Where to camp to wait out the long hot summer

[highdesertranger]

what is,

Gynb
BWCA
and should I know what a duffer is

please define your abbreviations.

highdesertranger

 

[skyl4rk]

Going north does not help.  I got caught in a heat wave in North Dakota, on the way from Michigan to Glacier National Park.  We found a campsite with AC electric and ran an air conditioner for 3 days.  Another time I was in northern Quebec and it was very hot. The bugs were terrible and there was no shade because the trees are small up there by Hudsons Bay.  The afternoons were very hot so I kept driving slow until the sun went down, the airflow was the only way to stay cool.

Another time driving from Yellowstone to MI, it was hot everywhere except there was a cold front with a bubble of cool air about half the size of North Dakota, tracking east.  I kept a watch on a weather app showing temperatures and drove to try to stay in the middle of the cool weather.  I made it to Illinois before the pattern broke up.

I think summer is a good time to stay in a cool place and not travel much.It can be really unpleasant in a hot vehicle.

 

[ByeBye]

I'm not a seasoned nomad but I think elevation is key. >7,000 ft in altitude. That's been my experience in Arizona.

 

[DannyB1954]

I think there are two options. Go up in elevation, or go West to the coast.
The problem with up is it gets harder for some to breath.
The problem with West is you need to be right on the coast. 50 miles in and you will get much hotter.
I haven't decided where to go myself yet. I am in Southern Nevada and summer has arrived. At the end of June I have Jury duty here, so after that I want to be gone.

 

[travelaround]

High Sierras weather gets hot too. Not as hot as the valley.

Oregon coast is overdue for the Cascadia earthquake.

I like to cool off in swimming holes, then keep on my clothes sopping wet. When hot again, just jump in another swimming hole.

 

[jimindenver]

Michigan is great if you like hot, humid and skeeters.

High altitude in Colorado rarely gets hot

 

[GreatefulNomad]

what is,

Gynb
BWCA
and should I know what a duffer is

please define your abbreviations.

highdesertranger

I know a "duffer" is a golfer.
BWCA is [font=Roboto, arial, sans-serif]The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in Minnesota.
gynb...no clue[/font]

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

BWCA = Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.  Wilderness rules apply.  

Superior National Forest surrounding the wilderness has a lot of great boondocking but will be hot and buggy (mosquitoes, ticks, and biting black flies) in July and August.  Great place to be in September and October; November starts to get cold.

 

[MrNoodly]

Going north does not help.

The farther north you go, the longer the sun is up, heating everything longer.

 

[MrNoodly]

The problem with up is it gets harder for some to breath.

This is why it's good to slowly work your way upward over a few weeks, not just jump a few thousand feet in one day. Give yourself time to acclimate.

Even though I'd been near Leadville CO for a while, at 10,000+ feet, I still felt the effects of elevation change when I took a day trip to the top of Mt. Evans, 14,000+ feet.

 

[wayne49]

what is,

Gynb
BWCA
and should I know what a duffer is

please define your abbreviations.

highdesertrangerPlease elete the reply. Glnb

Please delete my reply. It is not helpful and has typos.

 

[Weldman]

It already is here near Houston and probably will be well into October.  Thanksgiving before we get any real relief.  So wish I could leave for at least the summer.  Bummer.

Summer began in March/April in Houston and yes if by freak accident you might get relief by Thanksgiving. Grew up next door to you in Beaumont will be headed back in October/November your way taking my time moseying around might get there by December to make sure it's gone by then.
Anywho to help contribute to this post, try Olympic Peninsula towards Neah Bay or anywhere in high elevation such as Leadville CO, Bighorn National forest in Buffalo WY. Trying to keep under 84 degrees is my specialty.

 

[lenny flank]

This is why it's good to slowly work your way upward over a few weeks, not just jump a few thousand feet in one day. Give yourself time to acclimate.

Hah, I'm a Florida Flatlander.  I get nosebleeds on the fifth floor.  

 

[Kaylee]

Thanks for this thread, I've been wanting specific pointers, as summer has been cranking up.
Of the legitimate places mentioned, which have good quiet oriented dispersed camping?

eDJ_:
Would you pull out some screen captures of that YT vid, for those of us without YT? Thanks in advance, my Cheese Sibling!

General Tips:
Check the (current) monthly weather forecast for candidate spots.
Even if there's a few hot days, if most are in your comfort zone, it may work for you.
Check Wikipedia for average & extreme monthly weather ranges.
Nothing beats first hand endorsements, from reliable people.

Superior National Forest surrounding the wilderness has a lot of great boondocking but will be hot and buggy (mosquitoes, ticks, and biting black flies) in June, July and August.  Great place to be in September and October; November starts to get cold.

There, fixed that for ya!
Other than the omission of June, absolutely perfect description, Spiff!

For more than a month, I've been dispersed camping in northern Michigan, and today the max temp inside my van was 102F. The mosquitoes are out in near full force, black flies are still very low, and I'm not sure about the ticks (I'm 100% working inside my van - I'm not doing that "living out of" thing). Granted, I'm camped right beside a swamp (good wildlife!), so that tends to mean more bugs, particularly mosquitoes.

Nights have been fine (except for mosquito infiltrators).
Most days have been ok, and I'm getting a lot of work done.
On very warm days, I've been taking a long siesta mid-day, mixed with DVD watching, then staying up late and rising at the crack of dawn.
On hot days (like today), I'm parked at a Library, getting my 'net fix. Tomorrow's also supposed to be hot, so I'm thinking of doing a grocery run (~20 miles away), and staying overnight to fulfill my National Forest movement requirement, a week early.

The next two weeks are looking good, weather wise .
I'm expecting some baby birds & mammals to start showing up.

 

[Glynb]

Where to go depends a lot on where Gynb is at the moment.

Arrowhead of Minnesota is a heck of trek from the SW. I've done it. One passes by a few cool areas on the way to Grand Marais. ("Do you know the way to Grand Marais?" sang no one ever.)

Been to the  BWCA with St Paul YMCA. Camp Widjiwagan. (That is how I know "paddle your own canoe" is harder than it is with a bow paddler and a stern paddler, with a duffer in the middle for a break.

This business of camping anywhere in a NF is BS to me. Maybe that is just me, as I was extremely paranoid when stealth camping. There has to be an existing campsite. You can't block forest roads or make a new site. You can't break trail in a NF.

Thank you everybody for your replies.

I'll be leaving from N/W Louisiana.  The video about the 70 degree lines throughout the year was very helpful.  I want to head west and i think I will head towards northern Montana and Wyoming.  While heading there I will just stay in a cheap motels until I hit cooler weather.

Any more comments would be helpful,

 

[maki2]

For the last year or two I have been following the weather sometimes daily or weekly in a number of places I am interested in spending time in. The way I do that is with weather apps on my phone and tablet. You can add cities to a list on the apps then with the swipe of your finger scroll through them to see what the weather is like. That will give you an accurate idea of what is actually happening in those areas throughout the year for daytime as well as night temperatures and also how sunny or cloudy the days tend to be as well as how much wind they get.

You have lots of great technology at your fingertips you just have to remember to use it to your advantage

 

[Weldman]

It’s what I did after making a fatal mistake and moving permanently to Washington state. Says up to 25 inches a year according almanac and weather stations, didn’t say how many days it took to get that much rain in the area. Never knew of a place that could rain 20 days straight till I got there. I have since moved to another state...

 

[Cammalu]

Please delete my reply. It is not helpful and has typos.

Typos can make life very interesting

 

[skyl4rk]

From Louisiana, you might want to head for the Sante Fe, NM area. It is a good place to spend a few weeks to get used to elevation. After your altitude headache goes away, move to Colorado.

I have gotten a headache and flu like symptoms every time I went to Sante Fe, and it is only about 7,000 feet.

https://casaescondida.com/blog/santa-fe-altitude-sickness/

Get used to 7,000 feet before you head for 10,000 feet in Colorado.

 

[B and C]

I have never had one of those altitude headaches or sickness (wife either). I think the key is plenty of H2O. I used to leave Houston (elev. ~100Ft.) and go straight to the mountains of Colorado. One time straight to Pikes Peak (14,210). The wife drove days and I drove nights so it was about a 24 hour transition.