Storm advice

jmh33

jmh33

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What would you do in a heavy rain situation while hiking?? No thunder/lighting.. This past week me and the wife found ourselves 2 mile from the truck on a mountain top in a HEAVY rain storm.. We had good rain gear so we put it on and kept on hiking.. Was VERY rocky so going was slow.. Thanks.. John
 
In the past, when we'd get caught out, we'd generally try to find or make shelter of some kind and hunker down. Things get a little more dicey in a heavy lightning storm, but for regular heavy rain, a tarp would get quickly strung up, or we'd find some trees with dense top cover and wait it out. I would not personally continue along a rocky path in a hard rain, too much opportunity to slip and roll an ankle, bash a knee, have a fall somewhere.

That's just my own experience.
 
First advice is TRY not to find yourself in that situation. Weather forecast is a handy tool.

Usually, and I say it again, USUALLY, getting wet is not the problem. The problem is getting cold. Getting wet helps to cool down faster, but if you are wearing a waterproof jacket, rain pants (gatiers or not) and boots... and you know you are going back to your truck/hut/house.... I would say to just zip up, tigthen the drawstrings and go for it.

If you are somewhat wet and you stop, you are going to be cold for sure. If you keep on moving, heat will stay with you. You may get wet due to condensation (GoreTex is only breathable to some extent) but the outher layer avoids you getting cold.

Don't stop moving. Movement will keep you alive.

And unless you are wearing crappy shoes, or the terrain is muddy, wet clean rock is quite grippy anyway.

If you have to do climbing or rope work, then we are not talking hiking... we are talking about a different thing alltogether!!
 
Depends on where you are. If you are in a good spot to shelter in below a peak, and out of the main likelyhood of lightning, and if its likely to be a relatively short storm, I'd shelter down. Its really a game of judging the risk of a land-slip, loss of footing, loss of navigation, and likelihood of reaching your destination.

For every guy who pushed through and made it out, there is certainly a case where pushing on was injurious or fatal, so there are no hard and fast rules. Personally, and where I am located, I'd rather find a good spot to shelter in early, rather than push in and find I had to shelter somewhere less optimal. However ultimately, you may not ever know if you made the best choice, so it really all comes down to your skill level, and experience.
 
Weather moves in fast so keep that in mind. I just hunker down and wait it out with the quickest makeshift shelter or rain gear you have. Stay away from and natural run off areas or mud.
 
We hunt in a rain forest. We have endured 15 inch in 11 hours. The answer is to be prepared, i.e. adequate and appropriate rain gear. Know where you are and where you are going and what the dangers are. Are avallances posable? Rivers over flow? trails wash out? Know when not to go or to go home.
Ronald Athay
 
I keep a small tarp in my day pack just in case. Whether to hunker down or keep on going depends on where you are, where you're going, and of course whether time matters much for a delay. I prefer to not hike soaked to the bone. You get stiffer, potentially cold, and are not as agile or sure footed. Things get slippery too. Best to stop if you can and weather the storm out before moving continuing your hike.
 
Rain is only one of the variables to consider. You need to take other factors into consideration. Do you have adequate rain gear? How long do you expect the storm to last? What is the temperature? Is there enough wind to cause problems? Are you on a multi-day hike or on a day hike? How far are you from the end of the day's hike? Will the terrain pose a problem if it's wet? How comfortable are you hiking in those conditions? Is there somewhere you can shelter if necessary? If it is a day hike and the storm is expected to last for several hours, are you equipped to wait it out or will you be in trouble if you try to do so?

The totality of the circumstances is what matters, not one single factor.
 
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Thank You all for taking time to share.. I really do appreciate all this info!! Thanks.. John
 
Rain is part of tripping. I'd stop if anything seemed hazardous - lightening, slippery-down hill terrain ect. Otherwise, my wife and I always have a set of day clothes and night clothes with us. The night clothes are tucked in a dry bag and we do everything physically possible to keep them that way. As long as we know we have our dry snuggly night clothes in there and we feel things are safe to move on, we just move on. Let the day cloths get wet, muddy and grimy. That's what they are for and assuming hypothermia isn't an issue this time of year.
 
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