Western Express vs. Trans-Am time and suggestions

[zzzz]

Ben:

Go to this web site :

http://www.weatherbase.com/weather/state.php3?c=US

Select state and then select city. It will give you average highs, average lows, average rainfall, and historic high & low temps for each month of the year.

If you are looking for the coldest temps it's possible you are likely to hit, look up Kirkwood Ca., Austin Nv., Rico Co., & Westcliffe Co. Those are all spots at pretty significant elevation on the route.

pm

[jwalden]

I used the Ultralamina 45 (plus silk liner -- to preserve the bag, not for warmth) on a west-to-east WE+TA July 18-August 23, 2012.  I sweated overnight most of the time.  (But I only camped half the time, so I could have missed the cold nights.)  I doubt it'd be colder in June to merit the 32, myself.

Re lightweight traveling generally, http://whereswalden.com/2013/09/04/37-days-and-one-year-later-part-11-gear-2/ was what I took.  ~17-18 pounds in seatpost-mounted panniers, repair tools and water in a Platypus backpack (a few pounds to maybe a dozen or so pounds more).  Might give you an idea what to carry, or not carry, to cut weight -- if you can stomach missing out on various comforts.

I used T-Mobile for the trip, phone off except for taking pictures.  Most of Nevada was either call-only roaming (data?  hah!) or emergency service only (between cities, tho I didn't check often).  Verizon or AT&T were the locals' carriers of choice.

Lots more random observations from the trip in the full fourteen-post recap I did, the conclusion being http://whereswalden.com/2013/09/07/37-days-and-one-year-later-part-14-conclusion/ and linking to all the other parts.  I wrote what I wanted with only light structuring, so parts' values to you will vary.