We hiked to the top and the views were amazing; we could see 4 states from where we stood. We could also see large rain clouds slowly moving our way but they were off in the distance and so we stood in the sunshine enjoying the view.
After 20 minutes we thought it prudent to begin home again (note: home is the car). Fairly quickly, it began to rain, although not hard rain - just a nice sprinkle. Soon though, the lightening began. At first, we thought we were fine. Yes, we were on the tallest mountain west of the Rockies but we were in amongst tall trees so we decided to take another route back so that we could see more of the sights of the mountain. Well, this side of the mountain was much more open. The tall trees we hoped would protest us disappeared in little patches of bare rock. We ran across these bare spots, hoping that the lightening wouldn't notice we were all of a sudden pretty tall. We stopped a couple of times and got in the lightening position. (The lightening position, for those of you who don't know, is a position to minimize how far the lightening will travel through your body, hoping that it only electricutes your legs and arms and not your core body.) During one of these squats, it began to hail. Up until this point the whole experience was kind of scary but also thrilling. The hail brought it all into perspective. It was big and it hit hard. We ran for cover in the slight opening of a rock. It did little to protect us but offered more shelter then the open woods (i.e., we were still getting pelted with hail!).
(a view from a break in the trees)
We sat there for a while, marveling at the experience. A tad bit of terror might have been creeping in. We decided to keep moving once the hail stopped. Getting further down the mountain was better then sitting higher up on it. It might get warmer too!
After 20 minutes we thought it prudent to begin home again (note: home is the car). Fairly quickly, it began to rain, although not hard rain - just a nice sprinkle. Soon though, the lightening began. At first, we thought we were fine. Yes, we were on the tallest mountain west of the Rockies but we were in amongst tall trees so we decided to take another route back so that we could see more of the sights of the mountain. Well, this side of the mountain was much more open. The tall trees we hoped would protest us disappeared in little patches of bare rock. We ran across these bare spots, hoping that the lightening wouldn't notice we were all of a sudden pretty tall. We stopped a couple of times and got in the lightening position. (The lightening position, for those of you who don't know, is a position to minimize how far the lightening will travel through your body, hoping that it only electricutes your legs and arms and not your core body.) During one of these squats, it began to hail. Up until this point the whole experience was kind of scary but also thrilling. The hail brought it all into perspective. It was big and it hit hard. We ran for cover in the slight opening of a rock. It did little to protect us but offered more shelter then the open woods (i.e., we were still getting pelted with hail!).
(a view from a break in the trees)We sat there for a while, marveling at the experience. A tad bit of terror might have been creeping in. We decided to keep moving once the hail stopped. Getting further down the mountain was better then sitting higher up on it. It might get warmer too!
Well, we walked and ran as fast as we could down the mountain. We made to a large spruce tree, our true sanctuary from the weather. We stayed there til the weather cleared up even more. The worst of the storm lasted about an hour and a half, much longer then we expected. When we got back to the car, the lightening was still streaking across the sky but we were much safer, being at a lower elevation, in dry clothes & in the car on our way to see the great (really? we didn't think so) Mount Rushmore.
The part for our mothers (& those of you who are now worried to pieces about this crazy road trip we've embarked on):
The whole thing was a truly surreal and slightly scary experience. We spent quite a bit of time talking about it and realized that we would have been caught in the storm even if we had turned around at the first sound of thunder - and that our experience & preparedness got us a long way in the world of safety. Part of experiencing the natural world is experiencing all of it and realizing that when you are in it, you are not in control. That's the beauty of God's great creation - it's beautiful, unpredictable & challenging, & it reminds us of our role in the big scheme of things - sometimes a little more in-your-face than others!
4 comments:
Harney Peak is a fave hike of ours. Sorry you got caught in the storm--they sweep up in a hurry there. I've been chased by storms there several times. Scary! Great pictures of the hail, Betsy!
I've wandered on over here via a link in Michelle's blog... I wanted to say I'm glad I've discovered this lovely journey! My fiance and I took a road trip from Mpls to Mt Hood (and later, another road trip to Colorado, and a repeat to Colorado, and most recently, to the east coast). This country is so wide and so beautiful.
Also: the hail storm here was a shock, but we were safe and indoors! Glad you survived the craziness... what an experience!
Just for the record, the fathers are standing right there with the mothers, when it comes to what direction you go as the thunder storm rolls in. But if the storm is going to catch you on the trail, then it's going to catch you on the trail.
And you're right about being outside, outdoors. I think about the times where I've gone indoors only to have God call me outside again, sometimes just to stand in the sun.
Standing in hail? I recommend using plastic garbage can lids as hats during a bad hailstorm.
But that's not a story I'm going to tell my mom.
Benno (of Karen, Benno and Phoebe)
I love you both very much, but I am very glad I am not on this trip...you can have my portion of living in nature. :)
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