I have often seen the meme for backpacking regarding clothing and weather stating “there is no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing”. And, although I agree to an extent, I do believe there are times when you do not purposefully put yourself into the middle of a bad weather situation.
For the past three weeks, I have been trying to get out for training hikes! As my Scotland trip is less than a month away now, not being able to get out and put in some mileage is concerning. But unfortunately, the weather here is just not cooperating and I am getting frustrated.
So, I suppose, naturally, the topic for me this week is – what constitutes bad weather and at what point do you insert yourself into it and hope you are successful? What makes bad weather dangerous? Is it really going to be that bad? After all, it’s only rain…..snow…..wind….etc. What is the worst that could happen?
Three weeks ago, we had a serious ice storm that caused significant damage just north of where I live now. The Bruce Trail, my favourite trail, was impacted to the point of absolute detriment. The entirety of the trail had to be closed from its mid point to the northern tip, some 300+km length of trail. Obviously, an ice storm could be considered one of the worst possible types of weather to insert oneself into, given the weight of ice, the skating rink conditions on the ground, and the impact to the trees. The sheer size of some of the trees that I have seen on the ground, as a result of this storm, are an incredible sight. It is difficult to fathom just how much weight that ice had to have in order to bring those majestically strong and tall pieces of nature to their “knees”.
Two weeks ago, after a short round of nicer weather, the rains hit again and significantly so. Causing flooding, washouts, and more dangerous conditions on the trail. You can bet it slowed down the ability for the trail maintenance crews to do anything about cleaning up the trails to get them re-opened (which most still remain closed three weeks later). Then, add a weekend full of mixed weather. Beautifully sunny and warm during the day, I’m talking t-shirt weather, back down to zero degrees celsius with snow overnight turning to rain the following morning. Sigh…..another missed opportunity I suppose. The remaining damage from the ice storm and the unknown of the conditions of the trees, it was not something I wanted to face in the middle of the night, should one of those trees decide to come down then.
Bringing us into the current weekend, yesterday (Good Friday), was yet another day of mixed weather. It rained on and off for most of the morning followed by a beautiful afternoon. Clear blue skies, no wind and the epitome of a picture perfect spring afternoon. I was sitting on my back deck, once again scrutinizing the weather app, seeing that they were calling for significant, serious thunderstorms with heavy rains and the possibility of toonie sized hail overnight. After looking up at the open and clear beautiful day before me, I turned to my husband and said “If it does not rain and storm tonight I am going to be pissed”! Because, at that point the radar was clear! I am talking not an ounce of precipitation forecasted clear! But the weather app listed 70% chance of rain, 1-3mm per hour with thunderstorms predicted. The fact that it was being talked about all over the weather channel, I chose not to go out for the overnight.
Now, I did manage during last weekend and this weekend to get in a couple of good day’s hike worth – 15km and 10km respectively. And, although I am confident in my camping abilities, I have new gear that I want to try out before I take off to another country. I am okay with trying new things without much “at home practice” but not sure how okay I am with it when I am in the complete unfamiliar. I am happy with the couple of day hikes I managed to get out on, and the mileage is enough, with a weighted pack, to give me enough ease that I can trust I will be fine to do this endeavour.
But it still begs the question, at what point is “bad” weather considered to be bad but not bad enough to be dangerous? Lying in bed, listening to the storms pass along last night, they were not that bad. A fairly gentle thunderstorm, considering what they can be, and I have experienced some pretty rough thunderstorms in my day, as I am sure we all have. But regardless of its “gentleness”, would I have been okay being out in a tent during it? The odds of being struck by lightning are low but I don’t particularly want to add to those odds, if I can help it. So, I suppose spring, summer and fall weather could be arguably safer than winter weather for the scale of safe vs. unsafe backpacking environments. In the latter season, freezing to death is a real concern. Whereas, I suppose in the first three seasons mentioned, storms are expected and if set up in the right location may not be that bad, just loud and obnoxious.
I’d be curious to hear about experiences by readers on what they consider to be bad weather vs. good weather and at what point they would call it a day on their trip to make sure that, for lack of a better way to put it, they don’t die! Because, I’m telling you, at 4’9 and a whopping 110lbs, I am no match for any sized tree, and they are kind of hard to avoid in the middle of the forest.
The calm after the storms this morning is a reminder that there will always be another day to go camping/backpacking. There will always be another opportunity to get out and the weather will eventually cooperate for a great trip. Sitting here, in the middle of April, is always bittersweet for me. It is just nice enough to release the beast of wanting to get my butt into nature again without needing to be all decked out in full winter gear. But at the same time, I know I need to be patient. That anticipation for what is to come will only make those upcoming trips that much better!
So, what do you find is your opinion on bad vs. good weather. How do you deal with it to secure yourself in such a way to survive the adventure to live to tell the tale? Share your stories! Let’s get a dialogue going on nature’s way of making our adventures that much more exciting…..
DanCyn' Adventures 