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I Got Caught in a Sierra Storm, on Purpose
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Home › Forums › Campfire › Editor’s Roundtable › I Got Caught in a Sierra Storm, on Purpose
- This topic has 10 replies, 8 voices, and was last updated 10 months, 1 week ago by
Tom Clark.
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May 12, 2023 at 9:30 am #3780983
Companion forum thread to: I Got Caught in a Sierra Storm, on Purpose
Isaac Simons tells the lessons of extreme Sierra weather and questionable gear choices through the lens of the writings of Phil Arnot.
May 12, 2023 at 10:43 am #3780995Very well written – enjoyed it! Beautiful writing!
I like hiking in crazy weather as well…..as I don’t like to hunker down. I was caught once on a mountain pass while doing the CT in 2020 – cold, sideways rain and wind. Last year on the JMT as I approached some 2 to 3 miles from Donahue pass, lots of thunder/lightning rang out announcing impending thunderstorm. I continued and rain started 0.5 from the pass and then it poured for the next 2 hours making all camp spots soggy on the other side of the Donahue pass. After lots of searching, I thought I had found a good spot only to see more than 100 pieces of what looked like dog poop on the a big flat rock right nearby….Coyote’s hangout I suppose.
May 12, 2023 at 1:09 pm #3781004Yeah, Donahue…once hiking north towards the pass, I kept an eye on approaching storm clouds the whole way up. Reaching the pass I found a small group eating lunch. Hey, time for a snackaroo! “Ever feel like you just dodged a bullet?” I chirped to the others, referencing the weather. In ten minutes another group of three marched past going north at a fast clip. Suddenly, flash boom. No real interval between the two. the peaks to the immediate east have hidden the storm’s approach. We’re all up scrambling to put on packs as the rain begins and the flashes continue. It’s a long, steep and completely exposed descent over now rain slickened talus boulders and rock. Flashboom! over and over. It’s right over us. there are two somewhat tricky rock and log crossings over deep water to manage–slow going and it’s hard to concentrate when lightning is hitting all around. Finally I descended into forest. Holy crap! but in a few minutes, I began to enjoy the storm, feeling protected.
It’s not the rain in this instance–the lightning will do you in first.
May 13, 2023 at 10:30 pm #3781135So many memories of lightning and thunderstorms in the mountains, especially the High Sierra. Some of the most terrifying, and satisfying, among all of my times in nature. This is one of my favorite stories ever published at BPL. Well done, Isaac.
May 14, 2023 at 12:32 pm #3781169Flattering words, Ryan. And much appreciated–thank you!
May 14, 2023 at 5:33 pm #3781182What a great read! Electrical storms in the mountains are one of my fears, though how you pack for it remains a mystery. The tent poles, pegs, backpack frame, trekking poles all seem like unreasonably good conductors to me. Still, it’s comforting to know that even in the wilderness, the chances of someone coming along with frito-lays or mouldy cheese are surprisingly high. Learning that is worth a lot more than 25 cents.
May 15, 2023 at 5:53 am #3781208Glad you liked it! A frameless pack and freestanding tarp/tent could solve some conduction issues. I know certain ultralight manufacturers offer fully rubberized umbrellas with no conductive materials whatsoever–though I’m not aware of anyone doing the same with trekking poles just yet. That said, a naked human stripped of all gear can still conduct a bolt of lightening to the ground just fine…
May 15, 2023 at 8:07 am #3781224* non-freestanding tarp/tent. Sorry, typo.
May 15, 2023 at 5:23 pm #3781253Great story, great writing, looking forward to seeing more from you Isaac.
I’ve read Muir’s accounts of climbing up a tree in a windstorm, and waiting out a blizzard on Shasta in a hot spring, but wasn’t familiar with Arnot’s brand of crazy. I guess you are his heir.
May 22, 2023 at 12:05 am #3781595Your writing style is great. You are a good storyteller.  There is nothing like being out in a thunder storm in the mountains.
Jun 24, 2023 at 5:02 pm #3784022“…milking a stubborn heifer.” You realize that heifers are young females that have not had a calf yet, so they don’t have any milk to let down like older cows, right?
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