Pacific Crest Trail weather

You Are Here:

Home >> Pacific Crest Trail weather

Today's Question
What should you do if you run into a cougar in the backcountry? answer

What is the number one backcountry skill people should learn? answer

Today's Question
What are the five best environmental movies of all time? answer

What are the greenest colleges? answer

What kind of dog will make me look manlier? answer
Is there a sport that safely combines my twin passions for guns and kayaks? answer
How come most of the world's cultures enjoy eating goat, but Americans don't? answer

Online Favorites

Special Issues

Photo Galleries

Week of May 9-16, 1996
The Bahamas' low-key Out Islands
Green Tortoise for alternative travel
West Virginia is for mountain biking
Attack of the killer black flies
Wildlife and nature resorts
Pacific Crest Trail weather

Pacific Crest Trail weather
Question: I'm planning a hike in July on the Pacific Crest Trail from Sonora Pass to Tuolumne Meadows , and I can't find a reference for temperatures to be expected. Can you help?

Jerry Dunaway
San Diego, CA
jtdunaway@efdswest.navfac.navy.mil

Keep the Gore-Tex handy. The weather on the PCT to Tuolumne Meadows (above) is a mixed bag even in July.

Adventure Adviser: Your best bet is to go right to the source--the experts at Yosemite National Park--which is exactly what I did. According to the rangers, at 9,000 to 10,000 feet, you'll want to bring that warm sleeping bag and an extra layer of polypropylene, since average nighttime temps usually dip down into the low-to mid-30s.

Most July afternoons will see 70-degree readings and almost always an hourlong thunderstorm or downpour. Be sure, then, to keep that Gore-Tex handy and do your best to avoid being on mountain peaks and ridgelines if you see approaching thunderclouds. The good news, though, is that by July, you won't have to worry too much about those infamous, heavy Sierra snowfalls. For additional weather-related information, call Yosemite at 209-372-0265 or 209-372-0200.

Search the archives | Ask the Adventure Adviser