Last week I was getting all excited about getting out into the woods during my favorite time of the year (for the woods), fall. As I began making plans for the coming long weekend (Labor Day), i was reminded that there are potential issues with getting into the woods in the late summer and fall, particularly if you’re looking at mountainous regions. Here’s a couple of things to keep in mind to make sure that you have a good experience:

If you’re sleeping outside, make sure that your sleeping bag is going to be warm enough. If your sleeping bag is not rated to be able to deal with cold enough temperatures you can either go get a better bag or you can double them up. Putting on additional clothing might not actually keep you warmer (just the oposite).

Watch the weather forecasts. Mountains contain very irratic weather and can create some very unexpected situations. Last night (August 20th), Lake Placid NY went down to 30 degrees. That’s 10 degrees colder than the forecast called for and about 20 degrees colder than my wife would be able to deal with. There’s nothing like shivering to really kill a fun trip.

Keep an eye out for bears. As fall approaches, they’re trying to finish fattening up for the coming winter siesta so they are out eating almost all the time (close to 20 hours a day). Don’t sleep with any food near your tent (if you’re tenting). Keeping it in the car could even cause your car to get torn apart.

Finally - stay dry. As the temperature dips to highs in the 50s or 60s you have to treat you getting wet to be a big problem. If you can help it, don’t wear cotton. Cottom retains water and if it’s right on your skin you could run into problems as the sun goes down.

These are just a few things to keep in mind if you’re heading into the woods as the weather cools. Planning ahead can help keep a fun time fun and safe.