VIDEO: Super Fun Time Thunderstorm On The Pacific Crest Trail
Reading Time: 1 minute On day 113 of my Pacific Crest Trail thru-hike I encountered a thunderstorm in the middle of the Three Sisters Wilderness in Oregon.
Stuck hiding beneath a tree, begging for the mercy of the almighty Zeus, I did the only rational thing I could think of: I filmed my last will and testament. Feeling completely helpless as hail pelted the ground around me, I sat and listening to the deafening thunderclaps while lightning struck all around me.
For anyone wondering what my scariest moment on the PCT was, this is it.
And yes, I know you are supposed to avoid trees when outdoors in a storm. However, you are also supposed to avoid large open spaces – I chose the lesser of two evils.
Being a section hiker, I always had a year to worry about possible challenges ahead in the next section we’d do. Goat Rocks was one area that concerned me, though when we got there, my husband reminded me that I walk down our 4-ft. wide hallway every day without falling, so I probably would not fall down the mountainside.
Lots of things COULD get you — stream crossings, mountainsides, bears, rattlesnakes, etc., but after completing the trail, I was left with one fear — lightning. One thunderstorm we experienced in the Sierra was so close there was no time to count seconds. We were in our tent — I threw my hiking poles outside and even took off my wedding ring — so maybe that saved my life???
Lightning is the one true thing to fear on the trail (that and trail pirates.
Do the thunderstorms ever happen at night in your tent? Have you ever had to move in the middle of night because of one?
Never had to move in the middle of the night because of one, but they happen at night all the time! I usually am just careful of the days I choose to camp in super exposed environments (i.e. when there’s definitely not going to be any weather).
Don’t even think of Hiking the AT
The thought has never crossed my mind.
Wow! I love thunderstorms, but damn they can be scary when you’re unexpectedly caught out in one. I can’t imagine being a hundred miles from anywhere and being stranded like that!
Things not to do whilst hiking: get stuck in a thunderstorm.
Seed of sound at 5000′ msl is about 330 m/s … that was maybe 125m. You’re right to stay out of the valley of death and beneath the tree of life where Thor’s hammer might be blocked. The place to be is in the desert on a hill or in the Forest Service Tower (not touching anything) and watching a thunderstorm move across the valley. It makes F4 Phantoms look a little pathetic. OK, I’m from Tucson and that was circa 1969.
Happy to be finding that out now and not out in the storm. Thor’s hammer is no joke.
Does it make me a horrible person if I laughed more than once while watching this video? Yes? I’m okay with that.
Honestly though, this video has me partially in awe of nature and partially determined to never step foot outside my bedroom again. Thanks for sharing.
It doesn’t make you a horrible person if you laughed while watching this video. Clearly you were a horrible person before laughing at my struggle :)
It really is that obvious, isn’t it? Maybe it’s time for me to stop feeding on the dreams of children while they sleep and get help :(
Did you encounter a lot of crazy weather like that? The weather is one of the things that’s playing on my mind a bit as I’m trying to prepare for my thru- I’ll be fine with the dry heat in the desert (as Western Australia is pretty much the same) but we don’t get a lot of rain so I can’t really train for that!
hahaha of course I am one of thousands reading Wild and then researching deaths on the PCT. I am also a pretty new hiker. I always liked it, but I recently realized I LIVE IN CALIFORNIA NOW so I can do some pretty good hikes within about an hour drive. I completed a 30 day hiking challenge and am starting a second one soon but I am starting to train to do a long hike like this, so thanks for posting!
Nice work on the hiking challenge and good luck on the next one. Being in California you probably have some amazing hikes within an hour of you (and you can maybe even make it to the PCT in that time).