Watch them widowmakers!

aaronjayl

aaronjayl

Joined
Apr 5, 2006
Messages
2,310
Well, after loosing cable and internet earlier I wised up that I should get out and enjoy this storm. Went out for a quick 2 hour hike. It was HAIRY in the woods :eek: The wind was evil and was total white out conditions for a while. Branches and trees fallen everywhere. Stopped to take a leak and had a big branch fall about 20 feet away. Keep an eye upward and watch yourselves if you decide to venture out :thumbup:
 
When I was a kid I lived next to the woods and had the same idea during a big ice storm. If my mother had been home she probably would have nailed my butt to a seat to keep my out of there. I took a camera to get some pictures of the ice-laden trees, and of course wound up underneath an ice-laden branch that collapsed on top of me. Squirmed for a while to get out, no broken bones, and never told momma. Lesson learned!
 
YOWZA! Never come that close before Spooky. I brought my cam out to take pics earlier but the snow was driving big time and I didn't want to ruin my new camera. It's some nasty out there right now but, was good fun earlier :)
 
The first couple weeks after Hurricane Katrina were pretty deadly here. Whole trees toppling over in light wind.
 
Came home today to a large pine branch, covered in ice, sharp broken-off point jammed about 6in. into the frozen ground.

That would put a damper on your hike.
 
Years ago, I was the camp EMT at a large Scout camp in Arizona. We had 1100 patient visits that summer, one helicopter evacuation, everything from a drug OD to an arrow injury. No fatalities, I was happy to report.

Next year, I hear, they weren't so lucky--seems a kid was chopping a dead tree, and a branch came loose from high up, came down point first, impaling the kid in the head.

Pretty sobering. I'd never realized before what a hazard that was.
 
Yup, trees can be dangerous during inclement weather to be sure.. In my younger and wilder days about 1973-74 a GF and I wandered out across the street of my parents house in a medium to large thunder/lightning storm.. OK bear in mind this is southeast Florida.. Within about twenty minutes we were in a pretty spectacular nature made light show. Well all the sudden.. slam~bam went the lightning and thunder and hit a rather large black olive tree we were perched under. It set the very top of the tree on fire and my GF pissed her britches.. After I got her calmed down, we went home.. I never went walking in the rain after that ever again.
 
Whenever I go to the Sequoia groves right after a snowstorm, I always keep an eye open. Usually it is not the branches I'm worried about, it is the huge clumps of wet snow falling off branches 200-250' above my head.

Last winter, General Sherman tree dropped a branch after a snowstorm. It measured about 5' diameter, and fell from close to 200'. That would have been something to see from a distance. And a couple years ago, some guys were hiking in Giant Forest, and came back to find that a sequoia had fallen on their jeep. Looked like an asteroid had hit it.

http://www.kaweahcommonwealth.com/08-03/giant/fallen_giant.htm
 
HOly crap! Those are some CRAZY stories guys. Glad I've neer experienced anything like that :o (knock on wood)
 
i love in the santa cruz mtns and we are surrounded by redwoods.... we really have to always be careful for widowmakers around here..... redwood branches tend to break easily...

i work for a few different companies, leading high ropes courses.... as often as possible we have to go out and check for the ever-present widowmakers.. we can't have the CEO of microsoft and clorox getting whacked by a brach now can we...:D
 
mtnfolk mike said:
i love in the santa cruz mtns and we are surrounded by redwoods.... we really have to always be careful for widowmakers around here..... redwood branches tend to break easily...

i work for a few different companies, leading high ropes courses.... as often as possible we have to go out and check for the ever-present widowmakers.. we can't have the CEO of microsoft and clorox getting whacked by a brach now can we...:D
Click to expand...

Maybe not the CEO of Clorox but, Bill Gates?...hmmmm... ;)
 
We had our sleet/snow/ ice storm last night, luckily we dodged a bullet, branches only, didn't lose anything major.

Our last big icestrom, was probably about 10 years ago, my backyard looked like some giants had played "stick fight" with my trees out back. Whole tress down, tons of major branches, massive clean-up.

What saved us this go round is the coupla inches of snow and sleet before the freezing rain started. Rather than sticking directly to the trees, the rain landed on top of the snow and sleet, and got heavy enough to fall off the limbs, rather than stick there, and weight it down too much. Close call.

Knock on wood, didn't lose power. but we were ready, had our flashlights by our nightstands, 5 gallons of gas and the generator in the workshop.
During the last big one we were out of power for 3 to 4 days.

Filled a few water containers (well pump) and made sure I had some 1 lb. propane bottles for the campstove and lantern.

Again, this time, dodged the bullet.

Good little preparedness drill. Glad we didn't have follow through.

Plowing the driveway this morning was not fun. A shovel full of this wet heavy snow/ice felt like it weighed 80lbs. Would have preferred 2 feet of fluffy stuff. Did a lot with the tractor, was like plowing thick concrete mix.

Man, that was around 5am this morning, it's now 11 pm EST, I'm beat, going to bed, G' Night all!
 
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