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Thread: Storm Tactics

  1. #1
    Senior Member gbrugs's Avatar
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    Storm Tactics

    Hey all.

    I have been camping my whole life, granted i am only 25 so I obviously still learning.

    Early in my camping life,around age 6, we were camping with a large group of family and friends. A storm came through with straight line winds and all
    Kids were taken to large 5th wheel camper our friends owned while
    Parents kept wAtch by the lake. We never talked about tent camping storm tactics growing up.

    Given the horrible storms in the north and Boundary Waters this past week, I would like all of your expert opinions on how to handle storms like this. I have been very weary and even fearful of wind storms due to this episode early in my life. Any advice you have for handling these situations would be appreciated.

    I have read about getting out of tent/hammock, heading to fallen tree to use as lean to in case more fall, finding large rock, etcc...

    Thank you in advance. Interested to see what people think.


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  2. #2
    Senior Member johnspenn's Avatar
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    Great question. Looking forward to hearing the voice(s) of experience on this one.

  3. #3
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    Many might disagree with me but....unless you are very close to a solid structure shelter (school, church, etc.) there's probably not a whole lot you can do. You are probably more likely to be injured or killed on the drive to and from. Even if you had the time to find a solid fallen tree etc. there's no guarantee it will be any safer.

    Just get out there, enjoy and don't worry. That's not to say you should be reckless...use good judgement (like don't hang on a dead tree or under a big dead branch....don't play with rattlesnakes etc.) and have fun.


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  4. #4
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    Agreed....having branches break off during storms and take out tarps.... the unpredictably of branches will always scare me

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  5. #5
    Senior Member TrailSlug's Avatar
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    The first tactic is be weather aware. This will work many times but there's always a rogue storm. If it gets as bad as it did in the boundary waters there's not a lot you can do unless you were awake at 4AM when it came through and had the ability to get as low as possible (ie a non flooding ditch) and willing to get wet. I've been in 3 storms camping and the last one we were camping when the tornado sirens began to sound. We (my group along with many others) whet to the concrete bath house. When I returned the tent was gone! Found it a ways down the road in a tattered state. Bottom line is you do not have a lot of choice when something as bad as the boundary waters comes through. You simply pray that you and other will be safe and ride it out or do the tornado drill - get as low as possible. There are also many articles on this very topic so educate yourself, plan, and hope for the best.
    http://www.backcountry.com/explore/s...a-thunderstorm

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    I know it's not much, but this is why I prefer using a continuous ridgeline for my tarp. I once had a stick about the size of a pool cue break in half across my ridgeline.

    realistically, this stick was not huge and if it had hit me, it might not have injured me badly but it sure would have hurt. and/or a heavier branch might just have broken through my ridgeline and tarp. and admittedly, it wouldn't have been much protection if the thing came down like a spear, but I'm playing the odds on this one...

  7. #7
    Senior Member T- Minus's Avatar
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    I would say the best thing you can do is first use good judgment, this covers pretty much aspect of any trip, location, weather, equipment, and a safety plan for the unknown like wildlife, wildfires, and sudden weather changes, down to the activities and location of a trip. When it seems as if an issue is soon to happen or you find your self in the middle of an situation you really have only 2 choices fight it or bail and take your chances on the move. Regardless knowing your gear and keeping a level head will be your tools to prevail. If you have time and you know something is about to happen use this time to prepare your actions, like looking for a better spot to ride it out; car, rock wall with cover, higher ground, lower ground, open area, denser area, cave, on the water, or out of it's path/go around it ect. At the end of the day there is only so much you can do compounded by what you will be willing to do. Your gear and your mind, using them smartly will be your best chance of survival, make safe risk taking actions when you are sure of the outcome, observe and plan in the meantime. Be organized, if you have to take action be able to move on the fly or hunker down, but have a back up plan for your backup plan. If you are in a group make sure each member knows the plan and is responsible for their part, There is safety in numbers but individual desires can differ from the party and cause conflict if not confronted early on. Communicate, with who you are with and who you wish to return to. Things will go wrong but if you have a plan and others know about it there is a chance that if you are unable to follow your plan the other party has a chance by backtracking the plan and locate you, help you, send a rescue party to you ect. Be positive, no matter what happens what you think about can compound it or help you endure it, we all are a lot tougher than we think emotionally, and even if our bodies breakdown or become injured that positive thinking will help.
    “ Do not correct a fool or he will hate you, correct a wise man and he will appreciate you.”
    ~ Bruce Lee

  8. #8
    alifeoutdoors's Avatar
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    Honestly I just don't go out backpacking/paddling during the heavy storm season up here. I can't stand summer, the heat, humidity, bugs, storms and the crowded trails. All my backcountry trips are spring/fall and trying to add winter (I'd much rather deal with staying warm then all of the above). Granted there are still storms, especially in the later spring times and early fall but the severe ones are much more rare. Plus I have a little bit of your phobia as I grew up living in either central Illinois or central Texas. We had more close calls with tornadoes than I want to think about.

    If am out I do the small things that others have mentioned, look for widow makers, do my best guess on sick or weakened trees, look for an escape strategy or rock cover, then put my faith in statistics. Being aware is good and mentally helps you, however the reality is when the wrath of nature comes down not a whole heck of a lot you can do. Just pray you're not in the wrong place at the wrong time. If something bad comes through in the dead of night, I will get up get some rain gear on and keep my eyes and ears open (the best I can under a tarp) and wait for it to pass.
    Once you're lost in twilight's blue, you don't find your way, the way finds you.

  9. #9
    dakotaross's Avatar
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    I do think that's your first defense... check the weather and be realistic about what could happen, especially in the summer. I was amazed one year to go up to my favorite mountainside camp and view the tornado damage on the mountainside directly across from it. Didn't think they made it up into the mountains. So, any threat of severe weather has to be taken seriously.

    This is one reason I prefer to camp in a grove of youthful, pliable trees. There's always a mix of sizes, but often I can find a section where there are predominantly younger trees. Its not always the best spot for other reasons, but I never have to worry about ordinary widowmakers, much less the ones blown around in a severe storm should one pop up as they tend to do sometimes.
    "I wonder if anyone else has an ear so tuned and sharpened as I have, to detect the music, not of the spheres, but of earth, subtleties of major and minor chord that the wind strikes upon the tree branches. Have you ever heard the earth breathe... ?"
    - Kate Chopin

  10. #10
    SilvrSurfr's Avatar
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    First off, know the weather in the area you're hiking. It is a good idea to know what could happen, based on the history of the place. For example, this boy died hiking to the top of Humphrey's Peak in Arizona, during monsoon season, struck by lightning. Not smart.

    http://www.nydailynews.com/news/nati...icle-1.2721620

    Monsoons can be dangerous in Arizona, and it's surprising that nobody in his group seemed aware of the risk.

    I've camped often in the Adirondacks at Lake Lila, a pleasant backcountry site that encountered microbursts back in 1995 that tore down many trees.

    http://www.nytimes.com/1995/09/25/ny...pagewanted=all

    This guy camped (or slept) through the affair.

    http://www.adirondackalmanack.com/20...icroburst.html

    It's been 21 years since that storm and nothing like it has occurred since. So let's say you're going hiking in the Adirondacks. How do you prepare for something that hasn't happened again in over 7,200 days?

    There's a 1 in 500,000 chance of being struck by lightning in the US. How do you prepare for that? There are common sense things one can do, but I don't think it's anything that you can plan for.

    Earlier this week, the Weather Channel said there was a chance of severe thunderstorms and their notice said the warning would be over at 3:45 pm. I walked out of my office at 3:35 pm, and a large limb broke off a tree and landed directly where I was about to step. It would have killed me for sure if I had walked outside just one second earlier. The safest thing would have been to stay inside for the duration of the warning, but there was only ten minutes left and I almost got killed.

    I don't know how you prepare for freak occurrences like that, especially in the backcountry.
    "A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds." Ralph Waldo Emerson

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