Camping on a ridgeline in a thunderstorm - Page 1

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[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Camping on a ridgeline in a thunderstorm

Posted: 7/26/2016 7:18:16 PM EDT

Have a trip planned this weekend. Doing about 20 miles, almost the entirety of which is along a ridgeline at about 3500ft (there are some balds but also plenty of tree cover). Current forecast is "chance of thunderstorm" basically from noon on Saturday until 3am Sunday.

Would doing this be monumentally stupid?

I've never really thought twice about camping in a thunderstorm before -
just following common sense like avoiding fields, tall trees, water, metallic
objects, and high ground - but it just occurred to me that I'll be on
high ground the whole trip. Not too worried while I'm hiking, but I'm a little nervous about finding a good place to set up camp. I'll be hammocking, FWIW.

Posted: 7/26/2016 8:28:37 PM EDT

[#1]

Dibs on your guns. Camping on a mountain top with a thunder storm is high on the Darwin list.

Posted: 7/26/2016 8:43:16 PM EDT

[#2]

The lightning doesn't even have to get you.

If you are close enough to the strike the ground currents will do it.

Posted: 7/26/2016 9:23:01 PM EDT

[#3]

so...how far off the ridge should he camp?

Posted: 7/26/2016 9:59:30 PM EDT

[#4]

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so...how far off the ridge should he camp?

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How far is it from where you are now?

Posted: 7/26/2016 10:18:44 PM EDT

[#5]

Knowing your planned elevation I think you're going to be in my neck of the woods. I'm in Luray in the Shenandoah Valley. There were storms here this afternoon that were quick-in/quick-out thunder boomers. They may have been quick, but they did a lot of tree and road damage. The sheriff's department was called out to several locations to direct traffic at cleanup/repair crews. Just food for thought. Around here we can get 3" of rain in an hour and flash floods are very real threats even up on the mountain. Be safe, and if you need an extract in SNP you can call me. PM me for contact info.

Posted: 7/26/2016 10:26:30 PM EDT

[#6]

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How far is it from where you are now?

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so...how far off the ridge should he camp?

How far is it from where you are now?

about tree fiddy

Posted: 7/26/2016 10:42:49 PM EDT

[#7]

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Knowing your planned elevation I think you're going to be in my neck of the woods. I'm in Luray in the Shenandoah Valley. There were storms here this afternoon that were quick-in/quick-out thunder boomers. They may have been quick, but they did a lot of tree and road damage. The sheriff's department was called out to several locations to direct traffic at cleanup/repair crews. Just food for thought. Around here we can get 3" of rain in an hour and flash floods are very real threats even up on the mountain. Be safe, and if you need an extract in SNP you can call me. PM me for contact info.

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Actually I'll be a bit further south....hiking the AT just North of Pearisburg. Really appreciate the comments and offer though. I tried to do this hike in the fall but bailed because there were predicted 50+ mph gusts.

I'll just monitor the weather for now....if I do go I'll find a spot in a saddle a bit down from the leeward side of the ridge...or just keep hiking back to the car.

Posted: 7/26/2016 10:45:08 PM EDT

[#8]

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If you are close enough to the strike the ground currents will do it.

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I'll be in the hammock so I'm good there.

Posted: 7/26/2016 11:33:29 PM EDT

[#9]

This is a good question. A few years ago a couple getting engaged was standing on an outcrop in NC and lightning hit and the ground current got the guy.

I would imagine setting up shop a hundred yards or so on the ridgeline opposite the storm would be a good idea, making sure to stay off rock. But I have little experience and am as curious as you.

Posted: 7/26/2016 11:49:34 PM EDT

[#10]

Curious of the answers for this.

As much as lightning I worry about shit falling from the trees in high wind. When I was in Boy Scouts a kid from another troop at a spring camporee was pretty seriously injured when a size able limb came crashing into their tent during a overnight thunderstorm. He survived with a full recovery, but to this day it freaks me out. We were probably 12 at the time.

Posted: 7/27/2016 12:00:25 AM EDT

[#11]

Just get below the ridge line. Obviously further is better but you have no control over it other than not being the tallest thing sticking up when the storm hits. Terrain makes a difference also. Don't go down the hill and then hide near the tallest tree...
If it is a bad one. A depression, gully, ditch is better than being exposed. Then watch out for flash flooding and rocks, mud moving in the ditch, gully, etc.
I once considered digging a hole and lying in it. I also sat cross legged under a poncho with my head in my lap. When you get stuck in a bad one all you want to do is find a hole. Mud, rocks, snakes... Don't care. Every part of your body says hide.

Posted: 7/27/2016 12:05:24 AM EDT

[#12]

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Just get below the ridge line. Obviously further is better but you have no control over it other than not being the tallest thing sticking up when the storm hits. Terrain makes a difference also. Don't go down the hill and then hide near the tallest tree...
If it is a bad one. A depression, gully, ditch is better than being exposed. Then watch out for flash flooding and rocks, mud moving in the ditch, gully, etc.
I once considered digging a hole and lying in it. I also sat cross legged under a poncho with my head in my lap. When you get stuck in a bad one all you want to do is find a hole. Mud, rocks, snakes... Don't care. Every part of your body says hide.

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Land Surveyor here, this man speaks the truth!

Posted: 7/27/2016 8:45:22 AM EDT

[#13]

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I'll be in the hammock so I'm good there.

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If you are close enough to the strike the ground currents will do it.

I'll be in the hammock so I'm good there.

I am sure you already do but make sure you scope the overhead well. More likely to get hit with a falling limb than struck by lighting I would guess

Posted: 7/27/2016 6:56:23 PM EDT

[#14]

This is one of my greatest fears. When I see a thunderstorm moving in and I'm exposed above the treeline, I'm so tense you couldnt drive a bb up my asshole with a pickaxe.

Posted: 7/27/2016 10:26:45 PM EDT

[#15]

I absolutely love hammocking through thunderstorms. Best dry sleep ever. But I'm weird.

Posted: 7/27/2016 11:04:55 PM EDT

[#16]

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I absolutely love hammocking through thunderstorms. Best dry sleep ever. But I'm weird.

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I like it but I wanna have my ass off the mountain.

Posted: 7/28/2016 5:11:28 PM EDT

[#17]

That's one of the best things about camping. Mother Nature is magnified. Maybe not magnified, but we are more sensitive to things like storms. They feel more "real" if you know what I'm talking about.

Posted: 7/28/2016 9:00:49 PM EDT

[#18]

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I am sure you already do but make sure you scope the overhead well. More likely to get hit with a falling limb than struck by lighting I would guess

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If you are close enough to the strike the ground currents will do it.

I'll be in the hammock so I'm good there.

I am sure you already do but make sure you scope the overhead well. More likely to get hit with a falling limb than struck by lighting I would guess

Absolutely. I almost mentioned the statistics in my OP (tree falling deaths vs. lightning strike deaths) but didn't want to derail the thread.

Break - the weather forecast has actually cleared up quite a bit so I'm a go. Looks like there's only a 3hr gap in the afternoon with any chance of rain.

Posted: 7/29/2016 4:05:27 AM EDT

[#19]

"Is this monumentally stupid?"

Yes....

Lightning is one of my greatest fears of the outdoors..

Add in the fact that a lot of what I have read is conflicting with regards to what to do in the event of lightning when camping and I've cancelled more than one trip because that threat was forecast...

Posted: 7/29/2016 4:32:04 AM EDT

[#20]

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so...how far off the ridge should he camp?

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Delaware.

Posted: 7/29/2016 11:11:15 AM EDT

[#21]

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"Is this monumentally stupid?"

Yes....

Lightning is one of my greatest fears of the outdoors..

Add in the fact that a lot of what I have read is conflicting with regards to what to do in the event of lightning when camping and I've cancelled more than one trip because that threat was forecast...

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I take photos of lightning when I can and have gotten some pretty cool shots. That said, I do get a bit freaked out when it gets close. Last time I shot I was near a chain link fence, and while the lightning was a little over a mile away, the fence "popped" with electricity.

Posted: 8/2/2016 9:39:14 PM EDT

[#22]

Hammock between 2 trees? Ever look closely at a lightbulb filament?

Posted: 8/2/2016 10:55:45 PM EDT

[#23]

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Hammock between 2 trees? Ever look closely at a lightbulb filament?

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Ever look closely at a lightning strike? It doesn't work that way.

Break//

The weather was great this weekend. It rained maybe 5 minutes the whole day and the skies were clear for stargazing...great trip.

Posted: 8/3/2016 1:57:17 AM EDT

[#24]

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Ever look closely at a lightning strike? It doesn't work that way.

Break//

The weather was great this weekend. It rained maybe 5 minutes the whole day and the skies were clear for stargazing...great trip.

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Hammock between 2 trees? Ever look closely at a lightbulb filament?

Ever look closely at a lightning strike? It doesn't work that way.

Break//

The weather was great this weekend. It rained maybe 5 minutes the whole day and the skies were clear for stargazing...great trip.

Google "lightning fried body." Scary stuff!

Posted: 8/3/2016 1:58:47 AM EDT

[#25]

What they DON'T say is "Kiss your ass goodbye." It'd look downright silly to be caught dead in that position, with your lips fused to your...

Posted: 8/3/2016 11:02:56 AM EDT

[#26]

I have a cousin who got struck by lightning bringing home groceries one day. He said he was at the front steps to his house, and next thing he knew, he was sitting down 15ft away with a smoking bag and a vaporized milk jug.

Posted: 8/8/2016 9:32:25 AM EDT

[#27]

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I have a cousin who got struck by lightning bringing home groceries one day. He said he was at the front steps to his house, and next thing he knew, he was sitting down 15ft away with a smoking bag and a vaporized milk jug.

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Any long term effects or anything besides shock happen to your cousin?

Posted: 8/8/2016 5:12:29 PM EDT

[#28]

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Any long term effects or anything besides shock happen to your cousin?

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I have a cousin who got struck by lightning bringing home groceries one day. He said he was at the front steps to his house, and next thing he knew, he was sitting down 15ft away with a smoking bag and a vaporized milk jug.

Any long term effects or anything besides shock happen to your cousin?

I see what you did there!

Posted: 8/9/2016 4:07:13 PM EDT

[#29]

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Any long term effects or anything besides shock happen to your cousin?

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I have a cousin who got struck by lightning bringing home groceries one day. He said he was at the front steps to his house, and next thing he knew, he was sitting down 15ft away with a smoking bag and a vaporized milk jug.

Any long term effects or anything besides shock happen to your cousin?

Not that I know of. He flies planes for a hobby and has wrecked gliders. Skinny, but a stout individual.

Except I turned on the microwave near him once and he dropped on the ground screaming and pissing himself.

Posted: 8/10/2016 9:32:59 AM EDT

[#30]

I do a lot of backpacking here in the western NC mtns on top of exposed balds. I'm more of a winter packer, but I've been thru thru many spring pop-up thunderstorms over the last 20yrs. Had lightning hits within a few 100yrdes, and its pretty exciting at those times to say the least. Also been hailed upon a couple times. During these times, I've been known to doubled over my Therm self inflating sleeping pad, and got on top of it..figure it couldn't hurt lol. So far so good tho.

Typical solo camp sites at 6200' in the Shining Rock wilderness.

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Camping on a ridgeline in a thunderstorm

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