Thunderstorms? What does everyone do when there is a thunderstorm?

**cougarmeat** · 04-10-2021, 11:56

A friend and I were thinking about hammocks as a thunder storm and lightening could be seen heading our way. She was about thigh deep in a lake and I wondered about that. What happens when lightening hits a lake. If it were deadly, you’ll see lots of dead fish floating in the lake after a strike. I’ve never heard of such a happening. So maybe you are actually safe in the water. I think someone once said the water conducts the lightening directly to ground.

On the other hand, once upon a time I was in Japan and they had this single “tub” next to the public bath/soaking tub. It had metal plates on the side and a small current was applied such that when your body parts were between the plates, the current would cause the muscles to pulse. Long, long ago there was a device sold - like network marketing - to people called “Relaxisizer” - something like that. You put it on and a current would cause your arm (if it were on your arm) or stomach (if worn as a belt) muscles to contract. You could get a “workout” without going to the gym, etc. So this tub was same idea. I could feel the different muscles pulsing as I lowered myself in, but when I got to chest level it felt like it was changing the rhythm of my heart. I quickly stood up and figured I’d never need to experience that again in this lifetime. That made me wonder about the lightening strikes water thing. I’m sure it makes a difference how far away you are, in the water, from the actual strike. But I couldn’t find any information about that. If the lake water quickly dissipates the energy, maybe that’s the safest place to be - as long as it doesn’t hit right next to you?

**TrailSlug** · 04-10-2021, 11:58

Pray a lot and just hope the lightning doesn't strike the trees I'm hanging in and hope there's no destructive winds.

**deadeye** · 04-10-2021, 19:32

Cars have a grounded metal cage surrounding the occupants - that's what gives you a little edge. Lightning makes it through a few thousand feet of open air - a little rubber won't stop it.

**Rolloff** · 04-10-2021, 21:56

Originally Posted by deadeye

Cars have a grounded metal cage surrounding the occupants - that's what gives you a little edge. Lightning makes it through a few thousand feet of open air - a little rubber won't stop it.

Faraday deadeye

**joe_guilbeau** · 04-11-2021, 09:45

Originally Posted by Rolloff

Faraday deadeye

Those aluminum hats really work!

**deadeye** · 04-11-2021, 19:40

Could be a new trail name...

**MiteyF** · 04-11-2021, 20:11

Originally Posted by rmcrow2

Two.
I use climbing line for a continuous ridgeline. Even if stakes pull out and the tarp wraps my hammock to make a sail, I trust my ridgeline to hold the load and haven't lost a tarp that hasn't torn.

Usually people sort of build in a "weakest link" in the ridgeline. Most people would rather have a ridgeline loosen/break rather than tear a tarp. They're cheap and easily replaceable (especially if out in the sticks), a tarp? Not so much.

**rmcrow2** · 04-12-2021, 11:52

Originally Posted by MiteyF

Usually people sort of build in a "weakest link" in the ridgeline. Most people would rather have a ridgeline loosen/break rather than tear a tarp. They're cheap and easily replaceable (especially if out in the sticks), a tarp? Not so much.

Ahh. My prussics are my weak link, 100lb cotten for some shock absorbtion. The ridgeline holds as my tarp has always wrapped it. When it's severe storms hard enough to steal one. Not every time my tarp comes loose from the stakes.

I apologize, this is a lot longer response than I intended to give. Turned into more of a talk about some of the ways I deal with weather in general.

You actually got me thinking about some of my habits for dealing with storms and realized that a lot of them come from knowing one is going to happen ahead of time when it's really severe weather. A lot of them were things that I didn't realize I think about when I am planning my loadout choosing and in deciding where I am going to go ahead of time. Some things come down to the choices I make in gear because I like to have gear for certain weather. But I am not rich enough to own 18 tarps.

This is rambling and I'm rambled through a break when I'm supposed to be working so I'm not going to go back and edit this into a more reasonable format. But I hope there is good information to help other people enjoy being out in the stormy weather.

The kind of underquilt protector you have affects your choice of tarps because the better quality underquilt you have means you have to worry less about the coverage of your tarp. If you don't use an underquilt protector you need much more wind coverage to keep your insulation from getting soaked and you getting cold in bad weather.

Also you have to make the choice are you willing to trade space in your bags for a heavier larger tarp or a lighter tarp and the underquilt protector and see what works out for you for the planned trip.

Let's start by saying most of my camping habits have come from a accumulation of Adventures due to personal stupidity. I found ways to not do the thing that seemed really really stupid when I thought about it later.

Everything I say should be taken as either a bad example or lesson drawn from such. Often I am being a bad example because I haven't learned my lesson yet.

To be absolutely impeccably clear me; stupid, me do stupid things. Sometimes I learn from my mistakes.

I am always happy to share the stupid things I've done and have someone point out the mistakes I made in case they came up with a better solution.

For bad weather.
Assuming I brought the right tarp.

I try really hard to stake low and close and keep the wind pushing in, and keep a windbrake against gusts from the head and foot ends.

I really try hard to arrive in daylight with plenty of time to choose a good location. I'm fond of hanging my foot right up against a three or four foot diameter oak tree or walnut. Crossing the guy lines on the bottom corner of your tarp around the tree so did they cross on the tree side closest to you. That way they are closed with the tree blocking wind blowing against them instead of stretched around the tree.

If I can find something in the other direction that lets me point my head in: hill, big cedars, copse of trees or brush that's real close to me. Anything that can block direct straight wind in that direction and turn it into something more gentle, I am happy.

When possible I will hang off boulders. A lot of the trips I make are to places with Cliffs and undercut Bluffs if I know it's going to be really really bad. If you do any rock climbing cams are wonderful for creating places to hang.

Falling rocks kill just like falling limbs.

If I'm already getting rained on and wet, well I'm already getting rained on and wet and I'm blind and I'm cold and I might as well just find the best place to stop being wet and cold instead of staying a little miserable all night. I'll keep pushing and looking for a good spot when I'm caught out. Assuming it is not a sudden tornado, hail storm, or cloudburst in which case I look for the best shelter I can find and if that is wrapping a tarp over my bicycle leaning against the base of a tree well I just sit on it and try to stay in the lee.

I will dry camp VS planned wet camp, for shelter on a stormy looking day if I see a sheltered spot with good wind protection. Severe forecast again, not standard thunderstorms.

The right spot even with 80mph gusts If I stake well, maybe weight it, I don't have trouble beyond line stretch and light mists.

The last time I have had the wind get under and lift hard enough to snap my prussics the tarp split when caught full sail for a second.

I think that was 98. I was near Bull Shoals lake.

Decided to go and enjoy the beautiful day. FORECAST TORNADOES.

Don't ever take a trip without checking the forecast kids.

But seriously, everything you do in life there's a thousand variables that will affect how it turns out. Doesn't matter if it's sweeping your floor or paying attention to how the landscape shapes the wind and how it's going to hit your tarp and what kind of tension and angles you need.

I think that as long as you are enjoying it you will pay enough attention to get better, to notice more and more of the small details that make a difference. And if you're not interested enough, if you pay enough attention to do that, you'll become interested and you'll get better no matter what.

So if you enjoy getting wet occasionally and working to spend more and more time snug and safe with just getting a little bit of mist across your face to remind you how comfortable you are. Then the times when you lose the corner of the tarp, or one actually manages to rip free of your setup and you have to chase it through the woods at night.

Well those will become entertaining stories you tell later and you'll actually just spend a fair bit of time trying to figure out why that happened. To make sure it never happens again, instead of getting angry or upset or feeling miserable.

Oh yeah also buy really heavy duty tarps, as heavy duty as you can carry and have space for, so that you can tie down really tight and secure.

That does not mean buy a heavy duty waxed canvas tarp. But I have a pretty heavy duty 80d hex, I might take vs my light 20d tiny diamond.

I have three tarps that I normally might take based on the calculus of: how much weight I can carry, how much space I need to have for food, what the forecast is, what I think it will actually be, and what are the likely conditions I will be camping in.

Buying tarps it is a compromise, when you can afford only a few different tarps, I choose strength over weight for bad weather gear.

Makes me wish I could talk my wife into letting me afford cuben fiber when I look at it's tensile strength to weight ratio. I would feel safe using straight 2mm amsteel everywhere as tight as I felt like not worried about wind.

Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk