A week ago in the high alpine meadows, something changed. The flowers were drying up, the grasses had turned brown, and that familiar smell of sweet alpine rot had begun—the unmistakable smell of summer vegetation dying back. Last night, snow fell on Mount Garibaldi. The mountain season is starting to change.
Down in the city, it can still feel very much like summer. Temperatures can push into the 20s during the day, and you may spend most of your hike in shorts and a T-shirt. But at elevation, once the sun disappears, it is already puffy, toque and gloves weather. Every year around this time, people underestimate just how cold the mountains can get at night.
Late August and September are transition months, which means you need to pack for two seasons. Keep the light layers you need for hot daytime travel, but start carrying the insulation you might have left at home a few weeks ago: a puffy, toque, gloves, waterproof shell and an extra dry layer.
Most importantly, don't pack for the temperature at the trailhead. Pack for the temperature at elevation, after sunset, when you're tired, wet and no longer moving. If you twist an ankle and suddenly aren't generating heat by hiking anymore, a comfortable fall evening can become a cold one surprisingly quickly.
THE DAYS ARE GETTING SHORTER
We're also losing daylight fast. Sunset is now around 8 p.m. and getting earlier, so this is a good time to check your headlamp. Charge it, check your spare and make sure your spare batteries actually work. Cold temperatures reduce battery performance, and that applies to your headlamp, phone, GPS, satellite communicator and external battery pack. Keep critical electronics warm when you can.
TIP: In truly cold weather, add a hand or toe warmer to the outside of a cellphone to keep the battery alive longer.
KEEP YOUR ELECTRONICS DRY
Fall also means more rain, fog, dew and condensation, so throw a couple of zip-lock bags into your pack for electronics, cables and batteries. Water resistance doesn't mean moisture can't cause problems. If your iPhone detects moisture in its charging connector, for example, it may disable wired charging until the connector dries. You can have a perfectly good external battery and cable and still be unable to charge your phone. We've seen it happen.
And increasingly, your phone isn't just your phone. It's your map, camera, communication device and, for many people, their emergency satellite connection.
This is what makes late summer deceptive. It can still be summer at sea level, fall at 1,500 metres and winter on the summits. Rain at the trailhead can be sleet or snow higher up, and freezing levels can move dramatically with an incoming weather system.
The mountains give us plenty of warning that the seasons are changing: dying flowers, brown grasses, colder evenings, earlier sunsets and the first dusting of snow.
Pay attention to those signals—and start changing what you carry before you need it.