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View Full Version : Which of the the following weather elements annoy you most?



woodsy
12-21-2006, 12:03
This poll covers the four seasons of the AT and the various elements a hiker may encounter. For me who likes to hike above treeline, the wind annoys me the most above all the other elements. For someone who is hiking long distances rain may be most annoying. This poll is for anyone who hikes whether it be day or long distance.

rafe
12-21-2006, 12:09
Absolutely useless to get annoyed by the weather. That said, intense heat is my least favorite weather to hike in... and caused me to cut short my 2005 section hike.

Lone Wolf
12-21-2006, 12:09
Rain when temps. are below 45 degs. I'll only hike in rain if I'm caught in it. I never pack up my tent in the rain unless there's a town within 20 miles.

Two Speed
12-21-2006, 12:17
Can't take the heat around here in the summer. I'm a pretty strict winter hiker. Of course it's probably a lot easier to be a winter hiker in Georgia than in Maine or New Hampshire. Oddly enough rain doesn't bother all that much any more. I don't like it and will avoid it when I can, but it's just part of the scene around here in the winter.

Skidsteer
12-21-2006, 12:19
High wind is my least favorite hiking weather.

orangebug
12-21-2006, 12:28
High wind with sleet or freezing rain gets me miserable.

Footslogger
12-21-2006, 12:34
Non-stop day after day rain for 3 weeks on end 2 months in arow.

...and yes, that pretty much described 2003

Not complaining ...but since you asked !!

We needed WD40 a lot more than we needed sunscreen.

'Slogger

spittinpigeon
12-21-2006, 12:36
Wind bothers me the most, especially when the wind blows only if it's cold, and no wind when it's hot.

Cookerhiker
12-21-2006, 12:40
By far, it's the heat & humidity. The worst backpacking stint ever for me was 4 days in New Jersey with oppressive humidity cum mosquitos. On the 4th day, the thunderstorm finally struck and it actually felt refreshing like a room temperature shower.

Valmet
12-21-2006, 13:03
Don't care to hike during thunderstorms. Don't mind them after I have set up my camp. The rest does not bother me at all.

Paul Bunyan
12-21-2006, 13:07
Humidity is what gets me, it just sucks the moisture right out of me.

Now dry heat i can deal with, it still is bad, but not as bad as humidity.

highway
12-21-2006, 13:07
I much prefer the heat over the cold. I guess Im used to it

rafe
12-21-2006, 13:11
I much prefer the heat over the cold. I guess Im used to it

Guess you're living in the right place, then ;).

Jim Adams
12-21-2006, 14:00
WIND, WIND, WIND!!!
high heat and humidity almost knocked me off the trail in 2002--hard to deal with at times.
freezing rain can be a hassle and at times miserable--but WIND.
WIND after even short periods just becomes so annoying to me.
geek

Toolshed
12-21-2006, 14:04
I didn't see sideways rain, but that and humidity are the worst for me.

Fiddler
12-21-2006, 14:24
I have never liked hiking in the rain. I will take regular rain over freezing rain, I'll take freezing rain over a thunderstorm. (If I had a choice.) The heat I can deal with as long as I have enough water. Humidity is tolerable as long as I have a rag to wipe my face, I sweat a lot during high humidity even standing still.

wacocelt
12-21-2006, 15:50
Rain + Wind + Cold (but not freezing)= a perception of misery

Johnny Swank
12-21-2006, 16:58
35 degrees and rain is the picture of misery. I'd rather it just sleet and be done with it.

I sort of dig hiking in rain if I'm not freezing my butt off though. Just another part of the equation.

highway
12-21-2006, 18:21
Guess you're living in the right place, then ;).
Actually, along the coast we always have a breeze so its not quite as unpleasant as places further away from the coast. Humidity is high but the breeze keeps it at bay. I have been to other places, for instance, where the heat was much more unbearable , with same humidity but no breeze for cooiling. The central part of any of the soputhern states is less bearable in the summer for me. I love to feel the gentle breeze swaying the palm fronds.

Hurricane season in the summer sometimes sucks, though. My wife doesnt get quite the charge i do cooking on a homemade alcohol stove when the power is out for a few days or weeks.:D

Sleepy the Arab
12-21-2006, 18:27
Rain, hands down. My motto for many, many miles was, "I f---ing hate rain."

Spirit Walker
12-21-2006, 18:31
Heat and cold don't bother me much - I've hiked on some pretty extreme days with both. I don't appreciate 100 degree days, especially with humidity, but I'll still do it. I really enjoy wind and thunderstorms - though there are limits to both. a huge dust storm in New Mexico was not much fun since it lasted for several hours and I've been knocked off my feet more than once by strong winds - but I enjoy the drama of wind and lightning storms. Good thing I don't mind since there is a lot of wind and lightning out west. I also enjoy hiking in snow - both falling and fallen. I love looking at the tracks of the animals in the snow. On the AT we had snow fall twice in the Smokies - it was beautiful. All of my long hikes have included snow and it was never a problem - though I did have to hole up in Colorado for a day when conditions were too bad to hike.

What I don't enjoy are all day rainy days. I find them depressing - I am a sun lover. The first day of rain isn't bad, but the second and third and fourth - yech. Fortunately on the AT you can usually get to town to dry out quite often (except in 2003 when it never did stop raining). Out west we rarely had day after day of rain - except thunderstorms, but there you have sunshine in the morning, so it wasn't a problem. Cold rain can be a problem for me because I get hypothermic fairly easily. It gets dangerous when my hands get so cold I can't use them to put up my tent or zip up my jacket.

woodsy
12-21-2006, 21:31
Great comments and interesting results . The other annoying wind factor I failed to mention is the tent flutter(noise) factor on windy nights. Hard to get much sleep when it sounds like the tent is going to fly away, with me in it.
Not all that surprising that moist conditions are leading in the polls. Keep the votes and comments comming, Thanks

RAT
12-21-2006, 21:36
Wind hands down. I can tolerate anything else.

RAT

Almost There
12-21-2006, 21:48
Orangebug, will we have a repeat of last year? Day of low 40s and rain followed by wind and snow? Miserable was a great word for that last full day on the trail...no wonder Wolf didn't come out of his lair to hike with us:( .

I hear wolves hate the rain!:D

Blissful
12-22-2006, 00:01
Guess I'm one of those strange ones, but I really dislike stream and river crossings. They absolutely make me nervous. And having been with Boy Scouts and seen them fall flat on their faces in the water and had my pack dropped in the water too, well... I've been in some nasty water situations. The Ramsey's Draft Wilderness is probably the worst case scenerio for me.

That said, if I can stop and just savor the river without crossing it, it's also one of the best places to be!

rafe
12-22-2006, 00:55
Guess I'm one of those strange ones, but I really dislike stream and river crossings

Watch out for Maine, then ;).

Sly
12-22-2006, 00:59
Humidity, hail, freezing rain. You forgot lightening! Or does that come under thunder?

Amigi'sLastStand
12-22-2006, 07:27
High wind is my least favorite hiking weather.
ABSOLUTELY!!!!:eek:

fiddlehead
12-22-2006, 08:42
Looking at your poll, there are many that are not fun hiking. But only once i was caught in a heavy hail with no cover around (no trees). It was on the CDT and it was a rough situation. I eventually ran and found a small bush to hide in. I don't know that any of the others would be worse than that. Rain only makes you wet and cold but hail: It hurt!

MOWGLI
12-22-2006, 08:55
Hiking in the rain on a warm summer day can be really enjoyable. Especially if you haven't had a shower in 4-5 days. Blue Jay wrote some great stuff about hiking in the rain in the past here on WB. I wish I had the time to find those comments.

I used to love hiking during thunderstorms, but my daughter's experience combined with hiking on the Continental Divide (Colorado Trail) and the JMT have pretty much cured me of that. I was hiking a part of the CT with my daughter Martha in '05 (she was 15) and it felt like I could reach up and touch the dark ominous clouds. We waited out storms twice in 5 days.

woodsy
12-22-2006, 09:04
[quote=Blissful;290296]Guess I'm one of those strange ones, but I really dislike stream and river crossings.

Don't feel like the lone ranger, many people feel this way. People aren't afraid of water in general but that moving water is another story:eek: and that is why I added it to the list of elements.
Lightening falls under T/Storms BTW;)
Sideways rain falls under rain:rolleyes:

Spirit Walker
12-22-2006, 11:07
Fiddlehead - we had a day in the Winds when it hailed on us three times. The first two times we were able to find tree cover, the third one we were out in the open. As you said - that hurt.

SalParadise
12-22-2006, 15:01
I hiked for the goal of Mt. K and not for a particular love of hiking, and I always had it in my head that the bad weather was there to try to force me off the Trail, to make me give up. Once the bad weather was over and it was warm and sunny again, I always felt really strong and proud of myself that I was able to withstand whatever elements were presented, but still make my miles and still be on the Trail, hiking.

so maybe I'm odd, but I revel in bad weather for the fact that I wasn't deterred by it. One of my favourite days hiking was a beer and a cigarette on Max Patch with a friend on a cold, very windy, rainy and foggy day. Those are the best times.

Seeker
12-22-2006, 16:52
in keeping with the spirit of christmas specials, i've gotta side with "Mr Heat Mizer"...

while i don't love the heat and humidity down here, i much prefer to be too hot than too cold. freezing rain, or even just 'cold' rain (anything under about 50*) is miserable to me. humidity would be next, if that were an option.

orangebug
12-22-2006, 17:31
Orangebug, will we have a repeat of last year? Day of low 40s and rain followed by wind and snow? Miserable was a great word for that last full day on the trail...For those wondering, AT and I plan to break in a newbie around Standing Indian after Christmas. Back upstairs to work on the pack.

Jack Tarlin
12-22-2006, 18:38
Least favorite hiking weather:

*Extreme heat/humidity, coupled with infrequency of good water supply.

*Bad electrical storm in an exposed place, like the White Mountains.

*Mosquito season in Massachusetts, especially around Great Barrington or
Tyringham.

Amigi'sLastStand
12-23-2006, 07:42
I guess I'm used to the heat and humidity. Doesnt bother me much. Hail does stink, but only if you dont have cover. There is no escaping 50-70 mph winds anywhere except in a cave. And that pack on your back makes a great parasail!

mrc237
12-23-2006, 09:37
Any kind of bad weather is only temporary, however heat and humidity is relentless starting in Va. and ending in Me.

Big Dawg
12-23-2006, 10:29
freezing rain,,, then high heat + humidity, are my least favorite times to hike.

Two Speed
12-23-2006, 11:03
For those wondering, AT and I plan to break in a newbie around Standing Indian after Christmas. Back upstairs to work on the pack.Great place to break a newb in. That and the fact that the scenery and vistas should "set the hook," so to speak. If that don't get 'em hooked try Cheaha State Park in 'Bama. Totally unfair and all that, but that's the best way to play the game IMHO. :D

superman
12-24-2006, 12:32
Before I hiked the AT I looked at an AT brochure. Every picture had clear skies, fair temperatures and smiling hikers. It wasn't always so. I had hypothermia a few times. I think I had my own personal cloud that followed me from GA to ME.
I went up Thunder Mtn in the pouring rain dodging debris that was floating down at me on the trail. I would have been completely miserable if it weren't for the two bone headed hikers following behind me singing at the top of their lungs. I couldn't help smiling as I thought that they hadn't gotten the memo about that day being miserable.
Yup... rain, snow, heat, cold, too this and too that....I hate it. If everything were perfect I'd complain about that too. It's an art form I think. I'm hoping that they make it an olympic event.:)

cowboybsw
09-06-2007, 15:30
Individually I don't dislike any of them with the exception of hail. What I do not like are rainy hot humid days. If it is cold out I can wear my rain gear and stay dry and comfortable but when it is hot and rainy the only thing to do is just get wet. I hate being soppy wet and trying to hike.

OldFeet
09-06-2007, 15:36
Thunderstorms without question. I definitely have a phobia about lightening and got caught in a storm along Franconia Ridge a couple years ago that made us scramble down from Lafayette Peak pretty quickly.

Footslogger
09-06-2007, 15:42
After my thru in 2003 there seemed to be NO doubt that RAIN annoyed me most.

Howerver, we just did a section in Maine (Rangeley to Monson) and hiked over Saddleback in an electrical storm. We were half way over when the lightning started so it was either keep on keepin on or backtrack. We continued on but it was very unerving seeing sparks within spittin range when the lightning struck the exposed rocky surface.

So ...I'd have to say thunder/lightning storms annoy me most at this point.

'Slogger

7Sisters
09-06-2007, 15:45
I really don't enjoy Thunderstorms - especially if I'm in them all day and when my boots are soaked on the inside. After a few hours it can really get to me - mentally.

The next one is blistering heat when I'm out of water. The last one would be frigid cold with high wind chill. I've only experienced a few times (worst was day hiking on Madison during -30 temps). I find that once my finger tips get cold it's real real hard to get them warm again. I'm usually solo backpacking or hiking, so I start to get nervous real quick in those situations. Thankfully only been hiking or climbing in > minus 20 about a dozen times - the snotsicles make for cool pictures though.

Tipi Walter
09-06-2007, 15:53
I like most all weather conditions on a backpacking trip. High wind, deep snow, blizzards, thunderstorms and rain, hot and dry, they all get me giddy. There is one condition though that rankles and it is subtle: Living outdoors during a drought when there's water to drink but none from the sky. Most people would think such a state ideal, but after about 3 full weeks of it something strange happens, my nervous system gets prickly and the woods claustrophobic, I develop a low-grade "road rage"(trail-rage) with feelings of tight imbalance. It's an elemental thing, tied into some biological text which reads: Something is wrong.

The forest is still the blessed forest, but I'm moving thru it as tinder.

JAK
09-06-2007, 16:26
Cool post Tipi.

I also hate to say I love it all, but I do. I really enjoy walking or running in the rain or trudging through deep snow. From doing lots of sailing I don't mind wet and cold and I get a rush when the winds blowing the dog of the chain. I am not the least bit climatized for extreme dry heat though, but we don't get that up here. But I am totally inexperience at higher elevations, so bad weather up there would really throw me for a loop, and so I strongly suspect that sometime before my body dries up into an emaciated prune on a stick, freezes into a block of ice, gets blown off the mountain side, or all of the above, I would probably start cursing the weather.

SGT Rock
09-06-2007, 16:27
The only condition I dislike is when someone snivels about the weather.

mudhead
09-06-2007, 16:32
Or pisses and moans about the Maine weather.

We like it rat nasty here.

The Weasel
09-06-2007, 16:35
Earthquakes irk me, and I'd probably be bummed by a volcano. Forest fires aren't fun either.

Frolicking Dinosaurs
09-06-2007, 16:36
::: Dino hides from Rock so she can snivel about the weather :D :::

This tropical Dino hurts when it is real cold, is miserable in freezing rain and doesn't like high winds. Heat / Humidity aren't loved, but can be tolerated.

JAK
09-06-2007, 16:42
Or pisses and moans about the Maine weather.

We like it rat nasty here.ROTFLMAO
Never heard that expression before.

::: Picturing those nasty rats from the muppet show, in Maine weather. :::

JAK
09-06-2007, 16:44
Or was that just meant to be "right nasty" with a Maine accent?

JAK
09-06-2007, 16:50
I thought this was hillarious. Totally inaccurate, but very funny.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=ozJh-V2Zd-Y

shelterbuilder
09-06-2007, 20:23
Heat and humidity are my downfall lately. The combination of the two just saps my strength and my willpower. I can always put on another layer to cut the wind, the rain, and the cold, but there's only so much that I can take off!:eek:

mudhead
09-06-2007, 21:09
I thought this was hillarious. Totally inaccurate, but very funny.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=ozJh-V2Zd-Y


Looks like a weekend visitor, dressed by LL, aiming to loose a kneecap.

Press
09-06-2007, 22:47
Daytime: Mo hotta mo betta. humid summers standard here in Va. I don't mind it while walking but hate it after 6 p.m. or so, miserable for sitting around reading or whatever.

modiyooch
09-06-2007, 23:01
I couldn't choose. It's not cold nor rain, but the mixture of the two. My greatest fear is getting wet then cold.

But then there is lightning. I don't like being on top of a mountain with lightning. Expecially when the trail turns into a stream.

mweinstone
09-07-2007, 00:40
hail hurts and is maddening.

Pennsylvania Rose
09-07-2007, 09:23
Cold rain is miserable and can be dangerous, but I can put on more clothes, walk, and warm up. Heat and humidity just about kill me though. Walking just makes it worse. This summer has been miserable.