Got caught in a lightning storm on the John Muir Trail near Muir Pass last August

I was about 2 miles south of Muir Pass around 11,500 feet when the sky turned dark fast and the hail started. No trees up there, just rocks and exposure, so I dropped my pack and sat on my sleeping pad with my knees up to reduce my profile. The storm lasted about 45 minutes and I counted 8 seconds between flash and boom at the closest point. Has anyone else had to squat through a storm above treeline like that?

2 comments

2 Comments

coran633d ago

You're saying you sat on a sleeping pad and dropped your pack. Honestly that's about the worst thing you could have done up there. Keeping your pack on actually helps because the metal frame and gear inside act as a partial Faraday cage, directing the charge around your body instead of through it. Plus sitting on a pad does nothing if the ground current is strong enough, it's not like a foam pad insulates against a lightning strike. Most experienced hikers I know would tell you to keep moving to a lower area instead of hunkering down in a bowl like that one.

oliver_anderson2d ago

Not sure a pack frame really works like a Faraday cage against lightning though.