PDA

View Full Version : Lightning



rmtjr
03-03-2005, 01:42
I've read several journal entries that report fear of lightning strikes, especially when carrying treking poles and packs with metal braces, but I've not read of AT lightning strike injuries. What do people seem to do in lightning storms? Do folks really not erect tents with a treking pole? Toss poles down the trail? Toss their backpack? Thanks for your info. Bob

flyfisher
03-03-2005, 07:09
Personally, I don't walk across exposed ridges and balds, nor do I stand on top of large exposed overlooks during thunderstorms or when they are brewing. I don't stand under the tallest tree in the forest, nor a solitary tree in a large field when lightening is striking.

I have been on top of one very exposed rock when a girl I was with had her hair begin to stand up away from her head. There was no lightening in the area, but we figured it was a good time to get off that rock.

I really don't think that metallic poles or pack pieces attract lightening any more than my salf-water filled skin. However, you will not find me standing on a big rock with my aluminum hiking pole poking at the sky five feet above my head and daring God to strike me.

I think God answers prayers like that.

ocourse
03-03-2005, 09:05
Good points flyfisher - I agree 100%. To add something I read that makes sense to me; if you are caught in a lightening storm, squat on top of your backpack so as to be insulated from the ground and so as to not be the tallest thing around.

hikerjohnd
03-03-2005, 09:33
if you are caught in a lightening storm, squat on top of your backpack so as to be insulated from the ground and so as to not be the tallest thing around.
Be sure to tuck your head between your legs and kiss you a$$ goodbye! :D

chris
03-03-2005, 10:54
Good points flyfisher - I agree 100%. To add something I read that makes sense to me; if you are caught in a lightening storm, squat on top of your backpack so as to be insulated from the ground and so as to not be the tallest thing around.

I would not follow this. If you are in trouble, you need to get out of trouble as quickly as you can. If you are on open, exposed ridge when lightning rolls up, you will need to get off the ridge ASAP. Fortunately, it is rare, at least south of Manchester, for an AT ridge to go on for very long. You can get to one end of the ridge, or at least down to lower ground, in short order.

A ground-up strike carries about 30 million volts. I don't think squatting on a backpack is going to do very much to insulate you or to keep the juice from flowing through you.

veteran
03-03-2005, 11:22
Information from the National Lightning Safety Institute

Link:
http://www.lightningsafety.com/nlsi_pls/ploutdoor.htm

Spirit Walker
03-03-2005, 13:10
I know a couple of women who were struck by lightning on the AT. They were in their tents, on a ridge in VA and got hit by a ground current. One ended up with an interesting burn on her backside. They ended up going home and coming back the next year.

ocourse
03-03-2005, 17:32
Chris, I didn't mean that this is the best course of action at all. I have heard that hair standing on end, an odd smell, and tingling skin can mean you are about to be struck. If something like that happens, the line of thinking is that you don't have time to move so you should be low and insulated from the ground. In most situations I think you should be able to move to a safer spot, but you can never be sure of a particular spot since lightening can strike anywhere. If you can't move, or don't have a safer choice to move to, then make the best of where you are and do your best with the resources you have available.

hambone
03-05-2005, 13:27
I was backpacking with a group of college students in the Adirondacks in August of 1984 (at the ripe age of 17) when we got too close to some lightning. We were having lunch on top of <ST1:p<?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com /><st1:PlaceType><FONT color=black>Mt.</FONT></st1:PlaceType><st1:PlaceName><FONT color=black>Colden</FONT></st1:PlaceName><FONT color=black> when one of our party came tearing over yelling

Moments later the peak was enveloped in a black cloud and the wind picked up to a roar. We all grabbed our gear and ran like hell down the trail (leaving a big tub of peanut butter). Lightning was striking on the far side of the mountain, and heading our way.
<O:p
We got down into a saddle, and after a brief conference with the seniors who were in charge, we decided to stay there rather than ascend the next rise.
<O:p
It was raining like crazy, and very windy. The trail quickly turned into a stream of water. We all tried to find someplace safe to stand. I found a rotten stump and was standing on this when a huge bolt of lightning came horizontally through the valley we were in, shooting off little branches as it came. A guy standing next to me (ankle deep in water) went flying in the air. I was aware of being blinded by light and feeling like I had been hit with a big burst of moving air. Almost simultaneously there was a deafening roar of thunder.

Right after, it was hard to breathe. I think there was a lot of ozone produced by the strike, and I was probably hyperventilating. I was not thinking well, and insisted that I had to stay on the stump when my companions tried to get me to move. My first realization that I had been affected by the lightning was that my legs were numb and shaking. I was wearing shorts, and the group gathered around to watch my leg muscles twitch independently of each other. It got worse. To the point that I was wondering if the muscles on opposite sides of my leg could break the bone by pulling at the same time. It was about ten minutes before I could walk.

The guy that was standing next to me had felt the "hair stand up" feeling and had executed a neat back flip. He was aware of the strike, but did not feel it. I realized that the stump that I was standing on was saturated with water and had conducted the electricity to my feet.

I was wet and cold (and had foolishly left my sweater behind). Within minutes, however, I had the most extraordinary feeling of euphoria. I was warm and had boundless energy. Some of my companions were worried that I was suffering from some sort of mental breakdown. I felt great! I ran down the mountain.

Later, when we compared notes, it seems that we all tried different ways to avoid being struck. A few people had stayed on the wet trail, a few had gone up the slope a bit to a dry area and squatted down. We were all surprised at how quickly the storm overtook us, and that the lightning came through horizontally.

Quite an experience. I was called "Flash" for a while back on campus.

Thankfully I did not suffer any lasting effects.

The next night we were in a lean-to just getting to sleep and a little boy of about six or seven comes wandering into the camp. He was wet and only wearing shorts and an oversize golf jacket. His lips were blue and his eyes were glazed. He could not talk. It was probably about 45 degrees out and raining. We all jumped up and worked to get him warm. A minute later another kid comes in with a man in his 40s. The man asks us "which way to the parking lot?". 12 miles that way. He was actually going to keep walking.

The poor kids. We stripped them down, put them in ridiculously large warm dry clothes, and had them drink warm tea. The older kid kept puking. I ended up sharing two opened sleeping bags with the younger kid and another of our group. It was not a good night. The father kept praying out loud and asking God to bless us. Finally someone said that he should either pray silently or just let us get some sleep and then let us go to hell.

They walked out with us the next day. We all agreed that the kid would likely have not survived the night if they had not come into our camp.

I have hiked many times in the Adirondacks, but never have I had another trip like that!

ocourse
03-05-2005, 19:07
What a tale, hambone! Hey besides hair-on-end, did you notice any other indications of a lightening strike immediately before you got zapped? Any permanent effects like hearing loss?

hambone
03-06-2005, 17:42
Being an indestructable teenager I was fine within a few hours. It never occurred to me to seek medical attention after the fact. I had a few of my fellow hikers inquire as to my health within a few weeks. I did discuss it with my doctor when I turned 30 and we had a big talk about adulthood and mortality (he has been my doctor since I was 12). He asked about hearing, neurological issues, migranes, etc.

I did get quite a few free pitchers of beer out of that story (back when the drinking age was 19 and the campus pub had $2 pitchers).

The two seniors that were the trip leaders encouraged be to not discuss the incident with anyone in authority.

If I tell the story (seldom) people usually ask if I an more afraid of lightning that before. I have never been afraid of it on land. Getting hit with a squall in a small sailboat with an aluminum mast is another story. Yikes!

Newb
03-07-2005, 00:35
The Air Force tells us to present as small a "lighting target" as possible. That means you should make sure that you're not in standing or running water. You should squat in a "fetal" type position. Cover yourself with a tarp or other shelter. Divorce yourself from your pack and poles (they're graphite for Gods sake).

You should NOT rub your wool socks together while dragging a balloon across your hair and biting tin-foil!

Mouse
03-07-2005, 04:47
Lightning certainly is something to think about on the AT. I remember two or three spots where hikers were reported to have been killed by lightning including a shelter in the Smokys. For weeks on end there were daily afternoon thundershowers. I never actually got hit but many times ran like crazy to get off the high ground as a storm approached and three times had lightning strike so close that there was almost no delay between the flash and thunder. Eeeek!