Weather in the Uintas, late August

[schlaggerman]

We will be doing a backpack elk hunt on the north slope of the Uintas the last week of August this year. I'm trying to decide if I'll need my heavy weight sleeping bag rated to 0 degrees or if I can get away with a lighter weight bag rated to about 25 degrees? Hunted the LaSals many years ago and always had good luck with the lighter weight bag. However now we will be much farther north. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[JimP]

Your guess is as good as the next persons.

That country can have anything from a blazing snow storm to driving rain one day and then be 90 degrees the next.

One nice thing is that if it does snow it usually doesn't last long but you can expect rain and thunderstorms every afternoon.

I wouldn't take a light weight bag but a medium weight one and be prepared with lighter thermals that you can put on if the temperatures do drop.

 

[schlaggerman]

Thanks Jim. Sounds pretty much like the LaSals, thunderstorms every afternoon between 4:00 and 6:00 PM.

 

[clacklin009]

I hunt this country and take a 15 degree bag. Sometimes I've been able to sleep under the stars and be just fine. Other times I have been in my warmer tent and have been cold. Where you camp can make a big difference.

 

[schlaggerman]

clacklin, I understand completely. One time we camped between two high peaks in the Lasals, it was like a wind tunnel and much colder than other campsites we had there.

 

[schlaggerman]

Have the Unitas been getting much rain or has it been dry?

 

[ridgetop]

Have the Unitas been getting much rain or has it been dry?

It has been very hot & dry.
But it only takes one big wet cold front to change everything.

 

[schlaggerman]

Thanks Ridgetop. Looks like we'll be hunting water sources in shorts and tee shirts.

 

[JimP]

If it stays like it is the elk will go nocturnal and you'll need some night vision sights on those bows.

I was in the Book Cliffs a few years ago and both the deer and elk were out of sight once the sun came up and didn't return until after it set. You had just a half hour to a hour to find them and get on them before you couldn't see. But there were those hunters that found ways to sneak into their feeding areas and were successful as long as the rest of the herd didn't bust them before the bulls came out.