Above Treeline!

So I feel reasonably competent backpacking in forests. I'm planning a 100+ mile hike in Utah in 2017(this summer is full). This hike will spend most of it's time above 10000ft above treeline. I'm looking for any useful advice. I already know to get over passes early in the day before thunderstorms build up. Oh this will be probably Aug/Sept time frame. Is there anything particular that I'm missing being a woods hiker versus high alpine?

john

Hi John,

Sounds grand! I'll leave the weather discussion to others more familiar with the region, but concur that afternoon tstorms and unexpected snow are two planning points.

You have the double-whammy of sun exposure and altitude. Sun protection is very important, both skin and eye. Consider headwear, sunglasses, and perhaps longsleeve shirt and long pants. Depends on your burn sensitivity, of course.

If you're used to lowland hiking, the thin air takes some getting used to. The first day or two shouldn't be brutally ambitious if coming from near sea level. Everybody has a different ability to adjust, so you won't know until you get on the trail. Even a day in town before leaving helps. In general, stay hydrated and eat throughout the day, even if you don't feel thirsty or hungry. It's better to stave off altitude sickness and fatigue than recover from it.

Campsites tend to be smallish and favor compact tents. Tents that use a lot of stakes can be a problem--you don't need self-standing but one without a lot of guylines is easier to fit into tight, rocky spots.

Nights can get cold, fast, in the open. Make sure to have enough sleeping bag to handle the low temps and I highly recommend a hooded down parka. Very light ones are available these days.

In the Sierra, water becomes scarce in late summer but I don't know about Utah. Quiz the locals to find out how much you may have to tote between fill-ups.

There's a lot more, but that's a starter list at least.

Happy planning!

From your description, it sounds like the Uintas. If instead Zion or other southern Utah locations, it would be entirely different.

In many years there is a brief wintery storm that comes in any time from mid-August to mid-September that may drop some snow that usually melts off in a few days. Just be prepared. Wind can be a big issue. Not that you need an all-out mountaineering tent, but smaller is usually better and a full coverage rainfly is good. A wind shirt is also nice to have and they weigh nearly nothing. Because of the wind, I do not use ponchos. I am a real fan of gaiters - I wear knee-high gaiters in all weather - even in the Sierra. Low cut hiking shoes are OK if you have gaiters. Even if it only snows a bit, the wind makes drifts that you may have to walk through. These storms often start with a day of steady rain that turns to snow. Try not to get soaked because when the temperature drops this is a perfect condition for hypothermia. If need be, just sit out the worst of the storm. But, you may have days upon days of perfect weather too. Never can tell. At least get the latest long-term weather report before you start.

The summer convective storms are usually done by late August and early September. But, it is still a good idea to be over passes before late afternoon. I suspect you will get some nights below freezing. I would not go with anything less than a 20F degree bag.

yes Uintas was trying to be relatively vague intentionally to not color responses.

john

Actually, it's a very good idea to specify where you'll be backpacking because any intelligent responses must be tailored to the location in which you'll be. Note W_D's post about the different parts of Utah! It's important to tailor the gear you take to the environmental conditions you'll encounter.

I really don't have much to add to W_D's post. She has spent a lot of time in Wyoming's Wind Rivers, very similar to the Uintas, while most of my experience has been in the northern Colorado Rockies and the Pacific Northwest Cascades. Really, not much difference, although the weather in the Cascades is usually (although definitely not always!) a bit milder than in the Rockies.

My main memory of the High Uintas (from age 11) is waking up in the middle of the night with my parents turning the tent around (with me in it) because the storm (a 3-dayer) suddenly started blowing from the opposite direction, right into the tent door.

If possible, drop down to timberline to camp. If you can't, then at least get to a lower elevation (not on a ridge where the lightning is more apt to strike) and make full use of any wind protection provided by krummholz (which, when I was a youngster, we called snow mats).

Not sure what type of stove you're using, but I make sure to have a windscreen for mine (see OM's post about swirling winds!) and make allowance for lower boiling points at altitude; it's about 191F at 11K, so food does not re-hydrate as quickly . I add a few minutes on. My wife has issues with altitude acclimation, so we generally stay around a high trailhead for a day before going in and she takes aspirin to help things along.