado.
In the same realm as sucky temperatures is sucky weather! If we could schedule our backpacking trips for perfect weather windows, I’m sure we would — but that’s not reality!
Sometimes you’ve had PTO booked for months, flights are bought and two days before you realize monsoon season decided to rear it’s predictably ugly head a few weeks early. Or maybe monsoon season is the only time you could go. So, how to deal?
In Colorado, afternoon storms are basically synonymous with summer. If you can avoid being above tree line after 2pm, you’ll be better off.
If it hails, tree cover is also a great way to reduce the sting. I also like to pull out my tyvek ground sheet to guard myself. In Colorado, most hail storms don’t last longer than 20 minutes, so pull out some protection and wait it out if you can.
An umbrella can also make a world of difference in never-ending rain storms.
Sometimes (and in some places) hail, rain and lightning are unpredictable and unavoidable. This is why it’s important to have good rain gear that you can trust to keep you dry.
If all else fails, don’t be afraid to set up camp early. Sometimes that’s just the way the sucky backpacking cookie crumbles.
And remember, this is making you tougher!!
PACKING UP WET GEAR
(complaint help from @ll_kool_jones, @fischerm.27)
Having a yard sale dry out in Colorado on the CDT.
An inevitable byproduct of setting up camp in the rain, is packing up a wet camp in the morning. That sh*t SUCKS. I remember one particular day on the CDT, Josh and I attempted to hike through the rain for HOURS in the winds. It never let up. We set up camp and everything besides our sleep stuff was sopping wet. It didn’t stop pouring/hailing until just before sunset, so nothing dried out. In the morning we had to put on soaked clothes and pack up soaked gear. But we still managed to have a pretty good day after that. If you’re lucky the sun will, eventually, come back out. I can acknowledge that the AT vets are probably laughing at me right now, so i you have things to add to this list, please leave ‘em in the comments.
But here’s what I do when I’m forced to pack up wet gear:
If you can, try just strapping your tent to the outside of your pack so you don’t have to put it in and potentially get everything else wet.
I keep whatever is dry in my trash compactor liner and put the wet stuff oustid of it until it has a chance to dry.
Take a long lunch break where you have a complete yard sale with everything out in the sun.
Use a bandana/buff/pack towel to wipe off as much excess water as you can before packing it up.
Shake stuff out for the same reason.
WET FEET
(complaint help from @travelingnaturejournal)
Wet feet are also usually an unavoidable, sucky part of any good backpacking trip. Whether it’s from water crossings with no good rock hop, a long day of slogging through the rain, or tromping through lots of late season snow, having wet feet all day objectively sucks. I do find you get used to this feeling at some point, but there are also a few good ways to deal with it:
If you really hate it, pack some extra socks so you have options.
Don’t wear waterproof shoes. I know this sounds counterintuitive, but waterproof things take FOREVER to dry, whereas breathable trail runners will eventually squeeze out that extra water and dry.
Take your shoes and socks off at breaks to let your feet dry out. Don’t let them soak all day.
SUMMER/SHOULDER SEASON SNOW
Thru-hikers crossing snow on the CDT in the San Juans in Colorado.
Something that was NEWS TO ME when I started backpacking out west was that backpacking through snow is a valid concern sometimes well into July. This midwest girl was not ready for endless fields of sun cups and sketchy traverses while climbing Mt.Whitney on 4th of July weekend.
However, I persevered during a high snow year on the PCT in 2019 and through the San Juans in late MAY on the CDT in 2022. And while I still feel like I’m gonna sh*t myself any time I have to cross a steep snow chute, the whole situation sucks a little bit less now with these tools:
Bring Micro Spikes: This is one of those items I’d rather have and not need, than need and not have. They’re heavy, sure. But relative to the weight off my shoulders I feel when I can actually grip into ice rather than slide around feeling like I’m going to fall off the side of a mountain? Weightless.
Bring an ice axe: Another crucial tool, that is important to know how to use, that can literally save your life! Remember an ice axe is no good to you strapped to the outside of your pack, actually take it out and use it on steep snow traverses and make sure you know how to self-arrest should the need arise.
Walk around the snow: Now that my routefinding skills have improved, I’m more confident in going off trail to avoid the snow all together. If it makes sense, you can walk around steep snow chutes or find another way to your destination without risking a fatal glissade.
Glissading: While you never really want to glissade accidentally, glissading down a long slope can be an excellent reward for slogging through snow all day. My main glissading tips include 1) using something, anything to protect your butt. 2) not letting yourself pick up too much speed, even if that means going painfully slow. 3) waiting for the afternoon when the snow is soft, rather than trying to slide down an icy chute first thing in the morning.
Start early; If you are going to be going through significant snow, try to do it early in the day before you’ll be post-holing all afternoon in melty snow.
Bread bags or extra socks for wet feet: One thing about hiking through snow all day is your feet are going to get wet. If you know this is going to happen, try putting bread bags over your socks in your shoes, or just bring an extra pair of socks as some reprieve.
Sauce snuggled up in her sleeping bag and sleeping bag liner while cowboy camping on the CDT.
Well, that’s about all the complaining about weather I have in me. In the next blog, I’ll be talking about all the different aches and pains that come with backpacking, and how much those suck. If you’d like to vent about backpacking, please feel free to do so in the comments (or ask any questions you have).