summer temperature

im planning a summer trip to south san juan wilderness for a backpacking/flyfishing trip.

anyrate my question is how does elevation effect temperature, Ive found that the night time low average for a town close to the area is 48f in july, the town is at 7,890ft. im planning to be around 10-11k durring my trip. so with that information what ballpark should the temp be?

Thanks for the help! if you cant tell im sleeping bag shopping

Until you get a more informed answer: the ballpark estimate I learned is that you should subtract 3 degrees for every 1000 ft of elevation gain. That would put the average right around 40 degrees for 10,600 ft.

Also remember that the average low temperature is not necessarily what you'd expect--as many nights will be colder as will be warmer. I'd suggest maybe 5*F above the lowest temperature for that time of year.

I can tell you when I venture into similar areas in July, I take a -3C rated bag. (that's what, about 25F) I'd make sure you can get something you'd be comfortable in down to freezing or a bit below.

thanks for you guys help. this is my first trip really since philmount back in '05, so the planning process is pretty new to me

Thanks for the information

Benjamin

Philmont in the summer will get below 30F at night. If I were you, I would look at the 20F and 30F bags.

Let me re-emphasize what's been said: go on the safe side of sleeping bag ratings. You'll be much more comfortable in a 20 deg bag at 40 deg than vice versa!

You can check temperature variations using the NOAA/NWS website and changing the location you wish to check. I've done that for Yosemite before going winter camping there. You can see the difference between the Valley floor and Badger Pass for example.
http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php...6000&zone=1

http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php...nit=0&lg=en

Scroll down to the bottom of the page and there is a link to a printable version of just the forecast otherwise, the whole page prints out, which you may or may not want.

Here, in these two forecasts the altitude difference is about 2500 ft. and the temp difference for the coming week is anywhere between no difference and 12 degrees.

Well In Summer there is a temperature of 25F to 30F which i think is much . What is summer temperature in your surroundings .

bogossett,

The temperature lapse rate is about 3.5 degrees per 1,000 feet.

That area is close to the Colorado Trail. From discussions in their forum, most opt for a 20 degree bag in July. Then in August they start discussing if they should use a 40 degree bag.

I used an Alpine 20 last year at those altitudes in June. It was fine. That's a cheap bag. If I were buying again, I'd go with a down 20 degree bag. There it depends on how much you can or want to spend.

If you camp down in the bottom of a canyon, no matter the elevation, it will be much colder than if you camped up out of the bottom. I've walked out of frosty creek bottoms and felt the temps rising as I ascended - the reverse is also true. Cold sinks.

Conversely, camping at the tops of ridges or peaks will also be cold, due to wind chill.

One of the many reasons I favor the hammock - can pitch on a slope if there are no flat areas/benches. Of course, if it's too steep, getting out to pee can be a real adventure!

Topography makes a huge difference. And mountains can change their weather - I've had the temps plummet to 30 degrees below what was predicted by NOAA. My recommendation is to bring enough that you will be comfortable 10 degrees below the forecasted lows, and you will probably survive something lower than that well enough.

bgossett,

Be sure to use bear precautions there. And don't camp near any Bear Creeks. Names mean something.

There are persistant rumors of grizzlies in that area, but no proof. It was the last part of Colorado to have grizzlies.