Backcountry/High Country Lightning Safety

[sk1]

So am I the only one that thinks this guy is crazy for running across large openings in a wicked lightning storm thinking he is making the right decision?

From common sense and what I have read....I sure would think it safer to go into the dense forest off to his east and west and sit in the lightning position to wait out the storm and ditch any metal on you. I realize lightning is unpredictable and you're taking a chance either way and the storm was probably pretty intense so you want to run, but I sure would think waiting it out would be the right decision.

http://kepeusa.wordpress.com/2012/07/10/cheating-death-in-the-high-uintas/

 

[muleman]

This happened in the County I live in. Is it just Utah or has it been a bad year for lightning incidences?
http://fox13now.com/2012/09/03/dwr-official-saves-boy-struck-by-lightning/
http://www.standard.net/stories/2012/09/01/boy-man-injured-when-hit-lightning-weber-county

 

[sk1]

saw that, not far from me either....i was cleaning out the garage and it looked wicked out there that day. on a side note, a few nights ago at work we had a fire alarm and the lightning struck close enough to me i ran for the engine(we were already on our way back to the truck) but let me tell you it felt like it shook the ground it was that close. bright light and boom all at the same time, i ran like a scared little kid, jumped in the truck and then of course we were laughing but it really wasnt that funny

 

[_Nick_]

Just bringing this up again so people can keep it in mind. Have been doing some research on it since I hunt the desert and we get electrical storms/monsoons regularly. Here's some good info for people that might want to know more.

http://www.nps.gov/mora/planyourvisit/upload/NOLS-Backcountry-Lightning-Safety-Guidelines.pdf

http://www.crh.noaa.gov/Image/riw/backcountry_lightning.pdf

http://www.coloradoswildareas.com/2011/02/25/colorado-backpacking-guide/#lightning

and this corny, but fairly instructive video:

[video=youtube;PVSCD1mdzY0]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVSCD1mdzY0#t=13[/video]

Be safe out there guys.

 

[_Nick_]

The new ones I've been in are... this one was a bit older and wasn't on insulators! Looks like it's been there and abandoned for 20+ years. I've been in ones that had glass insulators underneath everything. Most lightning protection this place had was a 10' steel pole mounted on two corners of the deck with what looked like a large ground wire attached and ran into the ground...??? every time a strike would happen that pole would sizzle 1/2 second before it and would lightly hum at random! Was pretty exciting stuff! We were getting strikes every 30-60 seconds on average and had it on every side of us...

Mike

Boy, I would have been crapping myself if I were in your situation. That pole was sizzling/crackling because it was getting charged... meaning it had a decent chance of a direct strike, which in turn comes with a decent chance of 'side flash', meaning you guys getting zapped. I'd definitely look for a different place to hole up next time...

But it sure must have been exciting!

 

[HellsCanyon]

Boy, I would have been crapping myself if I were in your situation. That pole was sizzling/crackling because it was getting charged... meaning it had a decent chance of a direct strike, which in turn comes with a decent chance of 'side flash', meaning you guys getting zapped. I'd definitely look for a different place to hole up next time...

But it sure must have been exciting!

I've made smarter decisions ha but yes it was pretty exciting!

 

[Shrek]

I've was knocked to the ground and stunned on the side of a mountain when I was a kid. Blew the tree 10' in front of me in half and it came crashing down beside me . Then it hailed on me . Saw a guy get blown apart standing under a tree about a hundred yards away. Lightning didn't touch the tree , just him. I've had it strike the small boat I was on and turn the antenna into a burning dandelion. Get low , ditch the metal and hope. It's truly terrifying to be caught in the open with nowhere to go.

 

[aboltlrhunter]

Personally I've never been out in the back country or just hunting in general while any thunder and lightning have rolled through. Maybe just the part of Oregon I live in we don't get as many big storms, I don't know. But we had a big one yesterday roll through our area and it got me thinking of what people do when caught in that situation. So I was about to start a new thread until I found this one luckily with all the info already here. Pretty crazy and scary stuff. Id have to say I like the storms when I'm at home but they don't sound like fun to be stuck in the wilderness with them!