Sleeping gear for the Grand Canyon in August?

zuren

Adventurer
My fiance is heading out on a trip with her sisters for 4 days/3 nights in the Grand Canyon at the end of August. They will be with a pair of guides and be sleeping in tents. We have most of her backpacking gear sorted out except her sleeping gear. What would you recommend for a backpacking solution in the US Southwest in August? All of my camping experience has been in the northern reaches of the continent.

I see some suggestions online of a sheet and maybe even a small fleece blanket to wrap up in rather than a formal sleeping bag. Any sleeping bag we currently have is too bulky or too warm for this trip. Using something we already have would be great but if we need to order something, it needs to happen soon.

Thanks!
 

coax

Adventurer
I think to some extent its how warm/cold the individual sleeps. August is going to be HOT down in the canyon. When I rafted the grand last September I rarely used a sleeping bag at all. The campsites that were right next to the river were a fair bit cooler than the sites even 30 yards from the river. If they are backpacking down from the rim or sleeping up higher, a light sleeping bag of some sort would probably be good to have. Also the rain can make things chilly so I'd probably just find/use a lightweight sleeping bag and call it good. The fleece blanket might be ok but could end up being a bit large/bulky. But then again large adventures are the perfect excuse to buy gear! Something like this might be a good option? http://www.rei.com/product/746296/rei-travel-down-45-sleeping-bag FWIW. Should be a fantastic trip!


Here's the temperatures from the park website for lows/highs in the inner canyon.
JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC
High (F) 56 62 71 82 92 101 106 103 97 84 68 57
Low (F) 36 42 48 56 63 72 78 75 69 58 46 37
High (C) 13 17 22 28 33 38 41 39 36 29 20 14
Low (C) 2 6 9 13 17 22 26 24 21 14 8 2

http://www.nps.gov/grca/planyourvisit/hike-tips.htm
 

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