How To Survive a Thunderstorm on the Trail
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- čas přidán 8. 11. 2016
- Lightning can be scary anywhere, but especially on the trail. Hopefully you'll avoid some of the mistakes I made after watching this video!
I thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail in 2015 and aim to accomplish the PCT next year! I hope to encourage folks get out on the trail and enjoy nature. Thanks for following :)
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True story. June 2018. I was hiking Yellowstone. Had noticed that a hike in Lamar valley. Wide open. Thunderstorms hit. The buffalo lay down in the fields when the lightning is near. Amazing.
3:54 That was actually a pretty good impression! lol!
If your hiking poles start humming, start to worry.
. . . and one more thing - NEVER go hiking with the Virginia Park Ranger named Roy Sullivan who was hit by lightning 7 times
It's up to 7 ? I thought it was only three. I've heard of this guy and have been on Skyline Drive (in a car) when severe weather passed through. Pretty scary. Wouldn't want to be walking the AT in the southern Appalachians during one of these storms.
he's still alive though, so id call that a win
Somebody is either living right or living very wrong.
Brian Andrews god hates him
rj frame, Roy Sullivan died 34 years ago lol.
I seen your video when you were hiking in Colorado and your hair was sticking out with electrical charges. So glad you got through that without getting sparked.
Caught in a heavy duty lightning storm while camping on top of Cheoah Bald. Never been so frightened in my 68 years.
Love your videos Dixie! All us southerners just love your voice, you sound like family! What a perfect trail name. When you called your grandmother Nanny you had me. My Nanny was the sweetest, kindest women I have every known. Your a huge inspiration for my two girls and all women and what they can accomplish. God bless y'all
South, North, East, West...her voice feels like family to us all--'cause she speaks from her heart!
Watch out fer that LITE'nin'
I lost a good friend to lightning 2 years ago. I’ve been much more afraid to be out in bad weather since then.
Been caught out a few times on a trail in the mountains with bad weather but its usually the dark that catches me out the most :)
"Get down!" Lmao. That was funny
You collection of short 10 minute "how-to" videos is f'in rad! Thanks for the tips!
I've had a healthy respect for lightning since it struck about 30 yards away while I was trotlining. Still, during my thru-hike next year, I think I will fear ticks more than lightning. Thanks again for an informative video.
Bahahaha! "Get dowwnnn!!" I just died laughing!
Thank You for all You do You are the Best . I was doing some research and it said 24 miles a day average, I thought well no way can I do that .Then I found You and I really believe I could . So my dream still lives . Thank You .
From someone who works in municipalities....
Water is NOT a conductor of electricity. The minerals in the water are. Rain is pure. Mud is a conductor.
If we were to ever - say hit a power line with a backhoe, we are to jump from the tractor as far as possible. Leaving both feet flat on the ground, shuffle away from the area. The electricity will pass through the body unannounced... until that point where it makes an arc .... say when you pick one foot from the ground.
Electricity burns the body inside out. First aid is the same, adding the need to keep in mind internal organs.
During lighting, stay clear of rocks - minerals, single standing trees ect. Take shelter... the more surface area the better.
I would be more concerned with hail and wind - just my opinion.
Thanks for great videos!
If there's an entrance wound, there will be an exit wound, too, keep looking. Lightning will also reach into mines. Better off on solid rock than dirt. Thx again, you've become quite the expert. Your dad would be proud.
Been caught in the middle of an electrical storm in the Rockey mtns once. Exciting. So about tents. They actually can provide protection from a lightening strike. White Squall in Ontario Canada had a tent housing some guides struck by lightening. Vaporized the nylon shell and welded the tent poles together, but left the occupants untouched. Assume the wet nylon and poles spread the charge and grounded it. The owner of the outfitter Tim still has the poles in his office... Strange but true.
I just found you on you tube and watched a couple. Brings back memories. I hiked parts of the AT in N. Carolina Tenn. and into Virginia. 5 yrs in a row. Always wanted to do the entire thing but never did... Now, I am to old and cant. Your video’s give good advice and practical experiences to those that are looking to get into back packing. I had a friend who got me started, and thankfully took a lot of advice from him as he had more experience. We both learned something new each time we went. Rain is miserable but the lighting is frightning. We even had snow one year. We met a lot of interesting people..
I enjoyed my 2014 thru hike and have to say you have some great videos which will help many. great job.
Thank you so much, Dixie! This was some MUCH needed info more me.
I've been watching your videos and have become a fan, you're a great storyteller and I hope you continue to inspire folk toward outdoorsmanship!
Speaking as someone who has been struck by lightning, there ain't a damn thing you can do about it other than realize whatever gods you once believed in have forsaken you. Getting in your tent is a good idea, under trees. It's not the best electrical insulation, but at least you aren't standing in a water puddle. With that in mind, throw your wet shoes out in the "yard" and deal with it later. Leave your pack and anything else behind, don't bring any water inside that tent with you.
If whoever it is that makes these decisions has decided it's your turn, you're going to get struck. That doesn't mean you can't reduce the possibility of a random one!
Wow, thank you for the input, Sarah! I hate to hear that happened to you, but I really appreciate you sharing your experience with us. Whew, glad you were okay.
Sarah Water Your quip about being forsaken just made me laugh so hard. Thanks for that!
I am watching this because I feared for my life earlier today. I have been chased by lightning at high altitudes, but this was even more scary. I was hiking in Elephant Butte Park, in Evergreen CO, close to where I live. I heard the thunder and thought, what are the chances that it is headed my way? So instead of heading in the direction of my car, I ventured farther away. Then before I knew it, the pouring rain and the lightning were right over me. Judging from the sound delay and the speed of sound, I estimate that some strikes were approx a tenth of a mile away. I prayed to get home safely. I will not be that foolish again, and I will be a little better prepared if it happens again anyway.
Love your videos cant wait to see them from the PCT coming soon I hope.
Greetings from CA! Luv yr videos & following yr PCT hike. Another tip to avoid t-storms is to plan your summits early in the day by camping the night before not too far from the top...so u are off the top before any mid afternoon storms start. Thanks again for the fun videos!
Great Arnold! Thanks for that!
I just completed my first "long" day hike this past Sunday. Being from Alaska, It was pretty cold and it snowed and we ended up hiking in the dark. I still had so much fun, it was chance to hike the AT someday. I love your videos! Can't wait for the PCT!
This is a good one Jessica. One other thing I'd mention as a weather related caution. When you go to pitch your tent under trees, take a minute to look up above you. Look at the health of the trees around you, are there obvious dead limbs that could fall at night if wind comes up along with a storm. Your tent may protect you from rain but it's not going to do much to stop a 3 inch limb that breaks and falls on you! On my recent weekend hike on the AT, on the second night I pitched my tent under an oak tree. Didn't see any worrysome limbs when I pitched, but we got some wind that night and my tent got pelted with acorns all night! I had ear plugs but still, annoying!
Very good advice!
Very good advice!
Makes me relieve that my dad decided to have us camp in a car one time when we were camping in a forest that had a huge lightning storm. It would have taken us too long to put up the camper and the camper was not fully enclosed with metal like a car is
MY EXPERIENCE - most storms come in during early afternoon. Because of this we would always try to hike to be on top of any mountain in early morning and heading downward by 11am. Not always the case BUT found it to be true in most cases. And as Dixie mentions, check the weather reports.
Great video!!! I have been curious about what people do while hiking in a storm as I just avoid it! Thanks for the info!!
Thank you! I've been in a house struck by lightning, and bang loud. So thanks for better ideas
Have really enjoyed your stuff. Great intro and music. I like your no non-sense approach...well done1
Boy there's something I love about your smile you have a very wonderful smile
1973 Bishop Pass. We left packs near trail and waited out under rock outcropping off trail. Several times it stuck so close you would feel the hair on your neck stand up just before it struck and was immediately followed by deafing thunder. After storm passed there was 6"of hail on ground.
Getting into a cave or under an overhang is NOT a good strategy for avoiding lightning. If lightning strikes higher up the outcrop/pinnacle, the ground currents running down the rock face (see the faraday effect above) may find the human bodies sitting in the cave a shorter path to ground than running around the back of the overhang. A diagram that I can create here with an alphabetic keyboard is to compare the situation to the letter D where the right curve on the D represents the back of the cavity and the vertical bar of the D is the human figure taking shelter. The ground currents travel from above the D and then on down below the D. Of course the top of the bar is not in contact withe the top edge of the curve, but the gap is small and the current can leap that gap.
Thanks for making this one. I'm terrified of a lightening storm!
First I would like to say your vids are great to watch and very funny and both my daughters think your great to watch. We do a lot of camping down here in Australia and storms are something you get use to planning for as part of the trip so common sense is very important and if you do get caught in a storm try not to panic. Please keep those fantastic videos coming and take care and safe on all your future adventures. 😀
If you have aluminum trekking poles and plan on hiking through, shorten them. If you are going to hunker down, you can enlarge it and shove it in the ground very very far away from your camp.
Great video....as always. Thanks.
I was thinking about this exact topic this morning... you must have been reading my mind. Thanks for the great video!
Perfect timing! Haha Thank you :)
Carver Gap is beautiful! I hiked there last year around roan mountain and the balds were so vast
This helped ease my fears about thunderstorms while camping. I live in Portland, OR we don't get thunderstorms here in the valley and I'll be roadtripping and camping in the national parks around the appalachia region (Shenandoah, Smokies and Mammoth Caves) at the end of May and the two things that I've been worried about is thunderstorms and tornadoes. Nice to have some reassurance about the weather over there. And tips for if I do go hiking up in the cascades where thundertorms would hit here.
I'll add an anecdote. I'm a former mountaineer and when summiting Gunsite Mountain OR in early summer with clear skies we saw some powerful thunderheads rapidly approaching with lots of lighting miles away, so we hustled down but only made it 400' vertical down before the mountain was peppered with lightning, dry lighting, no rain. We hunkered down below a rock outcrop and soon out hair stood on end, our metal climbing gear (pitons, etc.) started crackling on their gear racks and we all said our last prayers. About 15 seconds of intense lightning strikes all around us within 1,000' (estimated) and it was over. I'm in the get down fast, find cover (trees or rocks) and remove all metal from your body & sit down in a cowering posture.
I'm not trying to be an alarmist, five-percent of all lightning deaths and injuries in the United States happen on golf courses. But high altitude thru-hikers are a smaller demographic and may be more at risk so we should be aware and protect ourselves.
Dixie, what kind of phone do you have? Your videos are so clear. I am in the middle of selling everything and becoming a minimalist in time. I am planning my AT thru hike for next year around my birthday which is March 31st. Doing a lot of research now and trying to have proper equipment and stuff for when the great adventure comes. I love your videos and have learned a lot from you already. Thanks a bunch!!!!
How often did you stay in a hotel? If you could do a video explaining your sleeping arrangements throughout your experience, that would be helpful!
I am glad everything turned out ok.
All good advice. Rev
You are awesome. Seriously.
Ahhhhh the pitfalls of southern accents 🤣 at 5:15 “we probably should have spaced our ti_s out a little bit further apart” haha
This is why I carry a 10 ft tall collapsible steel rod.
Place it down 15-20 feet away from me and sit down
I love thunderstorms. I love being out in thunderstorms. I love feeling alive when I am out on the AT in a thunderstorm. I love to rate lightning bolts on a scale of 1 to 10 when I am out in a thunderstorm. I love the sound of rolling thunder in the valley. We haven't had a thunderstorm in ages here in drought stricken NE Georgia.
***** To make matters worse there are 8 wildfires going about 50 miles north of me in the Franklin, NC area so there is a smoke haze/odor here in NE Georgia. I was up half the night with a blinding sinus headache because of it.
Appalachian Snapshot - we are neighbors! It rained a tiny bit this morning, and I'm praying for more.
Chanda Harkins Me too neighbor! It's hard to tell which is worse; the rain drought or the job drought. I've been looking for work since early September when I got back from Virginia after 2 months backpacking the AT. Only 1 interview the whole time.
Chanda Harkins u
Same, nothing feels better than being outside and staying (mostly) dry during a big storm, even better if you're done hiking and in your tent for the night
Great video as always!!
Thanks, Larry!
I have been struck by lighting before and still here and also been in a ten in lighting storm on a camping trip both did not happen at the same time
You shared great advice 👍 Glad I watched this & love your videos. Be safe, God bless, take care!
Thank you!
You're very welcome! I'm still fairly new to CZcams & have been researching a lot on the outdoors for all the hiking & camping tips I can get. One can never gain too much knowledge. I haven't commented nor clicked like on all of your videos but have enjoyed & learned quite a bit from the info you've been sharing. One thing I'm still struggling with is finding the right backpack for my gear. Any advice? Just so you know I'm very particular to hammock camping so I have all the gear for that, as well as a sterno stove I use biofuel with. Any advice on a good quality, yet low budget backpack would be great my dear.
Another great video, but would like to hear a few trail stories. We know you have some interesting and funny ones to tell.
Cant wait for your PCT adventure - this is coming from a non-hiker. Very interesting stuff.
Oh wow, thanks! I appreciate it :) I'm already there in my mind. Haha.
In Colorado when climbing 14k ft peaks during the summer we always started hiking at 5 or 6 am even before sunrise so that we would have time to get up and get down before the afternoon thunderstorms would roll in.
If you get caught out, which you shouldn’t, then you are in it. If lightning is gonna hit you, it will. No use running, move with purpose, but if you run and are tired that’s when mistakes are made and injuries sustained. Also, you could move backwards and let storm go ahead. Good video, and other than running down a wet mountain, I think good advice.
I was at the Fairhope pier in Baldwin county filming a lightning storm on the bay. At one strike, my camera started acting funny. I later found 4 frames where a leader bolt had left my body/camera and leaped over the bay towards where the lightning struck. It was then, I realized that it could have been me instead of the water that got struck.
Wow that sounds scary. I'm from Mobile, so thunderstorms are a regular thing. I've driven in it, but have never camped in it luckily, ha!
I had one experience running into lightning on the trail. I was on top of a ridge at the time. Stashed my trekking poles and made a b-line to lower elevation and waited it put. All you can do is hunker down at lower elevation.
That Arnold impersonation was awesome!
+++++ yes, I am thru-watching ALL the videos . . . .
Good and accurate information. I know one person struck by lightning and 1 person stuck by a freak electrical “jump” which is similar to lightning. Both survived. The one who was hit by lightning was nocked out while on a bush hog. Luckily a neighbor saw what happened and ran to his aid. The neighbor shut off the bush hog just before it would have decapitated him. The lightning hit him in the hip blowing a hole in his pants and running down his leg then blowing out his toe and shoe. There were visible burns at his hip and toe with a red streak down his leg along the path of the electricity the lightning carried. He was so fortunate to survive and not loose his leg due to the internal burn.
+Homemade Wanderlust → FWIW...
(1) I was born & raised in Florida, which has the highest number of lightning strikes per year of all 50 states.
(2) The idea of putting something beneath you to insulate you from the ground is *bogus*. After a bolt of lightning travels through MILES of open air, a couple of inches {or a few centimeters} of an electrical insulator *WILL NOT* slow it down much. When I was a kid, I always heard it was safer to be in an automobile because the four rubber tires protected you. {Yes, cars EXISTED when I was a KID - LOL} It IS safer to be in an automobile, but NOT because of the rubber tires. It is because of what is called the "Faraday Effect" - an electrical charge tends to travel along the *outside* of a metal object and NOT 'fry' what is inside. That is one reason why aircraft *usually* do not suffer serious damage when struck by lightning.
Thanks for the info! Make sense.
Homemade Wanderlust >>> You're Most Welcome!
heres a thought, i used to work with antennas and we always grounded our kit with heavy gauge wire and a stake, probably wouldn't help much, but better than nothing also, wouldn't mylar make a faraday cage?
rj frame → I do not know for certain.
Just guessing here, I would say it would have to be *aluminized* mylar. But since it is so thin and {poly-whatever} based, not all-metal, that I *seriously doubt* it would survive one lighting strike. And presumably NOT offer a human any protection even for one strike.
i wouldn't trust it for much either, but even one step above nothing is better than nothing
I am planning to hike on the tour du mont blanc coming thursday and it has rain and thunderstorms planned for the upcoming week 😅
What do you do if your buddy gets struck by lightning? Well, let me think; in the old cowboy movies when the horse was injured.... lol
The 'lightning crouch' is from what I understand not a method for avoiding being struck by lightning but for minimizing the damage it does to you, you want to be in such a position that the flow of the current will miss your heart and most of the internal organs.
Is it just me, or is bad weather an often overlooked hazard by beginning hikers? Especially lightning
Very interesting. hadn't given lightning much thought before.
ive searched but cannot find out how you added skip intro ?
I have a lightning phobia, which is a not good thing for a backpacker t0 have. I actually do get out of my tent if a thunderstorm hits during the night. The idea of sitting in a tent with aluminum poles is not appealing to me. So I put on my rain gear and wander around until the storm passes. That once lead to little excitment when I couldn't find my campsite at 3 am in the Adirondack wilderness.
My last boundary waters trip, a couple kids in a canoe had to pull into our campsite, because they got caught out after dark in a really bad thunderstorm. I pulled them in under our tarp, made coffee and we all rode it out. Even had quarter size hail at one point...made me glad to have the tarp to sit under!
The lightning crouch. I'm having flashbacks from GA. Had similar experience. Rain, lightning, soaked, crouching in a river of water knowing that couldn't do a thing about it but hey my family would have gotten paid if something would of happened.
Dixie, you've got a great zest for life and you're obviously a hardcore outdoors women. So he's my new challenge for you, time to come to Florida during the winter month and kayak or canoe the 100 mile route known as the Wilderness Waterway. It winds through the Everglades from Everglades City south to Flamingo. It's hardcore arm, shoulder, and abdominal workout, but it's a blast! No dry land at all, you nail the corners of your tent to the parks chickies (docks) and just like the AT you need a permit so as to not overload the docks with too many campers. You got all the gear already, all you need is a lot of bug spray and a kayak and I've got plenty of both. So are you up for the challenge?
Sounds cool! My priority is completing the triple crown of hiking, though :) Then I'll likely visit some other countries. I do love the Everglades, though.
And would this be the same cam you used on pct great footage
Aluminum poles are probably no bueno with lightning popping all around. I would fold them up and put them in my pack or at least don't flail them around like little lightning rods.
Hey Dixie, love your vblog. I didn't realize I don't live far from ya, I'm in Harris county GA !
Wow, small world!
You r really funny!!! I love your talks!
In the Southern Rockies I remember thinking 'oh my, his hair is sticking up' until realizing he was starting at me. The peaks in early afternoon... I did the same thing you did - learned by error.
Hello epic footage what type of camera do you use?
Three of us were at the very top of Shuckstack fire tower when lighting struck right next to it. We burned down those stairs in a (lighting) no pun intended. Very scary as it split a few trees and by the time we got to the next shelter, where three had died during a lightning strike the day before. The Rangers were up there to remove the bodies and place fresh dirt down on the floor. They had been sleeping on the wire racks taking a zero day due to the weather when lighting hit fencing, gate, and running across the wire bunks, as they were all connected. Horrible thing to see.
Hi Dixie, I thought I had watched all of your videos, but I guess I missed this one. During a lightning storm my biggest concern was carrying my hiking poles. I wondered if they would act as a lightning rod (lol). I remember sitting in a shelter wondering if the metal roof attract lightning as well or the tent poles on the old fly creek. Have you done any research on those? Capt. America
I heard a tip in another video to put all metal away from you so that if you get hit, it's less injury
Just curious...what do you do for a living? Besides you tube?
I was about twenty miles north of Carvers Gap when I had my one experience hiking in a thunderstorm. I was under some big trees and they were all swaying so much I was afraid a tree was going to fall on me. Or lightning would strike one of them right I was going by. I just kept moving and it eventually went away.
This is like city girls in the woods. Also, perfect material for a horror movie.
good video
Lightning comes fast, I got stuck in a storm on my bike once, it was terrifying. Lightning can travel up to 25 miles.
Keep em coming. Love your videos, and am about 3/4 way though your ebook. Really good info in there, which is nice, since I'm gonna be doing the AT in March. With a lot of inspiration from you, so well done, you've gone and made another hiker trash!
YAY! My goal is to make a thru-hiker out of everyone. Your life is going to change. Also, thank you for your support and I'm glad you're finding the ebook useful. If you have any questions let me know!
I was happy to see that one of the bad trail towns you had listed was one (Bland, Va) that is the closest the trail gets to my folks house. haha. Would offer you some trail magic on your PCT hike when you got up into WA, but looks like we'll be hiking on the other coast from each other. I do have a bunch of friends out here that might drop you some magic if I hear you're up here. Sadly, my friends are all Bar industry people, so you'd probably only get booze and pizza. :) Best of luck on your hike!
So Dixie, something I didn't think about was what was the influence of 6- or 7 months of no income on the next years taxes?
how about some kind of faraday cage? natural one, not 100 kilos of wire, but maybe wet branch "tent"
I haven't hiked like you before, but wouldn't it be wise to touch the ground since it is "ground"?
Im watching this because I was planning to summit a 12000 ft mountain. Then I checked the wheather, there is 40% chance of rain and thurnderstorms for 4 consecutive days, it looks like monsoon season is here. Im gonna have to pospone. A teen died in the same mountain struck by lightning while hiking with hia friends and a storm came out of nowhere.
hunker down!
nice vid
Funny..you could not be more adorable ....! LOL
As an engineer I believe you could attach a small metallic cable to one end of the tent pole and the other end to a metal stake. This would ground the lightning, youd still get injured but less likely to die
AND yes I have seen lightning from a clear blue sky. Missed me by less that 50 Meters.
The best method, at least in my opinion, to avoid getting struck by lightening is to place a 50 foot thin metal 'antenna' on your head during a lightening storm.
pillsareyummy lolllolll
Oh my gosh, my mom used to always say “use your head for something besides a hat rack”.
You are right, nothing you carry on a hike will protect you from a lightning strike. You want to make yourself not be the tallest thing on the landscape. Don't stay under trees to closely as you may get a splash effect.
More research!
Carvers gap nice place that's my neck of the woods
Linkless Tennessee that's my neck of the woods as well
The ref called us off the soccer field when a storm approached. We started walking off and then BAM, I passed out! A huge lighting bolt hit about 10-12 feet away. And the concussion knocked 5 of us out! We all went to the hospital. But we're fine. Amazing Not one of us were directly hit!
Wow, crazy story! I'm glad everyone was okay.
I love ya', Babydoll !